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What influences your buying decisions?

For months our office has been carefully following statistics and reading industry articles and the tone remains unchanged: fewer building projects are coming to the table, and as money dries up, fewer projects are coming to fruition. Job loss is extensive and surviving firms are pulling the purse strings tight. All is not doom and gloom, however, because it is also reported that firms and professionals are investing, albeit cautiously, in expanding knowledge and specialties so they can hit the ground running when business returns to normal.

A colleague posed very interesting question this morning. To no one in particular and while the coffee was still hot and our brains were still cold, she asked “So, how are Architect’s buying patterns being affected in today’s economy?” The resulting discussion led to another list of questions, and one topic in particular directly affects us as a service provider to the design/ build sector:

The industry has taken a major blow and many expenses have been cut across the board, so what influences the purchases professionals and firms are actually willing to make?

Throughout this downturn, industry professionals are exhibiting nervous purchasing patterns. The fact of the matter is, however, that purchases essential for success will still be made. For instance, software that architects and designers depend on will still need to be updated and various tools will need to be acquired in the meantime, regardless of other restrictions, because business has to move forward. For instance, software distributed by AutoCAD and Microsoft are already established as reliable resources, so little hesitation is expected on the part of the purchaser when they deem the upgrade essential.

But outside of these tried and tested business tools, are industry professionals open to buying other tools or software that would make their business more efficient, even if they were not familiar with it before? And if they are considering purchasing a new product, what would have the greatest influence on their decision to purchase?

Seeing the product first hand at a trade show?
Conducting their own internet research?
Word of mouth recommendations from other professionals?
Reading software reviews in an issue of Architectural Digest or online at about.com?

What are your thoughts? In what ways have the buying patterns of Architects and industry professionals changed or adapted to today’s economy?

Video Demo

Happy New Year from the Hestia Solutions team!
2008 kept us on our toes and we are looking forward to more exciting developments in 2009.

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Click below for a quick demonstration of Approve Your Plan and its industry applications

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Architecture and the Virtual Office

I love the conveniences of modern technology! The internet has become incorporated into virtually every aspect of our daily life. It is in our homes, our workplace, and even our phones. Whether it is research, communication, or services we are after, our society has become so utterly dependant on the internet that we feel lost without it. In my personal experience, I spent 15 months sailing around the world and essentially I mourned the absence of the internet during long passages at sea. The abrupt and absolute impossibility of surfing the web was a shock to the system in many ways. I didn’t realize that I was so dependant on the internet until all of my preferred means of obtaining information and communicating with loved ones was no longer an option. It was not all that pathetic, however. In a reasonably short period of time, I learned to love the disconnect experienced at sea and on remote South Pacific islands.

Now that I have both feet tentatively planted ashore, I have taken full advantage of all the conveniences and instant gratification the internet offers me. Most importantly, it has opened up a host of employment and business opportunities. Where I choose to live is not exactly a booming metropolis with endless job opportunities for writers. But with a little online research, I was able to secure freelance writing work. When I decided I wanted a little more financial stability, I landed a research and copywriting job with a web development firm. I had a desk at the office, but I had every opportunity to telecommute from my home, which I took advantage of.

Having joined a company that strives to improve communication within the architecture industry and design/ build sectors, I am interested to know how architects, planners, designers and associated professionals can improve communication when not everyone is working from the office.

How has the architecture industry adapted to the model of the virtual office? The internet has made it easy for freelance designers and architects/ builders with a web presence to identify and contact one another. There are countless benefits to adopting a virtual office, but the ones that stick out to me are:
Your talent pool does not have to be local. Regional and international professionals can contribute to your company and projects via the web.
Freelancers can create a virtual firm in order to take on larger projects and increase their market coverage.

What I would like to know is how many architecture firms and associated professionals have integrated the “virtual office” into their businesses in some way. Has telecommunication complicated business operations, or has it improved morale or productivity?

If you would like to weigh in, I’d love to gain some perspective!

Green Initiatives in Architecture

I am trying to be more environmentally conscious. I make careful product choices, recycle and use a compost bin, and I pretty much force everyone around me to do the same thing so I don’t slip and fall out of line. In my own home I’ve been dubbed the “Recycling Police” but the very same name-callers are complying. I am starting to get the hang of it; not just the part about making environmentally friendly choices, but I’m actually thinking of the Big Picture.

I began preparing myself to join the team here at Hestia Solutions this past summer. They already had a tight grasp on what it is we are trying to do for the architecture industry and their clients, so I had some reading-up to do. As a layperson slowly educating myself about my two new favorite topics, I’ve started to get pretty excited about Green Initiatives in the architecture industry and building/ design sector.

As a consumer, I have not been financially prepared to build my own home so it never occurred to me to even ask myself, let alone anyone else, what kind of footprint the architecture industry leaves on the Environment. But now that my work centers on finding ways to improve aspects of the industry, I’ve started to work away at my little desk trying to answer my own questions. How bad can it be?

I came across some text I enjoyed reading in The Office for Robotic Architectural Media & Bureau for Responsive Architecture (ORAMBRA)’s CAAD For Responsive Architecture: http://www.orambra.com/sterkAUTODESSYS_07.html
Sterk, Tristan d'Estree (2006) CAAD For Responsive Architecture [Joint Study Report 2005-2006 Auto-des-Sys / ISBN-13: 978-0-9792943-0-3] (Columbus Ohio) April 2007, pp. 66-70 (ed., Murali Paranandi)

In this, Edward Mazria is quoted from his paper titled "It's the Architecture Stupid!" which attempts to explain the relationship between architecture, energy resources and the environment. The following of Mazria’s statements stood out to me:
1. in the USA, the architectural sector consumes 48% of all energy used, and
2. the architectural sector generates 46% of America's annual CO2 emissions

I’m going to have to do a little more digging to ensure I’ve not taken anyone’s research out of context or have missed some relevant point, but the proposed numbers do precisely what was intended: to make you pause for thought.

So architecture as an art and industry is under tremendous pressure these days. A sketchy economy requires more efficient designs and building processes and cost-effective materials. Growing concern about the environment is forcing architects and members of the design and building sector to implement environmental policies and explore creative, innovative and cost-effective ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, educate themselves and consumers about the environmental effects of the products they choose, and reduce air pollution and solid waste. All of these adaptations and advancements come with a higher price tag, but I think consumers’ attitudes are also changing and despite tighter purse strings, they are willing to invest in quality and eco responsibility.

My draw to green initiatives and innovation in architecture has made me more excited about our Approve Your Plan© system. We’ve come up with an innovative drawing review and approval system for architects, planners, designers and professionals that is completely paperless. This is quite significant in terms of environmental responsibility.

A paper-dependant firm experiences higher operating costs, such as purchasing materials and relying on courier and postal services for delivery. Using paper for all drafts, revisions and audit trails squanders precious resources such as trees and when you consider the harmful emissions produced by daily functions such as courier deliveries, paper dependency is the antithesis of green initiatives within the industry.

Happily, our solution saves resources and reduces operating costs. Approve Your Plan© is a web-hosted application that allows all files to be uploaded, marked-up, reviewed and shared online with clients and contracted professionals. The paperless system allows for a fully-functioning and viewable file to be delivered into the “hands” of the right people without wasting paper for all drafts and revisions and without wasting money and fuel for courier services. Because paper usage is necessary to complete some business transactions, all of our users have the option to print drawings and audit trails in paper form whenever necessary.

We are happy to do our part! See for yourself how Approve Your Plan will conform to your green initiatives while preserving resources, both in nature and in your bank account. Try the full version FREE for 7 Days:

http://hestiasolutions.com/applications-7daytrial.php

Update Dec. 5/08: Check out the commentary posted on flavorwire.com:

Exclusive: David Cook — No, Not the American Idol — Explains What Green Architecture Really Means

11:50 am Wednesday Dec 3, 2008

by caroline

http://flavorwire.com/?p=4240