Architectural Economy

I The client enables architecture, the user validates it

The client is the precondition for architecture. Therefore understanding and respecting the client is the fundamental architectural duty. Ultimately, the user validates the result. Only after establishing a genuine understanding of what needs to be achieved for the client and the user, can architecture have a chance to become reality.

II Architecture is built

Architecture is both design and construction. Architecture is not only design. Architecture is not only construction. Something that is designed but unbuilt, or built but not designed, is not architecture. It is something else, a speculation, or an improvisation. Architecture exists only when a design is realized in physical space, be it new or renovated. Design is limited mainly by imagination and is relatively low-cost. Construction is resource-intensive, costly, and strictly bounded by physics, economics, and politics. Therefore, construction sets the boundaries for what architecture can achieve.

III Economy is holistic

Inspired by the UN’s Our Common Future from 1987 (also known as the Brundtland Report with its definition of social, ecological and economic sustainability), as well as the principles of the Vienna Model of housing and its “four columns of sustainability”, economy must not be limited to financial aspects. Every architectural effort consumes and generates value in a holistic economy, with its four accounts:

• Cultural: Local heritage and identity must be respected and created

• Ecological: Material efficiency, life-cycle performance and environmental sensitivity must excel

• Financial: Investment, yield and long-term value must be optimized

• Social: Community, accessibility and adaptability must be enabled

IV The budget is the parameter

Excellent architecture maximizes the accounts without waste. Resources are finite and construction is expensive, therefore architecture must be disciplined. The budget is embraced and treated as a quintessential design parameter. Proactive cost management, spatial efficiency and technical understanding, from the earliest phases, guarantee that the design survives contact with reality. The ultimate measure of architectural excellence is the value created for a real world with real limits.

V The result is real

To reach its fullest potential, architecture must prioritize realization over design. The role of the architect is to construct the optimal balance between cultural ambition, ecological sensitivity, financial performance and social impact. Architectural Economy is the practice of synthesising these through the intelligent mastery of real-world limits.