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I was asked to come into an archi office yesterday for a new client interview. The office was in a really bad part of town and the "architect" wasn't even really able to tell me where I could find parking and he gave me the wrong address (he was off by one door). I walk into a lobby of a small "artistic collaborative" think a little mini mall for arty nicknacks and there is a desk in the middle of the lobby with 2 people sitting at it and a computer. This is not an office it is a lobby. These are the people I am meeting. One is the architect the other is just another guy he never tells me what he does he wears a really cheap suit. They sit me down and show me the files they have. I notice that the computer programs read "NON REGISTERED COPY". The cad files I see are pretty goofy looking and its a really bad design but there are no doors drawn or windows, no text or dimensions just a floor plan. They then show me the file they started with and it looks like something you could take off the internet. A cheesy rendering that reminds me of something you would find in "3000 Floor Plans for $30" type of book. They modified this one house that was spanish colonial to look like The Butler House. Basically they took the roof off and change some details and are painting it white. I asked them what materials they would use and they didn't know they might build the house out of CMU block!
They cannot answer any question about the materials or anything about the house and I am pretty weirded out. Then they show me other illustrators they are considering and there is one company (from India) that will charge $400 per image and if I can match that. No I cannot. Its a 6000 sq ft house on 4 acres. So that was the end of the conversation. I left and I pretty much thought that these guys were scamming someone into thinking they could design a home and wanted a rendering to make their work look legit. Or maybe they were illustrators trolling for illustrators to see competition. I don't know.
Sorry for the long post.
They cannot answer any question about the materials or anything about the house and I am pretty weirded out. Then they show me other illustrators they are considering and there is one company (from India) that will charge $400 per image and if I can match that. No I cannot. Its a 6000 sq ft house on 4 acres. So that was the end of the conversation. I left and I pretty much thought that these guys were scamming someone into thinking they could design a home and wanted a rendering to make their work look legit. Or maybe they were illustrators trolling for illustrators to see competition. I don't know.
Sorry for the long post.
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