Where does Architectural companies find work, or does the work find them?

[Morne]

Hi all

This seems like a really stupid question, but think about it for a moment. The average business advertise etc, but I've never seen an architectural add in the paper saying how great they are and having such and such a service. There are many reviews of architects who have designed such and such, but how did they get that job in the 1st place? Networking? Word of mouth? Friends and family? Besides trade magazines and such that only architects buy, how does a new practise start of even with something small like a house for a certain developer? Well with my architectural clients anyways they don't have sales teams etc like for example an interior design company does. Usually the architect is the "salesman"?

Your thoughts?

[jujubee]

Word of mouth and reputation mainly - in my opinion. Some architects I know do have salespeople/marketing. I think they also troll public construction notices/bids.

[thablanch]

Hi all

This seems like a really stupid question, but think about it for a moment. The average business advertise etc, but I've never seen an architectural add in the paper saying how great they are and having such and such a service.

It is Illegal in lots of countries to advertise for architects.. So you can "advertise", or publish a project you did, but you can not advertise yourself. If it is Governement driven, there is an open tender, so every firm can submit.. The selection will be based on price/expertise/portfolio..
So for public contracts, public bide, for private clients, word of mouth, marketing dept., contacts

[judderman]

It isn't illegal in the UK any more as far as I know, though I'm sure it's still frowned upon and thought to be unprofessional. I think that's an elitist view of architecture; it's an industry that's definitely not beyond advertising if you ask me, especially at the minute where I'm sure a lot of architects are lucky if they're even in a job.

[glorybound]

We run ads all the time; usually in magazines.

[sea2stars]

Public construction notices/bids. RFPs (request for proposals). There are always a few big trade shows every year; police, schools, etc. Word of mouth. Annual publication of awarded built projects; school, municipal, etc. Networked connections. Consultants. Luck. Unhappy clients dropping their current architect and giving it to the #2 bidder. Website. Charity/pro bono work. Politics; one of the more annoying. Social events. The occasional residence. Luring staff away from other firms and gaining their contacts.

It's different for the private vs public sectors though. A hell of a lot more gear greasing and reach arounds in the private sector.. seeing how it's illegal in the public/municipal sector.