ABSTRACT
Today in North America, design and construction have become isolated fields and architects fear they hold only a marginal place on the team. In one vivid ·statement, a trade magazine noted, ..... architects are running the risk of being treated as design subcontractors. Rather than being the spouse, many architects are becoming like the household chef, respected for technical and artistic talents, but nevertheless part of the downstairs kitchen staff and paid accordingly."2 These statements focus on perceptions of power and financial compensation, and neglect the question of what is effective in architectural practices. Another author presents a more balanced perspective, and one that suggests perhaps architects have been too hasty about loss of leadership:
Collaboration has been seen by many architects as the greatest single threat to
(David Leatherbarrow)
their long established pOSition as the "natural leader" of the team. The view is often expressed that deSigners must provide leadership and that if they do not the quality of building. in both functional and aesthetic terms, will suffer. The weaknesses in this argument were proVided by a plethora of studies which suggested that the traditional method of independent practice was equally susceptible to considerable criticism for inadequate performance of buildings, not only in functional and aesthetic terms, but also in technical. management, and COSt control aspects.3
