5th June 2006, 11:32 AM
There has certainly been a watering down of the concept of "professionalism" that came about with the political dogma of the 1980's. Totally misunderstanding the principle, it was seen as a restrictive practice or closed shop, and the fee scale procedure was made illegal. This was intended to to "open up" the professions to competition, lower costs and drive up standards through competition - those of you over 30 will recall the idea. Of course it had the reverse effect and seriously drove standards down: in the case of architects, whereas previously a firm would be selected on its track record and excellence in a particular field, as the fees wouyld be the same for all firms, they are now primarily selected on a fee bid. Consequently the entire design and to a much greater extent the production information stages are squeezed as much as possible leading to a lower quality and loss of detail, and much more making it up as you go along on site.
The culture and philosophy of the 80's has largely endured wit hthe result that everyone believes that cheapest is best.
I love the smell of ranting in the morning!
We owe the dead nothing but the truth.
The culture and philosophy of the 80's has largely endured wit hthe result that everyone believes that cheapest is best.
I love the smell of ranting in the morning!
We owe the dead nothing but the truth.