Architects stepping stones

Architects stepping stones ARCHITECTS’ stepping stones provides a look into what it
really entails to be an architect.

You will find out about things
they don’t teach you in university, and some murky aspects not
generally in the public arena. New challenges have come to the profession through the rapid

development of ground-breaking technologies. This book deals
with current innovations and how to manage them in the
architectural environment. It will open your mind to solutions
that do not necessarily involve gi

zmos, but rely on simple,
practical thinking. ARCHITECTS’ stepping stones is a no-holds-barred look into
architecture in today’s world. It will serve to guide you when
navigating the challenges that come with a modern architectural
practice.

10/12/2020

“Architetcs Stepping Stones”
Author- S.Indhul
Ebook- Amazon
Hard copies from SAIA KZN

This is the last chapter
🙏🏽suren

Chapter 11: The Boss

There is only one boss. The customer.
— sam walton, American businessman.

I have rushed through the journey, I admit. If I travelled the long road you would be bored sick. Go ahead now and experience the journey yourself; I believe I have highlighted the obstacles – keep clear of them and drive along and believe me you will come across new obstacles and you will be armed to remove them.

After you have gained experience working in an architect’s studio there will come a time when you will yearn to work for yourself. In this chapter I will highlight how to go about setting up a starter studio.

I will not get into detail of younger architects starting a partnership. A partnership can be described very easily – it is like a marriage. There are good ones and not so good ones. It can end in divorce, or be a long, unstable relationship, or be a happily-ever-after relationship. There are too many variables that could lead to disagreements and no one can see into the future. Disagreements lead to a breakdown in communication, and ultimately to divorce. When the time is right, and you are truly mature and ready, and you can bond with your partner knowing it will be a healthy relationship, then you can make that call. However warm the relationship is, make sure you have a legal person at the outset to draw up the partner-ship agreement to provide for the event of dissolution of partnership or death of one of the partners. Keep the partnership at a very professional level and be guided by a specialist legal team and a chartered accountant.

I have witnessed too many of my colleagues going through a break-up in their partnership with deep-rooted resentment. Some colleagues who have been in a break-up are not on talking terms to this day, and it has a knock-on effect on mutual friends in architectural circles.

Almost all architects dream of having their own studio, making their own design decisions and living by their own rules. You must ask yourself – am I prepared to work long hours, weekends, holidays, and for a set income or at times even no income? Do I have enough capital for salaries and expenses for a year without receiving payment for projects executed or being executed? Am I in a position to network and target the right persons to get projects?

Can I integrate my social life with business? Am I confident that I will not fall off the stepping stones? If you can sustain yourself under the circumstances mentioned, then let us go set up your studio.

A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts.
— richard branson

You are a young architect with not much money in your bank account. First rule is to start planning a year ahead and start hoarding all that you need for a studio. Second rule is not to get a loan from a bank. Third rule is to get a project with a paying client. If possible set up a studio at home. Using your architectural skill, convert any space to a wow space with lots of light, and design your own furniture and make it look inviting. The studio space can be as small as thirty square metres.
If it is not possible for you to set up a studio at home, the second-best option is to rent a space from a known, reputable professional in the built environment, be it a project manager, engineer or quantity surveyor. You can complement each other. Very often a recommendation for an architect comes from other professionals in the built environment. This kind of set-up, with a reputable professional, can work in your favour. At the beginning, you might be able to enter into an arrangement to share a boardroom, receptionist, printing and photocopying facilities. It will add value to your image as a one-stop shop.
Speak to an accountant and make the right choice for the registration of your company. Make sure that you are compliant in terms of your Architectural Council’s code of conduct and in terms of the Receiver of Revenue. You will need to take out Professional Indemnity insurance which will be based on the project value of work you anticipate executing.

In terms of bidding for public-sector work you will be required to submit a whole lot of documents for their bidding process. Get familiar with their requirements and start collating these documents and make sure to update them as and when required. Keep a file with all the originals clearly marked as you will be requiring them often. Start with an organised filing system for all items from the beginning. Filing skill will save you money and time, and will avoid frustration; take it seriously from the start. We are talking about filing for bidding, accounting, projects, and reference library – all in hardcopy and digital. Use a filing method that works best for you.

Architects do not need a large capital start-up sum for equipment. As long as you have your laptop, registered computer-aided design (CAD) and MS Office programmes, A3 all-purpose colour printer/scanner, and your various stationery and pens, then you are in business. Not forgetting to set up your email, telecommunications, website, wireless network and back-up hub for your company. As your business expands you can start to think of a plotter, presentation screen and a portable projector for offsite presentations. Your equipment should be in the planning stages long before you open your studio. Planning a year ahead is the key to a loan-free success. You cannot wake up one morning and say, I am going to open my own architectural studio today.

To be tax and VAT compliant, adopt very strict bookkeeping principles and make sure all receipts and invoices are in terms of the Receiver of Revenue’s requirements and keep them for five years, as you may be audited at any time. Keep your business expenses totally separate from your personal expenses in order to be compliant with the Receiver’s code of conduct. Do not rely entirely on your accountant with regard to tax and VAT issues as, according to the Receiver, the responsible party is the taxpayer. Read as much as possible on tax and VAT matters and get familiar with how to run your office in a compliant manner.
Treat each client with respect and always give them unbiased advice; uphold your ethics even if it means losing the commission. Make sure to communicate your skill to the client through your passion for the project. Always return the client’s calls and keep him updated on the project.
If you have a spouse or partner, team up together to socialise and network with potential clients. Get to know property agents and property developers. Ask colleagues, family and friends to introduce you to potential clients. If you want to be successful, you will need to integrate your social and work life. Architects don’t have a nine-to-five work life.
While you are serving your training with an archi-tectural firm, reach out with enthusiasm to get a project to design entirely on your own, even if it is a small project. Try and show your brand – aim for your project to be listed in an architectural magazine with your name. Let something innovative about the project stand out. Marketing needs to start before you launch your studio.
Get involved in competitions. Be prepared to work long hours. Competition working hours can be twenty hours a day. On larger competitions, try and partner with colleagues and firms whose design is similar to your brand. Enjoy the competition. Believe me, it is not only about the winning; you can learn so much from other designers.
Read newspapers, and municipal and government bulletins for the invitation to be on their respective databases. Submit tenders to these institutions. Don’t be despondent if you don’t get a reply, just keep trying. On immediately viewing larger tenders, be quick to approach a reputable, experienced architectural firm or colleague with a view to submitting a joint-venture bid.

Ask for advice from your senior colleagues about any unknown issues. Get them to discuss their pros and cons and lessons learnt. If in doubt always review the issue with a trustworthy, experienced senior colleague.

Keep aside some free time to do pro bono work for non-governmental organisations or any other needy institutions. It is a great way to market your architectural skill and get exposure in that community.

Keep a photographic library of all your past and present work. Invest in a good camera and get some amateur training in shooting buildings. Make photography a hobby and photograph buildings of interest in your holidays. Choose holiday destinations where you can visit buildings that are masterpieces. The best way of expanding your architectural skill is by visiting buildings designed by great architects. It is very different when you physically experience a building.

Take on any project, however big or small, irrespective of whether you have any planning knowledge of the building that you have been entrusted to design. You have been trained as an architect and you are capable of using your skills through studying precedents and even visiting successful buildings of a similar nature. Show confidence when meeting a client for a potential project and when presenting a project to the client. Listen to your client and don’t directly question their judgement. Rather approach them by presenting their views in contrast with your views and open the design discussion with a cool, soft approach. Embrace your client’s good ideas. Clients with money like to be shown respect.
At all times maintain a one-year cash flow. Payments for projects may materialise only after a very long time. Many projects either get aborted halfway through design stage, or don’t get built after completion of drawings. At times, projects are cancelled for various reasons. These issues can have a dire implication on your cash flow if you do not manage your finances. Give yourself a salary in line with your cash flow. Build up at least two years’ reserve to be comfortable if no projects materialise for a lengthy period. The construction industry is unpredictable and you need to be prepared. Keep away from taking debt if you want to be successful. If you land a lucrative project, do not rush to purchase the top-down car or indulge in spending on luxuries. To be successful in any business, you must have drive and passion, be a people’s person and be prepared to respond 24/7. Once you are very successful, then it does not matter if you spoil yourself a little.

Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.
— warren buffett

It is in your hands- nelson mandala 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
the father of our nation

22/10/2020

author: suren indhul
Previous Chapters posted
Full book - ebook amazon kindle

Chapter 10: Earth Song

What about sunrise?
What about rain?
What about all the things?
— michael jackson, Earth Song

These are some strong questions penned by the late artist. Questions we all need to answer, especially the politicians of the world.
As architects, we need to be sensitive to sustainable green buildings. The question you, the younger generation, should pose – are we on the right path measuring carbon emissions as laid down in terms of the Sustainable Building policy of most countries? Do we need to be followers or leaders? I believe we need to assess, see, learn from others and then be our own leader. The buzzwords today are ‘green’, ‘sustainable’, ‘reduce carbon footprint’. If you follow this, it becomes an accepted fact that you are progressive. Are we really progressive in cutting the carbon footprint or is it merely a record on paper? Is it great to get accolades for being part of the process of saving the world? Is the Sustainable Building policy really, honestly serious in reducing the carbon footprint of buildings? Note the buzzword ‘footprint’ – it will come up later in this chapter.
Economists have recorded global greenhouse gas emissions from 2010 to 2014 as follows: buildings, 6%; agriculture, forestry and other land use, 24%; electricity and heating production, 25%; transportation, 14%; industry, 21%; other energy, 10%.

‘A Climate of War’ – report from Oil Change International �‘Between March 2003 and October 2007 the foreign military in Iraq purchased more than 4 billion gallons of fuel from the Defense Energy Support Centre. Burning these fuels has directly produced nearly 39 million metric tons of CO2. The fuel used for the transportation consumed an equal amount of fuel to the amount that was delivered. If the war were ranked as a country in terms of annual emission, it would emit more CO2 each year than 139 of the world’s nations do. That is equal to more than 60% of all countries on the planet.’

Read the above paragraph, do your own research and be the judge.
The western world is very vocal in reducing carbon emissions for buildings. Some developing countries have followed. Councils have been formed to help cut carbon emissions for building works. Industries producing and manufacturing building material have all sought to have their product graded ‘green’. Seminars on green products are held nearly every week, for a fee, to gain CPD (Continuing Professional Development) points. If we are told a product is green, we tend to be satisfied and inclined to use it, as points are awarded towards a Green Star grading. What if we need not use the product at all, or even a substitution? For some reason, since World War II it has been the norm to use certain materials in buildings, even if they serve no purpose. Do you know that buildings can still function without some of the material which is used as the norm presently, and they will still not lose their integrity? Innovative ideas lead to reduced maintenance and replacement cost in the future. Try and make a list of materials that can be omitted in a simple, standard house without losing functionality and comfort, yet reducing the use of energy. You will be surprised by the growing list of omissions. Design and habit can reduce our carbon footprint without gizmos.

Less is more.
ludwig mies van der rohe

Sustainable building policies of developing countries have cherry-picked rules and codes for points awarded to grade buildings from Sustainable Building policies of the northern and southern hemispheres. Interestingly, these Sustainable Building policies are from the first world countries. Their positions differ with regard to climatic conditions. Of course, the officials are concerned about doing their bit in reducing the carbon footprint, which is a great thing.

Must we be followers or leaders? Do we have a blanket rule to tick boxes or do we assess visually with intelligence, performance, progressive design, innovative ideas and habit?

At present, the Sustainable Building policy in developing countries is the authority in grading a building in terms 4, 5 or 6 stars. If you are approached by a client to design a building with the aim of obtaining a sustain-able rating, you are compelled to follow the code and rules of the applicable Sustainable Building policy of the country concerned which measures deliverables and awards points accordingly. Irrespective of your ques-tioning the methodology used to measure the deliverables in your climatic condition, the rule is the rule and needs to be followed to acquire the rating. The professionals have ‘proven’ that by introducing some of the gizmos at a percentage of the capital cost, greenhouse gases can be reduced and monies paid in excess of the capital cost can be reaped in a short period. Apparently, the lifespan of these gizmos is much longer than anticipated and upkeep is minimal, so the experts say. Unfortunately, no one talks about whether parts for old gizmos will be available in fifteen years, or whether, for reasons of economic gain by industries, replacement of gizmos will be the norm. Thus more gizmos will lead to an increase in mining, leading to an increase in the use of energy, and an increase in the violation of the environment. You get my drift. It is a vicious circle in order to keep the coffers of industries replenished. You be the judge.
Note: irrespective of what my view is, you have a moral obligation to deliver your client’s project in terms of his brief. A Green Star rating attracts A-grade tenants. In the near future, landlords might be able to get a reduction in rates and maybe taxes as well if they have a Green Star rating. We are living in an age of business sense. What we need to do as professionals, as soon as possible, is to make sure that the grading of buildings is formulated in the context of developing countries, in terms of variables that are ethically green. We need to come together as professionals and draw up an ethical code, as innovative thinkers and leaders in the world. We all need to contribute, with the purpose of genuinely reducing the carbon footprint.
Energy-efficient equipment and material should be the norm for any building. However, the various Sustain-ability codes applied to buildings in a certain first world country showed no reduction in energy use relative to other buildings in their largest cities. The city’s media article Some buildings not living up to green label documented the extensive problems with many ‘sustainable’ iconic buildings. Our own questions come back to haunt us. Do waterless urinals really work? What are the health hazards of using rain water, not properly filtered, in flushing toilets? What is the carbon footprint of the stacks of batteries used to store solar energy? Note, we do not have a system at present to put surplus energy back into the grid. Do our landlords have a full-time facility manager to maintain the recycled-water filters and other green gizmos?

What measure of energy is spent in mining the many materials required for the manufacturing of solar panels? What effect does vast mining have on our environment and what about the carbon gases emitted in the manu-facturing process? Solar panels comprise the following materials: silicon dioxides from quartzite gravel, phosphorous, titanium dioxide, metal, silicone rubber, plastic, ethylene, polyester, glass, copper, aluminium and silicon cement. This cycle will go on forever as the panels need replacing every fifteen to sixteen years. Many solar panels are positioned incorrectly by unscrupulous contractors and are not effective. Suburbs in tropical and subtropical areas have high growing trees thus shading the solar panels and making them less efficient.

Are we lowering the greenhouse gases in our buildings to save the planet, or are we creating more industries for monetary gain and thus increasing emissions of green-house gases and destroying the ecological environment?

What is the solution if we as architects want to honestly contribute to reducing the carbon footprints of buildings? Ask the question: what sustainable initiative really works for my building? You are tomorrow’s architects and need to be vocal in your design principles to truly contribute to sustainable building. Don’t let industries and policies bully you into designing your buildings by using gizmos, thereby creating monetary gain for Sustainable Building bodies and industries. You as professionals, including government, municipalities and Sustainable Building bodies, need to come together and draw up a list that will truly contribute to reducing greenhouse gases. Be leaders in the world, not followers, and think out of the box and simplify the conduct and codes. Aim for a sustainable building that has a reduction in capital cost. Yes, it is more than possible – we can reduce capital cost. This idea is not embraced and supported by industries because they will not benefit. Look at any of the Sustainable Building conventions – they look more like supermarkets than conventions. Everyone is selling a green product.

These few ideas are a start. You remember the word ‘footprint’. A simple word like ‘footprint’ can reduce a building’s carbon footprint by fifty per cent. For example, from the fifties to the early eighties an average family of six lived in a three-bedroom house with garaging that was between one hundred and twenty to one hundred and fifty square metres. Today, due to greed and status, the same kind of family house is over five hundred square metres with more than six bathrooms. Even if a communal swimming pool is within walking distance, the family will opt for their own swimming pool.
The minimum size of a bedroom is six square metres in terms of the building regulations, yet the assignable area of a public-sector office may range from twelve, sixteen, twenty-four up to forty square metres depending on the superiority of the occupant. Four square metres is more than ample for a person to carry out his business. His work material, due to the advancement in technology, can sit in the palm of his hand and he can still carry out his business. The workspace can still be designed as a private cubicle as recent studies show workers prefer some sort of privacy. Office blocks, if left to an architect, are able to be designed with a much smaller footprint; unfortunately, assignable spaces are demanded due to superiority of ranking and a showcase of power. On researching it, we found that the size of office buildings can be reduced by approximately thirty-five per cent.
Some researchers have estimated that animal agriculture is responsible for emitting 14% of the world’s greenhouse gases. Just cutting meat consumption will help with global warming. I believe that it is not an option for the well-to-do family of four to live in a seven hundred square metre Green Star house with a ton of batteries in the basement. The Sustainable Building bodies and media portray these people who live in Sustainable Houses or who build Sustainable Offices as the people who are doing their bit to save the planet. What about the vegan family of four who live in a hundred square metre non-Green Rated house?

Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.
— albert einstein

This chapter has demonstrated that with innovative thinking we are able to reduce the carbon emissions of buildings, and the capital cost, just by reducing the footprint of buildings. Stringent rules need to be work-shopped on how best to allocate points for footprint versus occupation and stringent carbon buy-backs, per square metre of additional area, per set norm if so desired. Footprint in relation to population is a very strong tool and, sadly, Sustainable Building policies have taken zero action in this regard.
The next strong word is ‘habit’. This is an age-old tradition. Alas, we opt for gizmos because it circulates money. A change of habit can reduce money and save the environment. This method, namely habit, is tried and tested. I personally tested habit recently when the dam level was sitting at forty per cent. Just by being careful in the use of water and not allowing the tap to run without catching every drop for use, using a single flush in the water closet and collecting the cold water in the shower before the hot water reaches the shower and various other methods to avoid waste, my consumption was reduced by fifty per cent. Habit can be used in a number of ways to reduce electricity consumption. We are aware of the ways but do not use them because energy is cheap. We live in a world controlled by money. A carbon buy-back strategy needs to be imposed on households for water and electrical consumption. Believe me, house-holders’ habits will change, overnight. Above a certain limit of water and electricity use, households must be heavily penalised for every extra unit used and the unit price must increase on a very steep, sliding scale.

Orientation can contribute to passive heating and cooling. If orientation is not possible due to topography and other restrictive site conditions, then apply your design skills to orientate windows and other openings at strategic positions. Incorporate in your design vertical and horizontal planting on west and east elevations as first preference. Screens in timber or aluminium can also be added. Orientation of a building helps with passive design principles and cuts consumption of mechanical use of cooling. Planting of indigenous trees on the west-facing elevation must be the norm.
The Sustainable Building policy needs to encourage and award high points for sustainable design using biomimicry in architecture. The Eastgate Centre in Harare by architect Mike Pearce is a great example of this. We need to learn from nature. Mike Pearce applied principles to control temperature as done by termites in their nest. This principle can be adapted in a simplified form in homes and other buildings.

We cannot deny the high humidity levels suffered in certain climatic positions during peak summer season. Productivity can be low if we do not have air conditioners. My office is situated in a climatic area with high summer humidity levels. Winter months are cool and comfortable. I enter from a partially open-to-air corridor, with fixed glazing at the opposite end, facing a park. The office was built as a closed box, so I relied on the air conditioners. I called in a glazing company to convert the fixed windows above our entrance door to push-out windows similar to the fanlights in the fifties’ buildings. The opposite fixed windows were also converted to push-out windows at strategic positions. The office is semi-open-plan with two-metre-high glazed partitions. The office uses common borrowed lighting at higher ceiling level. At a cost of three hundred dollars we now have fresh air (sucked from the partly open corridor) that travels through the office and expels through the opposite opened windows. The air flows continuously. The air conditioner is only used four months of the year, from mid-November to mid-March. There is sufficient proof that with simple design principles air conditioners are not needed for more than six months of the year. Also, on very bright days we do not switch on the lights as it affects the computer screen.

The only way to lower energy consumption is to apply carbon tax on usage over the expected norm per square metre of a building. Cheap energy causes greenhouse gases in a building. Habit and footprint can reduce green-house gases, not more and more gizmos.
I have discussed some of the simple ways to be energy-efficient but to the Sustainable Building bodies, they base their approval on documents and plans, and neglect to do a physical inspection of the buildings. Let us start talking collectively in order to genuinely save energy. Let us not follow first world countries, as they do not recognise wars as the main culprit destroying the earth. The various architectural bodies need to be the leaders in finding a genuine way of reducing carbon emissions and saving water and energy in the built environment. Industries must not be mandated to join in these discussions as their targets are sales of their respective gizmos. We look to you, the young architect of today, to be progressive in your thinking and come up with tangible and simple ideas for a Greener Future.

Recently we worked on a six thousand five hundred square metre office block; the square metres mentioned exclude two levels of parking. The client called for a 4-star green building. His additional expense was payment for a sustainable building consultant and fees paid to the sustainable building body. The principles applied to the building were exactly the same as those applied to any non-rated buildings. We used the same basic principles for all our past buildings. Our finding was that any responsible architect would apply the same principles to any building. The suppliers of all the material were able to produce the required green certification, as they will not be in business if they cannot.

We are still wondering why our client had to pay fees to green building consultants and the sustainable building body for a 4-star rated building as this can easily be controlled in terms of the building regulations and in terms of municipal plans’ approval. Any greening aspect could be monitored for compliance by the building inspectors during construction, but on-site compliance is not carried out by the sustainable building bodies in most of the countries. This issue is very disturbing. Young architects, you need to stand up and voice your opinion.

The comments I raise are without prejudice to anybody concerned. All comments need to be challenged collectively to truly contribute to reducing carbon gases in future and existing buildings. I hope this chapter opens up a dialogue that results in us becoming leaders rather than followers of first world countries. However, as good citizens, we must be mindful, for now, that the law is the law and we need to abide by the building rules and codes as stipulated. You are compelled to follow the applicable sustainable building codes if you need a Green Star rating.

Be the change you want to see in the world.
— Mahatma Gandhi

01/10/2020

Architects Stepping Dtones - author suren indhul
Complete book - download ebook - Amazon Kindle
See previous post for Chapters 1-8

Chapter 9: The Pimp and the Thief

You must be thinking you are on a roller coaster. Will this looping ride go on forever? What are the qualities of an architect other than being a designer and creator of buildings? You have come this far and I have pitched all the curveball issues. Issues that spell trouble over trouble. Think carefully, get it right the first time and view architecture as a profession of self-satisfaction.

I don't build in order to have clients. I have clients in order to build.
— ayn rand, author of The Fountainhead

Following a recent Soccer World Cup, much has been said in the media about corruption and collusion amongst the top contractors in that country. The Competition Commission found some contractors guilty of collusion and price-fixing, and they were penalised. The aim of anti-competitive legislation is to embed a culture of competitive bidding that will bring down the cost of future projects. Colluding and price-fixing is no better than being a common thief. A person who seeks to get contractors, in a dark office, to submit cover bids, is no better than a common pimp.

The Commission also noted some contractors agreed that whoever won a tender would pay the losing bidder a ‘loser’s fee’ to cover their cost of bidding. Also, the awarding of subcontracts to the losing bidders was used to compensate them. What beats me is that the professionals were not called for questioning as to why the exorbitant bids were not flagged during the bidding process.

I received interesting news while writing this book. Apparently one of the cities is claiming civil damages from the stadium contractors for price-fixing. It will be interesting to follow the outcome of this case.
However, this chapter is not about dishonest contractors but it is about you and the collective professionals you will be working with. Professionals in the built environ-ment are expected to be diligent, trust-worthy, dignified, solution-seekers, skilled in all areas, and exhibiting professional competence and integrity. Most of them are that and more, but for some the rot has set in. A few professionals are acting more like unscrupulous politicians.

This chapter is to alert you to keep away from corrupt and crooked professionals, and expose them. There is no room for this type of vile person in your life as an architect. The rot sets in deeper when professionals wear two hats: they act as watching the purse and they also project lead – double agent. These professionals will pull every trick in the book to win tenders. Double roles are played by using different company names. When you get sucked in with a double agent you can get implicated if you do not speak out. The contractors’ scenario explained earlier gets replayed by using every trick: price control, price-fixing, jobs for pals and cover payouts to recoup the loss on discounted professional fees. The modus operandi is for the double agent to bid at a discounted price as he foresees reaping his fee in full (and more) at the client’s cost, by playing the pimp and thief.

As soon as you learn that products and material specified by you got downgraded by the bully double agent, stand up and expose the culprit. Remember, you are an architect – the creator – you stand for ethics, dignity and passion. The downgrades usually happen after the pricing has taken into account the substitution of specified materials with a cheaper material – unknown to the client. The targeted subcontractor wins hands down as all other subcontractors price the items as per the bill of quantities, while the targeted subcontractor prices the cheaper material.

Only certain crooked subcontractors in the double agent’s clan are invited to tender as they pimp a payout in any form; be it a fancy holiday abroad or any other luxury. The double agent sometimes calls for a closed tender, and you will not know if a tender was slipped in after closing time as he is the judge and jury. The building is your creation – don’t be misled by these unscrupulous double agents. The reality and sad part is that the clients often fall for the sweet taste of cheap professional fees.

That who sold the expensive for no price, bought the cheap with the highest price.
— raja rayshouny

Since professional tenders are based ninety per cent on price, the double agent wins hands down with cover bets. The clients are ignorant while their building contract value gets ballooned due to the rogue professional needing to make up his low professional fee.
An architect who rocks the double agent’s boat gets excluded from the clan and gets replaced with un-scrupulous architects. These architects are cut-and-paste specialists who do well with their businesses but have no conscience.

You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.
— Abraham Lincoln

Keep away from corruption as it is a virus that does not have a vaccine to cure it. The result of the virus is low morale, and no self-satisfaction. Your modus operandi gets whispered about by your colleagues, you lose the respect of your staff, you can’t sleep due to worrying that you might be exposed. Your erratic nature and your drive to earn corrupt wealth will lead to a breakdown at home. Family issues relating to expectation of a certain lifestyle will lead to outbursts. Status fused with unsustainable wealth will keep you away from friends. The day will come when you are exposed as a common criminal and you can lose everything, including your dignity. This can lead to drugs and alcohol. It is a virus – stay away from the diseased individuals. Say no to corruption. Look around and see the effect of the virus on prominent leaders.

I am the master of my fate and the captain of my destiny.
— nelson mandela

Don’t get me wrong. Money is a great thing to have. We all desire to have more, to live comfortably, to have great holidays and be able to spend on luxuries. Never feel guilty of being rich in terms of money. There is nothing wrong, it is not a crime. The question is how you acquired your wealth. If it is by hard, honest, ethical work then you need not be afraid of the virus, you are immune.

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