Commissions to design public buildings often go through a tendering process. This system is bad for the architecture sector, particularly for those graduating and young architects. This should and must change, says Nima Morkoç, founder of the HA-HA Design & Development architect firm.
TU Delft alumnus and architect Nima Morkoç runs his own design studio HA-HA design in Rotterdam. (Photo: Jaden Accord)
By Nima Morkoç
Research by R. Uytenhaak (2015) shows that an average architect firm has to take part in a tender 24 times to make the final selection four times and win just once. In 2022, the cost of joining a procurement process and competition was about EUR 35,000, while the average value of the commission was between EUR 128,000 and EUR 164,000 (BNA, 2023). This is very time-consuming, both for the people wishing to win the commission and for those needing to assess the plans. The upshot is that from a financial perspective, every tender negatively impacts the architecture sector as a whole and is simply not effective. Couldn’t this be done better?
An often-heard complaint is that public sector clients select architects according to previous work references. Architecture firms feel the need to always apply for particular projects, such as designing a school, so that they can continue doing these kinds of projects in the future. And they are clearly willing to put their all into the process as they often sign up and submit a far too low-price estimation. They rarely charge the full procurement process cost. The firm can then only keep its head above water if it hires cheap labour.
‘Young architects need part-time jobs as bike couriers’
This is why some of the top firms run advertisements for ‘talented interns and traineeships’ (‘bring your own laptop’) for tenders. It is shocking to hear that the interns and trainees have to work on the side – while they are employed by large firms – as bicycle couriers as their salaries are so low despite graduating from reputable universities like TU Delft. And then, after working in a badly paid job for three to six months, they have to leave. For decades now, the Brancheorganisatie Nederlandse Architecten (association of Dutch architects, BNA) and large firms have put little effort into changing this situation.
The principle of the Public Procurement Act is that every participant has an equal chance, but in practice, the Act hinders opportunities for young architects. Clients repeatedly award their projects to the same firms. This means that those firms keep afloat longer than used to be the case. In the past, the wave of new architects entering the profession brought innovation, for which architecture in the Netherlands was well known.
‘Any hours worked should be paid’
At present, the most valuable assets of designers – their knowledge and creativity – are offered for free in competitions and tenders. But it is just these, their intangible and hard to conceive ideas, that is the main part of their work! Payment should be due as soon as the thinking cap is put on and time is spent. Firms that do not understand this principle and continue their bad practice could, even if they are in the minority, cause a significant amount of damage.
Is the sector that immature that its architect firms need a certificate of good practice? The bill for incompetency should not always lie at the door of the unpaid work of the youngest and most vulnerable layers in the hierarchy. The firms that now pledge to improve their work culture must recognise that their growth is largely thanks to the many cheap employees and a mountain of unpaid work.
The need is pressing to look less at dividing up the cake in the architecture sector and look more at sharing equal sized slices across the whole sector. Are there ways to do this differently?
- It is imperative to strongly anchor the title of architect in the law so that only architects are authorised to apply for permits.
- Clients need to look more closely at the experience of individual designers instead of at that of the whole firm.
- The Flemish procurement procedure works differently. It uses ‘Open Invitations’ and the architect selection process is carried out by a master builder or state master builder at the request of municipalities. This makes the process more fair. We need to be watchful that the ultimate goal is that the joint time investment is reduced.
- Firms will need to focus more on their specialisms, as is done in the legal and medical fields. This would allow you to build on your expertise and charge the right fee.
At the moment, the entire construction industry is affected by the procurement practices. This not only has knock-on effects on the innovative environment in Dutch architecture, but also on the international reputation of architecture in the Netherlands. Before we create another 20 designs for the next public building, let’s first create a design for a new work culture.
- Website HA-HA design
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