Articles | SDS Design

Leaky Buildings - Architects and Designers By: , Wednesday 7 April 2010

Some Architects and designers do work for developers who in some cases, build between 100 - 200 houses per year. The developer believes that, with the volume of work they are providing, the rates should be cheap.

Some designers out there complain that if they don't do the work at a cheaper rate, they will lose the work. This is in fact a cop out, where the designer is admitting to being coerced into providing minimal detailed drawings, and often not drawn well. These dwellings only end up in hands of a builder, also chosen by price, usually as cheap as possible, who in the end is making most of the decisions on the project.

As just mentioned, in 1992, technical drawing was removed from High School, and literally replaced with a computer based subject call Graphics. This option was introduced due to the anticipated increase of use of computers, which in the early eighties was entering the drawing industry.

Architectural Design was born from Technical Drawing, whereas Graphics bears absolutely no resemblance, unless you are a sign-writer.

Technical Drawing was a subject where the student, from the age of 13 or thereabouts, was taught how to draw technically, basically anything geometric, using a tee square and set squares and basic compass sets.

The topic created analytical people, which would eventually be an advantage in the building industry if so desired. Sixth form Technical Drawing revolved heavily around Carpentry, where a very well known publication called "Timber Framed Construction" by R.J. Wilson, was used as a textbook.

Houses are Geometric Shapes, and so are the roofs that cover them. Good design begins with an appreciation of how the building can and will be constructed. This usually begins with building experience and good training. Prior to 1992, draughts people usually did what was called a cadetship, usually with a background of technical drawing.

Today we have an industry where Draughting is not taught, resulting in Cad Operators - Cad being "Computer Aided Design" - coming out of a Technical Institute, either not knowing how to draw or not knowing what to draw. There are University Graduates out there who, are practising, without any or little experience, and are offering building advice, and you can only imagine the implications if these people take on a trainee.

There used to be a course called NZ Certificate in Architectural Draughting. This required 3 years work experience before the Certificate would be issued. This is now gone, and has been replaced with a Dip. in Architectural Technology, where no work experience is required. Some of these people are now self employed and doing commercial Draughting.

Drawings for a Building Consent, are in fact instructions on "how to build the house". Obviously it is imperative that this person is experienced with building construction. Where there is lack of experience, the result is minimum detail, ending in costly overruns or variations where the details could not be factored into the budget, as they weren't there to quote on.

Bad detailing inevitably results in leaking buildings. While the High School option of graphics prepares the student for the computer generation, it does little or nothing to give the pupil Draughting appreciation, and how to create leak proof detailing.

This leads to Mediterranean style homes, with eaveless details, and plastering systems that can't breathe or ventilate. To consider these types of designs is a lack of experience and understanding of good detailing. Often these projects have construction problems also that need to be resolved during the building process, usually at the owners expense. As it rains approx 50% of the time in NZ the question has to be asked of the designer, why they would consider this type of detailing or if the client requests these details, then the designer has a professional obligation to inform the client of their pitfalls and discuss alternatives. This of course relies heavily again on a designers experience or if financially connected to the project, - their integrity.

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