ServiceMagic Architects & Engineers

Structural engineers are highly trained professionals who can efficiently and effectively provide the public and individual homeowners with sound design by using the most modern of architectural principles. Often times, structural engineers are not simply people sitting at a drafting table making blueprints, but also scientists who analyze the laws of physics and building materials in relation to the structure being constructed in order to develop state of art innovations for safety and design. Though this sounds intimidating, structural engineers and architects are used on almost every home to ensure reliable construction and assembly.

practice and specializations

Recent decades have seen the rise of specializations within the profession. Many architects and architectural firms focus on certain project types (for example health care, retail, public housing, etc.), technological expertise or project delivery methods. Some architects specialize as building code, building envelope, sustainable design, historic preservation, accessibility and other forms of specialist consultants.

Many architects elect to move into real estate (property) development, corporate facilities planning, project management, construction management, interior design and other specialized roles.

Design role & Construction role

• Architects deal with local and federal jurisdictions about regulations and building codes. The architect might need to comply with local planning and zoning laws, such as required setbacks, height limitations, parking requirements, transparency requirements (windows), and land use. Some establish

  ed jurisdictions, require adherence to design and historic preservation guidelines.

Architects prepare the technical documents (construction drawings and spe

cifications) filed for obtaining permits (development and building permits) that require compliance with building, seismic, and relevant federal and local regulations. Said construction drawin

gs and specificatio

ns are used for pricing the work and in the construction.

• Architects typically put projects to tender on behalf of their clients, advise on the award of the project to a general contractor, and review the progress of the work during construction. They typically review subcontractor shop drawings, prepare and issue site instructions, and provide construction contract administration (see also Design-bid-build). In many jurisdictions, mandatory certification or assurance of the work is required.

Depending on the client's needs and the jurisdiction's requirements, the spectrum of the architect's services may be extensive (detailed document preparation and construction review) or less inclusive (such as allowing a contractor to exercise considerable design-build functions). With very large, complex projects, an independent construction manager is sometimes hired to assist in design and to manage construction. In the United Kingdom and other countries, a quantity surveyor is often part of the team to provide cost consulting.

Architect

An architect is trained and licenced in planning and designing buildings, and participates in supervising the construction of a building. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, itself derived from the Greek arkhitekton (arkhi, chief + tekton, builder), i.e. chief builder. ^[1] A looser usage of Architect is: the translator of the building user's requirements of and from a building into an inhabitable environment. Moreover, the words architect and architecture are used in the disciplines of engineering, e.g computer software architect; however, in some of the world's jurisdictions, the professional and commercial uses of these etymologic variants, are legally protected from such loose denotations.

Professionally, an architect's decisions affect public safety, thus must undergo specialized training and education, and a practicum for practical experience in order to qualify for and earn a licence to practice architecture; the practical, technical, and academic requirements for being a licenced architect.

An architect must understand the building and operational codes to which the design must conform, to not omit any requirement, produce improper, conflicting, ambiguous, or confusing requirements. Architects must understand the construction methods available to the builder in constructing the client's building and structures, in order to negotiate with the client in producing the best possible building via a compromise between the desired results with the actual costs and construction schedule limits.

What constitutes a desired-result varies among architects, as the architectural design values underlying modern architecture differ among schools of thought. ^[2]

Architecture is a business, wherein, technical knowledge, management, and an understanding of business are as important as design. An architect accepts a commission from a client. The commission might involve preparing feasibility reports, building audits, the design of a building or of several buildings, structures, and the spaces among them. The architect participates in developing the requirements the client wants in the building. Throughout the project (planning to occupancy), the architect co-ordinates a design team. Structural, mechanical, and electrical engineers and other specialists, are hired by the client and the architect, who must ensure that the work is co-ordinated to construct the design.

Work time is a standard work week, but, when working to deadline, the architect works as needed. Architects are office-based professionals, but the work includes visiting clients and job sites.

best place for real state buyers

Washington, D.C., traditionally takes a back seat to world cities like London, New York and Tokyo when it comes to real estate investment. That's likely to change.

Thanks to a proposed US$1-trillion wave of government spending, investors are flocking to D.C. for opportunities in the commercial and residential real estate markets. All these new programs will need offices, after all, and their employees will need places to live.

In Depth: World's Best Places For Real Estate Buys

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In Depth: Home Buyer's Paradise

In Depth: World's Next Great Cities

This year, Washington leapfrogged London for the first-place ranking in the world's best cities for real estate investment. But don't count out the world's financial capitals just yet -- even with massive financial troubles in London and New York, those cities finished second and third, respectively.

Why? It's the appeal of long-term stability, and fears that emerging countries are going to take a harder hit. While the U.S. property market sputters, China is poised for its worst deflation in a decade, focused heavily on property price declines, according to Deutsche Bank.

"For the U.S. and U.K., part of it is flying back to safety," says François Ortalo-Magne, a real estate professor at the Wisconsin School of Business. " For China and India, there's a sense that we went there and tried it, but it wasn't producing."

Forbes' rankings come from the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate, a research association that tracks where member investors are finding the best opportunities around the world. AFIRE surveys its 200 members, who collectively hold US$700-billion in cross-border real estate.

U.S. cities surged up this year's list: San Francisco moved to sixth from 24th last year; Los Angeles moved to seventh from 19th; Houston moved to eigth from 32nd. Cities in the Asia Pacific region dropped: Sydney fell to 11th from ninth; Hong Kong dropped to 22nd from 10th place.

This year, investors know that valuations can't be trusted. In 2008, the American residential market fell 19%, according to the Case-Shiller index; U.K. prices dropped 16% according to Nationwide, a U.K. builder. Commercial values in both countries have started to soften due to recessions on either side of the pond.

In 2008, investors tried to call the bottom and gambled in emerging markets. This year, they're looking at premium locations in cities with proven track records.

"We don't feel comfortable that we are able to identify what value is," says Richard Kessler, chief operating officer of Benenson Capital Partners, a global real estate investment group. "Having said that, if an opportunity exists on Park and 57th Street, or something we've always wanted to own on Pennsylvania Avenue in D.C., or some other very strategic long-term asset, we would look at it."

That makes 2009 the year of playing it safe and not chasing exotic opportunities in far-flung locations. It's even injected a sense of humility into the investing world.

"There used to be a rivalry between New York and London," says Kenneth Patton, divisional dean of the New York University Schack Institute of Real Estate. "The subject has shifted to the fact that we're both in the same lifeboat, and maybe it's leaking."

While some investors play it safe, others are content to wait out the real estate downturn entirely.

"Most of the [usual] participants are sitting on the sidelines," says Mr. Kessler. "There's a lot of capital, but everyone is uncomfortable about deploying that capital."

For their part, the optimists think 2009 might be the year that sideline money starts to come back into the marketplace -- and, especially for the cities on this list, it will come back in a flood, not a trickle.

"There's a lot of money that needs to be invested," says François Ortalo-Magne. "The instant people feel an inkling of a turnaround, money is going to flow in."