CRITERIA USED BY SINGAPORE DEVELOPERS TO SELECT ARCHITECTS

Abstract

Trends within the architectural profession and the building industry are leading architects to shift away from their traditional roles. These developments impact the client's perception of the architect's services and his responsibilities. The purpose of this dissertation is to determine what selection criteria Singapore developers use when they select an architect for their project. This dissertation begins with a description of the architect's traditional role and responsibilities. Different demands affecting the traditional roles of the architects will be examined, followed by, a review of the potential new roles of architects in the building process. The author examines theories of selection process and reviews the ten different selection criteria suggested in studies by architectural professionals and writers. These criteria form the basis of a survey questionaire which was sent to 65 Singapore developers, of whom 74% responded. From the survey results, the author was able to draw the following major conclusions. (1) Clients prefer to request in—house architectural proposals from either in—house architectural consultants or architectural firms previously pre—qualified by themselves, (2) The three most important criteria for each of four project types, in order of importance, are as follows: Rank Residential Commercial Office Hotel Shopping Mall 1 Design Knowledge Technical Expertise Fees Fees 2 Fees Fees Design Knowledge Design Knowledge 3 Technical Expertise Design Knowledge Technical Expertise Technical Expertise