If architects had to work like programmers.
Dear Mr. Architect:
Please design and build me a house. I am not quite sure of what I need, so you should use your discretion.
My house should have between two and forty-five bedrooms. Just make sure the plans are such that the bedrooms can be easily added or deleted. When you bring the blueprints to me, I will make the final decision of what I want. Also, bring me the cost breakdowns for each configuration so that I can arbitrarily pick one at a later time.
…
You must be thrilled to be working on as an interesting project as this! To be able to use the latest techniques and materials and to be given such freedom in your designs is something that can’t happen very often. Contact me as soon as possible with your ideas and completed plans.
PS: My wife has just told me that she disagrees with many of the instructions I’ve given you in this letter. As architect, it is your responsibility to resolve these differences. I have tried in the past and have been unable to accomplish this. If you can’t handle this responsibility, I will have to find another architect.
PPS: Perhaps what I need is not a house at all, but a travel trailer. Please advise me as soon as possible if this is the case.
[Source]
I know well this particular frustration. This is the result of a recent project I did …
Dear Ms Architect,
Thank you for your hard work on designing and building our new house. I realize that you were given an impossible deadline, and you put aside other important work to get this done (like looking for a real job, and studying for a midterm exam), and that I was not very specific in what I wanted this house to look like. It really is a very lovely house and you are a very talented designer. However, what I really wanted was new furniture.
Love,
The (ex) Client
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