Think planning is a problem, try going into architecture. For a lot of clients, they see this, as they’re one and only chance to vent their creative juices. And trust me, a lot of real estate people, and HR people (who end up making facilities decisions at companies) see you as an architect as just a hired contractor and conveyer of their ideas, at best, or an obstacle to their golden vision of a building, at worst. They will tell you that the market will not support your ideas (there is no market research in to style that I know of) or that the city will eventually cave in and give you that - curb cut, setback, extra story, etc…. because they need this project.
They come in with little out of scale sketches, and odd criteria, some of my favorites -
“I want to see all my employees from my window”
You have 150 employees, unless we go big brother, this can not be done.
“My wife wants to pick the colors”
Hey, its your money, can I tape this conversation for future evidence, uh.. I mean reference.
“I want it to look like this cool adobe building I saw on vacation in New Mexico last year”
That’s find and dandy but lets check our zoning first, and see what kind of parking we need. And adobe is not really part of the vernacular around here, so let’s concentrate on what your “needs” are.
“I want to fit into the community”
Great!
“I shall do this with 12 acres of parking pressed up against and arterial road, and massive signage”
Ah.. Which community are we trying to fit into?
Or the absolute best-
“We can’t let the architect design it! All they do is run up the costs to try to get published in some high-flouting magazine”
Well, you got me there