Anyone know these architects?

[LongIslandEddie]

Originally Posted by OhBeeHave

Best of luck with the new home and the build

GC explains why I am unfamiliar -- we are in Suffolk and my archs are in Huntington, St James and Stony Brook.

As iluv pointed out, you want to be sure of who is actually drawing up your plans. You don't want to be paying a top man's rates only to have your drawings rendered by a draftsman.

The vocation of Draftsman is a skilled and noble profession and although most draftsmen do not possess a license to practice architecture, to believe that their competency
does not equal that of an architect is really not a fair assumption. Classically, architects depend upon draftsmen to convey their ideas, as set down in executed building plans
or blueprints. Quite (most) often, the architect will draw rough sketches as he (or she), sets about conceiving and creating a design. These rough sketches are then turned over
to the draftsman and in turn, the plans are created in a language that can be easily followed by bidders and contractors, builders and vendors who execute the work and bring the
architect's project to completion and hopefully, to client's expected outcome. The architectural field has suffered greatly and because it is directly connected to the construction
industry, when the industry stops building, architects feel the full effect. The accomplished draftsman today is well versed in CAD (computer aided design), works to industry standards
and undertakes a considerable chore in delineating the architects ideas and wishes while working under the direct supervision of the licensed architect, the architect reviews the work
and ultimately seals the plans in accordance with the requirements set forth by the various governing agencies, municipalities and oversees compliance with all local, state and national
building codes.

It is of little concern or consequence that someone other than the architect himself has prepared or set down the many lines and notes which comprise the completed set of building plans,
it is the licensed architect who will ultimately certify that the plans conform to required standards. In an apropos analogy, it may be a licensed practioner (doctor) who draws your blood but
this doctor (more than likely), sends that blood to a laboratory for analysis where it is screened and tested by a lab technician who does their thing and thus, the process is complete.
A simpler conveyance of this point might also be made in this way: If I go into a delicatessen and order potato salad, it should be of little consequence that I gain the assurance that the salad
was prepared by the delicatessen owner himself but more so, that it has been prepared in accordance with the standards set forth by those agencies who're responsible for safeguarding my health.
If I find that I like the salad, chances are that next time I feel a hunger for that salad, I'll return to the owner and buy it again and the question of just who prepared the salad really won't matter to me.

[OhBeeHave]

Were you a draftsman? And if so, why not invest the extra time and become an architect?

To sum up what you've written in a modicum of words:
The draftsman doesn't have the headaches or the liability of the architect; s/he is following the architect's design and vision. The architect puts his neck on the block if the draftsman makes an error.

How many years of school does a draftsman need (i.e. what type of degree or license)as opposed to an architect?

And I stand beside what I had written previously -- you want to know who is drawing up your plans. If you're paying for filet mignon, you don't want chuck.

[LongIslandEddie]

Originally Posted by OhBeeHave

Were you a draftsman? And if so, why not invest the extra time and become an architect?

To sum up what you've written in a modicum of words:
The draftsman doesn't have the headaches or the liability of the architect; s/he is following the architect's design and vision.
The draftsman does not get the money that the architect gets for being the boss, the one who has the license and the right to practice. It is very much like the boss/worker relationship is maintained today, boss gets the money, worker does the work. Timeless eh?

The architect puts his neck on the block if the draftsman makes an error.

Any architect who sets his seal upon a set of drawings, yet has not made a careful review of that set of plans,
deserves to have his license taken away. It is public safety that hangs within that liability.

How many years of school does a draftsman need (i.e. what type of degree or license)as opposed to an architect?

The electronic draftsman of this day does not require licensing but must have a certification as a CAD draftsman, one who is familiar with
the software that will allow him to create the images that comprise a typical drawing or package of drawings. His ability to create the work
that he is paid to do most largely depends on two very important things, firstly, to know how to use the software and secondarily, a bit of
understanding about that particular industry that he is working in.

And I stand beside what I had written previously -- you want to know who is drawing up your plans. If you're paying for filet mignon, you don't want chuck.

I'm happy for you and your stance, the position that you maintain respective to the importance of seeing whatever one might expect to see when looking for
the draftsman's credentials. If you want to ensure that your steak is truly Filet Mignon, next time you order it, hang out in the kitchen.

Yes, I was and I am still, a Draftsman. I work in Autocad, a powerful program used by today's accomplished draftsman to compose blueprints.

Thank you for condensing my diatribe into a more interesting post and as a fact, I am aware of the nature of the people who need comments like mine,
a mere exercise in retaining my sanity. If you have followed my emergence here at C-D, you might've understood that I am of the class of people who
join forums as these, just for the sake of enjoying a measure of interplay with his fellow man. It is in and with that spirit I am here. I try my best not to
offend others, playing by the TOS and choosing my words but I do have the ability to "get a handle" on the attitudes of others here. I also believe in
passing along knowledge, in this case, draftsmen. I sought not to infer that you had less knowledge about the relationship between the Architect and the
Draftsman, I concerned myself with posting a comment that would clarify (to some degree), that relationship. Could've I made my comment shorter, more
concise? Yep. I could have saved myself a bit of time and flitted off to some other thread, dropped a few one-liners, picked apart someones comment or,
done almost anything else but harmlessly entertain myself, express my feelings and do all of this in the hope that my intention would not be misunderstood.

Thank you for your thoughtful understanding and for helping me entertain myself today.

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by OhBeeHave
Were you a draftsman? And if so, why not invest the extra time and become an architect?

To sum up what you've written in a modicum of words:
The draftsman doesn't have the headaches or the liability of the architect; s/he is following the architect's design and vision.
The draftsman does not get the money that the architect gets for being the boss, the one who has the license and the right to practice. It is very much like the boss/worker relationship is maintained today, boss gets the money, worker does the work. Timeless eh?
And the draftsman does not get the money the architect does because
he does not have the level of education that the architect has. How many years of college does the draftsman have? Any grad school?

In many cases the boss was once the worker. Draftsman can further their career by advancing their education, should they decide to. Oftentimes employees look at where the boss is and what he has without looking where he came from first.

The architect puts his neck on the block if the draftsman makes an error.

Any architect who sets his seal upon a set of drawings, yet has not made a careful review of that set of plans,
deserves to have his license taken away. It is public safety that hangs within that liability.

Figure of speech. Ultimately who is liable for the end product? The architect. A talented draftsman can certainly produce a fine rendition of his employer's vision, as you've indicated the architect sets his seal on the drawings. Yes, if he's a dolt and lets it slip passed, he deserves any penalties.

How many years of school does a draftsman need (i.e. what type of degree or license)as opposed to an architect?

The electronic draftsman of this day does not require licensing but must have a certification as a CAD draftsman, one who is familiar with
the software that will allow him to create the images that comprise a typical drawing or package of drawings. His ability to create the work
that he is paid to do most largely depends on two very important things, firstly, to know how to use the software and secondarily, a bit of
understanding about that particular industry that he is working in.

No license required, a certification though. Can this be done without attending a college? Can it be done through a technical school? Or do you have to attend a school like MIT, Pratt, Cooper Union, etc?

Originally Posted by LongIslandEddie

Yes, I was and I am still, a Draftsman. I work in Autocad, a powerful program used by today's accomplished draftsman to compose blueprints.

Thank you for condensing my diatribe into a more interesting post and as a fact, I am aware of the nature of the people who need comments like mine,
a mere exercise in retaining my sanity. If you have followed my emergence here at C-D, you might've understood that I am of the class of people who
join forums as these, just for the sake of enjoying a measure of interplay with his fellow man. It is in and with that spirit I am here. I try my best not to
offend others, playing by the TOS and choosing my words but I do have the ability to "get a handle" on the attitudes of others here. I also believe in
passing along knowledge, in this case, draftsmen. I sought not to infer that you had less knowledge about the relationship between the Architect and the
Draftsman, I concerned myself with posting a comment that would clarify (to some degree), that relationship. Could've I made my comment shorter, more
concise? Yep. I could have saved myself a bit of time and flitted off to some other thread, dropped a few one-liners, picked apart someones comment or,
done almost anything else but harmlessly entertain myself, express my feelings and do all of this in the hope that my intention would not be misunderstood.

Thank you for your thoughtful understanding and for helping me entertain myself today.

Always happy to be of service . Seriously, though, I really do hope all turns out well as I did read in another thread that you're in the job market.

Yes, it's good that you help others understand the difference between the draftsman and the architect. My point in that ancient post was to make sure they were dealing with someone who was on the level and would be honest in their dealings, charging them appropriately if the draftsman did the bulk of the work.

In all fairness, you did notice that this thread was necromanced, and the post you responded to in great detail was over 2 years old, right?

[LongIslandEddie]

Originally Posted by OhBeeHave

Always happy to be of service . Seriously, though, I really do hope all turns out well as I did read in another thread that you're in the job market.

Yes, it's good that you help others understand the difference between the draftsman and the architect. My point in that ancient post was to make sure they were dealing with someone who was on the level and would be honest in their dealings, charging them appropriately if the draftsman did the bulk of the work.

In all fairness, you did notice that this thread was necromanced, and the post you responded to in great detail was over 2 years old, right?

Hello OHBEEHAVE-

Quite naively, I really didn't take notice of your post above when I stopped at this thread. I was caught up in the string of posts which may have been posted
over two years ago but still showed signs of life as recent as 07-02-10. Sometimes, I step into a comment, unaware and unconcerned with time and space,
unwilling to set my parameters solely upon that basis and often enter a comment with the notion that I might be able to pass along some useful information on
a subject that stimulates me if not, incites me to respond.

Were it not for your recent comment (above), I might've passed right over this thread in the beginning but I saw an element in relevance and thus, posted my thoughts.
I am certainly not looking to "bump heads" with you nor to upstage you and I found no thunder to steal but having made my living for so many years as a draftsman,
I felt it might be somewhat helpful if I added my own 2 cents. Your allusion to "fairness" and your mention of a necromanced thread is (and was) of no concern to me
because I am (and always have been), a believer in the concept that information and knowledge are in many ways, timeless.

Thank you for taking the time to respond to me, I respect your efforts at clarifying those issues which may yet affect others who research the subject at hand.
Please forgive me if I have offended you in any manner and as mentioned before, I participate here at C-D because it serves as mental calisthenics which are
so necessary to staving off that day when they cart me off to the lunatic asylum.