Hello €uro,
Especially in this area, the HOAI is a relic of past times (protection of vested interests) and clearly in need of reform! In other countries there is no HOAI, yet architects sometimes earn more than in Germany
Dear forum colleague – there are days when I wonder if you are "coincidentally" involved with the thread’s subject matter and are very annoyed about it or just want to stir me up a bit
The HOAI is not a “protection of vested interests” – it is, besides a few other things, something that guarantees us all a reliable and thus calculable figure. And with this reliability, it also provides the basis for possibly necessary claims for damages. By the way, I care little to not at all whether architects elsewhere earn more or less, because I know that elsewhere it is also much more difficult to hold an architect accountable for their rubbish – if they even deliver it.
Architects usually employ – at least the good ones among them – a whole stable of staff who want to see their salary on their account punctually every month. In addition, architects are prohibited from advertising their business. Yet they must constantly be up to date with technology, continuously buy new programs, printers, plotters, etc. The latest “gag” is the much-loved 3D visualization for the end customer – all this costs money and not a little.
I know that you are very engaged in your technical building equipment planning and I also know that in terms of invoicing, you are far below what your “colleagues” demand for their work. The question is, how long can you keep that up? So far you will at most – if at all – have to cover the costs for an office and yourself. If your order volume steadily grows – which I sincerely wish you – you will be forced to hire staff and thus your cost apparatus will implicitly approach the “normal” amounts that are demanded (must be demanded) in your industry for technical building equipment planning. What if then a “new” Euro underbids your prices?
Anyone who believes that architectural services are billed according to HOAI by a supraregional GU/GÜ is dreaming a wonderful dream
That is not Stefanoi’s topic and is a completely different matter. These architects are either permanently employed or work – similar to retired tax consultants – with a draftsman who develops the floor plans and the architect only has to put his signature underneath.
I can’t even describe how much this “stinginess is cool” mentality gets on my nerves! First want to pay (almost) nothing at the front and then complain when “only” the actual value of (almost) nothing is ready to move in; if at all. I would like to see these users when their employer tells them that their work on the job is overpriced ... oh silly me – now I remember again, I experience that every year, for example, when public transport is once again completely down and the probable right to a pay raise is fought out on the backs of those who earn the wages ...
Just my two Coins ...