Single-family house ~180m² in the city with a view of a nature reserve

Let's be honest: if the customer-layperson thinks they are on equal footing with the trained professional, then I wouldn't be surprised if the customer can't find a professional to accompany them on the construction project and automatically or inevitably ends up with the draftsman.

The difference between a good and a very good one is then the ability to detach oneself from a "finished" design brought by the client

For architects, no joke is older than the client saying they already brought a 99% finished design. That phrase is nothing more for an architect than an alarm ringing, after which they go on to their daily work fresh.

Such things do exist, but I am gradually getting the impression that they are even rarer than unicorns.

Again, that is one of those myths that the creatively not asleep architects are then artists who can’t properly handle slide rules and don’t like getting construction dust on their shoes.

To which category the respective architect belongs can unfortunately only be found out in the course of the collaboration.

Just recently, a forum member showed me their plans here, and I had the impression that the architects are still very much stuck in the idealization of their professor, who was, however, the same age as them forty years ago, along with his architectural understanding. Even with basically "flawless" architects, the client is never spared from having to wear the pants of knowing what they want themselves and being able to tame the expert.