The Architect's Handbook of Professional Practice, 13th Ed. [Hardcover]

The American Institute of Architects (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471419699 | ISBN-13: 978-0471419693 | Publication Date: August 15, 2001 | Edition: 13th

"The Architect's Handbook of Professional Practice has been a definitive guide to architectural practice for almost a century. Now the Thirteenth Edition brings that experience to the cutting edge of the profession-with vital information to help architects manage the change from product-based practices to those that are knowledge-based and service-oriented.

For today's firms, best practice means putting the client first-and the new Handbook helps architects deliver. It begins with a brand-new section devoted to understanding client motivation, thinking, processes, and values and to forging stronger client-architect relationships.

Subsequent sections on business, delivery, and services offer a wealth of crucial "redefinition" knowledge and tools for designing, building, and maintaining a successful practice-from business planning and project management to the development of expanded, added-value services. Also included are samples of the AIA contract documents (more than 75 in all), now accessible electronically onCD-ROM.

Compiled by a team of experts from architecture as well as law, business, and other professions, the thirteenth edition of The Architect's Handbook of Professional Practice remains an authoritative reference for high-quality professional practice. In a convenient book/CD-ROM format, the Handbook offers architects the information they need to meet the changing demands of the marketplace with insight and confidence."

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Our office would not function without at least one copy of The Architect's Handbook. It is an essential resource for our younger designers as well as those of us who have been around a long time." (Susan Maxman, FAIA Susan Maxman & Partners, Architects)

"We find the handbook to be a valuable resource, especially for our younger architects. Since most of our projects are based on the AIA Documents, the handbook serves as the glue that ties all of the loose ends together. We would have a hard time running our office without it." (J. Mark Schmidt AIA CSI CCS Senior Architect Herbert Lewis Kruse Blunck Architecture)

"In today's business world, architects are encountering more demanding clients and competitors from both within and outside the world of architectural profession. To help architects deal with these challenges, the thirteenth edition of The Architect's Handbook of Professional Practice departs from the viewpoint of earlier editions. It does so by redefining its audience, its content, and-at times-even the fundamental concept of the Handbook itself.
This Thirteenth Edition of the Handbook is written for journeymen architects seeking to introduce new services into their firms, to gain information about clients (including who they are and what motivates them), and to obtain information about best business practices. As a result, the organization of the Handbook has changed from an introspective "architect-firm project" view to a more embracing "client-business-delivery-services" orientation." (from "Practice in Transition", Architect's Handbook of Professional Practice 13e Robin M. Ellerthorpe, FAIA)

"Compiled by a team of experts from architecture, as well as Law, Business, and other professions, the Architect's Handbook of Professional Practice, Thirteenth Edition, provides a picture of architecture practice today by describing its varied components within a comprehensible and coherent framework. Its content and message will help architects refine or redefine their existing practices and build new ones to meet the demands and capture the opportunities of the emerging knowledge-based economy." (Architecture West, Jan/Feb 02)

From the Back Cover

REDEFINING THE PRACTICE OF ARCHITECTURE

CLIENT ? BUSINESS ? DELIVERY ? SERVICES

The Architect's Handbook of Professional Practice has been a definitive guide to architectural practice for almost a century. Now the Thirteenth Edition brings that experience to the cutting edge of the profession-with vital information to help architects manage the change from product-based practices to those that are knowledge-based and service-oriented.

For today's firms, best practice means putting the client first-and the new Handbook helps architects deliver. It begins with a brand-new section devoted to understanding client motivation, thinking, processes, and values, and to forging stronger client-architect relationships.

Subsequent sections on business, delivery, and services offer a wealth of crucial "redefinition" knowledge and tools for designing, building, and maintaining a successful practice-from business planning and project management to the development of expanded, added-value services. Also included are samples of the AIA contract documents (more than 75 in all), now accessible electronically on CD-ROM.

Compiled by a team of experts from architecture as well as law, business, and other professions, the Thirteenth Edition of The Architect's Handbook of Professional Practice remains an authoritative reference for high-quality professional practice. In a convenient book/CD-ROM format, the Handbook offers architects the information they need to meet the changing demands of the marketplace with insight and confidence.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 988 pages
• Publisher: Wiley & Sons, Inc.; 13th edition (August 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471419699
• ISBN-13: 978-0471419693
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.6 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #582,962 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars WILDLY uneven., August 26, 2004

By 

A. McDonald (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Architect's Handbook of Professional Practice, 13th Ed. (Hardcover)

This book is an impressive accomplishment, admittedly. It is a vast amount of information, very thorough, complete, and seems to cover every aspect of professional practice for an architect. I have other editions of this book back to the 1958 copy, and they are fairly extraordinary records of the changes in the profession.

The failures of this book are to some extent caused by its subject matter. Architectural practice has changed in the last decade for some firms, and this book admirably tries to reflect and analyze that change -- although this probably holds true for a very small number of firms. If you're a partner at Skidmore Owings and Merrill and trying to broadly envision where practice is heading, hey this book is perfect for you. But I imagine many firms are not going to have that much use for re-examining the nature of the "client" or "project," a lot of this material would be better served by smaller (cheaper) specialized books.

It's an ambitious goal to attempt a comprehensive overview of architectural practice but its editing doesn't rise to the occasion. In between interesting insights and clear explanations of practice topics you really can't find elsewhere, you find some seriously clunky essays and information that is comically useless.

For example, consider this gem in an essay on architecture and the web: "Email is a personal, direct connection to the Internet. You can send messages, attach drawings, and communicate instantly across the globe with a few clicks of the mouse. Email is much like regular mail. You send mail to particular addresses, and they write to you at yours..." Okay, this for a book published in 2001. Not 1981, but 2001. Are they also going to explain what a telephone thingy is on my desk, or what I'm supposed to do with this fax machine here? It might have been useful to have a page about email's legal status, or how a firm should set policies about email, but what we've got here is a page long description for someone who's been living under a rock and has no idea what email actually IS. Although this is simply one minor example, it is the kind of thing that makes this book wildly uneven and screaming for a competent editor. For the price of this book I think we deserve more.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth It!, December 10, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Architect's Handbook of Professional Practice, 13th Ed. (Hardcover)

In addition to the all-new format (thankfully no more binders!), this book really does cover EVERYTHING an architect needs to know to run a business-- from working with clients to developing added-value services-- all in one book. I especially appreciate the new section devoted to understanding client motivation, thinking, processes, and values and the new section summarizing services I can offer to expand my client base. This is definitely the book that every architect needs to keep close at hand!

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This book is the 2005 Update and not a Full Architects Handbook - Make sure this is what you want before you buy it, January 13, 2010

By 

CSP_AKP_MOM - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Architect's Handbook of Professional Practice Update 2005 (Architect's Handbook of Professional Practice Update (W/CD)) (Hardcover)

I was very disappointed. The product description and reviews referenced the full book - the 13th edition but the book sent to me was just the 2005 update (which I admit was indicated in the title). It was not clear to me at the time that the 2005 update was not the full 13th edition referenced in the description and glowing reviews. Please make sure you actually want the 2005 update if you are purchasing this book. Having the year 2005 update was of no use to me; I wanted a full Architect's Handbook. Knowing this before the purchase will help both you and the seller. The book came to me with a note from a previous purchaser indicating he was returning it due to it being just an update as well. So at least one other person besides myself has made this mistake. Hopefully I will save someone else from this issue.