R ARCHITECTURE’s Client Choice Award for Customer Service
Historically the role of an architect has been laced with a tinge of the heralded virtuoso, the art of architecture taking prominence with the architect clutching onto their solo authorship of a design. Though the temptation of individual expression is only natural and still exists, at R ARCHITECTURE we find genuine dialogue and collaboration to be more rewarding.
A Customer Service Award, the catalyst for closer inspection of an architect’s role
An empathetic approach, unassuming and client-centred, has always been embedded in our design methodology — and now we can be sure it’s appreciated by those who matter most, the clients.
Having recently won a Client Choice Award, taking out Best Architecture Firm in the Built & Natural Environment Consulting Specialists category, R ARCHITECTURE director Gaurav Rajadhyax reflects, “It’s a rewarding feeling and gives us confidence that our approach to practice is right from our client’s point of view.” These awards recognise excellence in professional services across Australia and New Zealand, based on clients’ ratings independently researched by Beaton.
When the architect is no longer the author, but a collaborator, this means cross-disciplined expertise can be leveraged meaningfully. After all, good design isn’t just something that is expensive and visually appealing, it can contribute far more. This civic mindset is reflected in the time we spend conversing with all stakeholders, listening and understanding the value their perspective adds, and how it can be best channeled into the project.
“It’s about providing designs tailored to the project needs rather than being driven by creative ego,” says Gaurav.
Within the team we’re forever learning, disseminating feedback within our practice so that we can consistently deliver valuable projects — it’s in this continual accountability that a project ceases to be viewed simply as an architectural design and becomes an exquisitely tailored home, multi-residential property, education facility, commercial or public space; capable of enduring time while also evolving with the lives of the people that inhabit it.
Despite our broad clientele, we’ve delivered affordable contemporary architecture for over a decade by ensuring we recognise the various sets of expertise that feed into great design outcomes.
Take Humble House. Aptly named for its unobtrusive design, this home has a sloping form that coalesces with the landscape around it, a home where our downsizer clients can enjoy the simple joys of their day-to-day abundantly, without excess.
The trusting relationships we’ve built with clients come not only from our designs but everything else around them: the delivery, communication, fee structure, transparency, and collaboration.
Although today’s practitioners take a more consciously empathetic approach to their work, there is still room to improve. At its core, architecture is a service-based industry, and much insight can be gained from looking across other service-driven sectors. Gaurav says, “Architects can learn a lot from the hospitality field by observing how trust is forged quickly and a client experience made memorable.”