William has a great feel for space and a refreshing approach to South Florida architecture, but unfortunately he is not an easy person to work with.
Please keep in mind that I do not have extensive experience working with architects, but I do engage with a variety of creative professionals regularly and work as a designer and engineer myself.
I hired William to re-design a 600 sq. ft. covered, outdoor living space at a house in Fort Lauderdale. 3-4 weeks into the design process William abruptly walked away from the project with a one sentence email and mailed my deposit back - there was no communication about grave issues or notice given beforehand - in fact, we had a friendly and positive exchange the Friday before his exit on Monday.
In our only dialogue since, I've gathered a few significant constraints that must be considered when working with William and I thought others should be aware of them.
1. The design process is not collaborative. William asks questions and converts your answers into his design. My ideas and sketches were not welcomed in the process and seemed to contribute to his exit.
2. He does not enjoy working within schedules and doesn't like being asked about them either. I didn't impose a schedule but did ask about progress 4 weeks in.
3. William also does not provide cost estimates or ranges. He bills by the hour so you must trust him to spend time efficiently and ask about costs as you go along.
In general, I would say most of the issues I experienced are centered around poor communication and intolerance. After accepting the responsibility of a project, I believe you should follow through with the agreement unless unsurmountable obstacles arise. In my project, an insurmountable scenario was a client that was providing too much feedback and asking too many questions. In my experience, this is pretty trivial in the realm of chaos that can be the creative process.
An open budget and timeline wasn't enough, and as a client, I also wasn't entitled to an explanation for his exit either - seems pretty one-sided.
I welcome sensitivity, and its one of the reasons I connected with William initially, but sensitivity doesn't mandate intolerance. I hope my experience is unique because I do believe William is very talented, but I do recommend addressing some of these considerations early in your project to avoid lost time.
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