An Effective Communication in Architecture

Written communication is regarded as a creation of the world's greatest minds, and it is no less significant in architecture. The most crucial aspect of any situation is communication because it is the only channel for expressing ideas and concerns about what needs to be done. The manner of communication between architects and their clients, as well as amongst architects, has a significant impact on architectural transactions. The design and presentation of the information is the most important component of communication in architecture. Oral communication or any type of written material can be used to convey important information between parties in various contexts, such as the business world. In architecture, whether communication is oral or written matters a lot. Despite the fact that communication by word of mouth can serve the purpose of passing information from one individual to another, written communication is the most important form of communication. However, the purpose of the communication is achieved depending on how effectively it has been applied. Effective application of written communication in architecture makes the communication process successful, encouraging exploration and expression of ideas, and contributing to the process of developing mental skills that help in analysis of designs. The paper will talk about effective written communication in architecture. It will particularly focus on how effective communication is achieved through written information, and how written communication is considered a fundamental aspect in architecture.

The success of a building is heavily dependent on the flow of information between people of different backgrounds. Architectural projects brings together people from different educational backgrounds for instance, the clients, the architects, contractors, subcontractors, engineers, and other groups of people with varied skills and educational backgrounds. In most cases, the architecture is the group leader and the successful completion of a project depends on how the architect communicates with the rest of the team members. Since architectural projects bring on board people with different levels of education and dissimilar lines of specialization, the presentation of communication need to fit all people. The passage of ideas from one person to another is only considered effective when it contains the aspects that make it consumable for all concerned groups. Architects are known for applying jargons and complex expressions when they communicate either; verbally or in written form (Raimy and Cairns 73). Architects who write using complicated language and use of byzantine expressions causes communication breakdown because not all concerned people will understand what the person is talking about. Despite the fact that architectural language is characterized mostly by use of drawings, and sketches persons especially clients without architectural backgrounds fail to understand the message if the designs are not explained in written form. Some studies found out that most higher learning institutions that offer knowledge in architecture fail to put more emphasis on the communication skills of the students. The studies were triggered by a finding that majority of the architects are unable to communicate effectively in written form. Most of them are good at designing sketches as well as plans for different construction projects. The communication of the architects only sounded as effective to people with backgrounds in architecture and related fields like civil engineers. The researchers noted that most architectural students were only able to communicate in drawings and sketches. They were unable to effective write down information concerning what they have presented in drawing form. Sometimes it becomes troublesome for other people like suppliers and consultants to understand the ideas behind plans and what it entails. Operative communication is only achieved when the written information can be clearly understood by all concerned groups (Pratt 37).

Successful communication of ideas is the most obvious aspect of effective written communication in architecture. The communication ought to demonstrate clearly the skills of writing. If what architects are supposed to pass information about is normally visual, it is essential to foster the capability of writing well as a way of conveying the line of thinking that reinforce the visual presentation but which are not capable of communication via visual techniques. Effective use of written communication can simplify ideas and turn thoughts that appear complicated to look comprehensible. What matters most is how the information has been simplified with a purpose of making complex information be understandable. Written communication meets the effectiveness threshold if it is able to reveal ideas and issues that may not at first be evident and logical. Such communication makes complex concepts to become relevant, interesting, in addition to being lucid. Written information in architecture encourages the tracking down of clarity in addition to scrutiny of all aspects of a thought; not least to evade vagueness and doubt. Communication need to cultivate an analytic approach to the understanding of designs that used in the present and the past periods. In effect communication through writing need to revolve around the explanation of an idea in details. Multifaceted impressions in architecture can be turned into simple expressions depending on how the architect has explained his or her thinking. The clarity of an idea amounts to operative in print communication. Written message in architecture creates room for referencing of the work or explaining the line of thinking that led to the development of a particular structure or design (Carpo 111). In architecture, it is not possible for architects to come up with design solutions from nowhere. It is truism that architectural designs need careful examination of all sections that constitute a problem when the outcome of the design is not to be gratis and influenced by individual notion. Principles of proper communication in architecture requires that all information provided to support an idea need to be based on the past architectural thoughts that were certified as reliable and applicable. Provision of information without backing it with explanations that are rooted in the well-known architectural concepts fails to meet the starting point for active statement. The effectiveness is also dependent on the probability of citing or connecting the concepts to past architectural works. The connection of the present and the past architectural works is only possible in the written form of communication.

A written message meets its intended purpose when it is specific on what is being addressed. One of the major challenges that discourage the use of written communication in various sectors is the level of ambiguity that is normally present in written messages. Messages recorded in writings need to address a specific issue depending on the purpose of the communication. Focusing on a single matter makes the message to be easily comprehensible by the end recipient. When communication is meant to address several issues, the information ought to be organized in a manner that makes it possible to address one issue at a time. Making messages audience specific also amounts to effective use of written communication. Communication need to put in consideration several factors in regard to the recipient person or group. The aspects should be used to design the message. The personal traits of the person to receive the message must also be considered. When structuring a written communication, some questions like whether the recipient is capable of internalizing long messages (Brown 41). The answer is used to determine the length and the complexity of the message being put across. The language and the choice of words must also be dictated by the person or the people to which the communication is going to. Complex words should not be used in communications that are meant for ordinary suppliers, consultants, contractors, or any other person or persons that are not able to comprehend what is addressed.

The effectiveness of written communication in architecture is also determined by the availability of the message to the concerned people. Efficacy of the message is only realized when it is made readily available for relevant people to make good use of it. Perfectly designed and written information but is not readily available for uses does not qualify to be effective communication. Architectural designs are developed through relying on the past related information that was used in the past. The statement implies that all written communication need to capable of being preserved for references in the future. Written message can be in the form of hard copy or softy copy and all forms must be available for referencing when the need arises. One of the features that make written information to be the most preferred in architecture is its ability to be easily shared among relevant recipients. In most cases, information in architecture is directed to various people and the best way of making effective use of the message is making it available for utilization by all individuals. The ability to share data by distributing it to different individuals boosts the efficacy of written communication. When writing a concept in architecture and there is a possibility that it can be subjected to further changes, there is need to live a room for further changes. Architecture if among the common fields that are undergoing changes with time. The concepts and ideas that were applicable in the past two decades have now undergone several changes and others are not even available for use. Writing architectural ideas need to bear in mind the possibility for future transformations and changes. Leaving a room for future changes increases the usability of the information (Rosenfeld and Morville 66).

Standardization is fundamental in making written communication effective. Standardization is easy in the written communication than in the other forms of communication for example verbal communication. Standardization makes communication between architects easy. The purpose of standardizing written messages is to enhance comprehensiveness in the architectural field. Standardization means application of uniformity through various areas of architecture to create a level playing ground for understanding as well as interpretation of concepts among architects and related professionals. Standardization is realized through establishment of standards to be applied. Certain words are also selected to mean a certain idea and to be used across the field of architecture (Bell and Smith 140).

Communication in architecture is majorly based on written messages. Written communication is done through letters, memos, fax, emails, manuals, and reports. It is the most essential form of communication because information can be stored for future reference (Sivasubramaniam and Lauria 104). The effectiveness of written communication is achieved through; making accessible by all relevant persons, can be shared easily among people, storage for reference in the future, and offering sufficient information in the most effective manner to understand a concept.















Works Cited

Bell, Arthur H, and Dayle M. Smith. Management Communication. Wiley, 2006.

Brown, Stephen A. Communication in the Design Process. Spon P, 2001.

Carpo, Mario. Architecture in the Age of Printing: Orality, Writing, Typography, and Printed Images in the History of Architectural Theory. MIT P, 2001.

Pratt, Deirdre. Modelling Written Communication: A New Systems Approach to Modelling in the Social Sciences. Springer, 2011.

Raimy, Eric, and Charles E. Cairns. Contemporary Views on Architecture and Representations in Phonology. MIT P, 2009.

Rosenfeld, Louis, and Peter Morville. Information Architecture for the World Wide Web. O'Reilly, 2008.

Sivasubramaniam, Anand, and Mario Lauria. Network-based Parallel Computing: Communication, Architecture, and Applications : Third International Workshop, Canpc'99, Orlando, Florida, Usa, January 9th, 1999 : Proceedings. Springer, 1999.