# In case anyone misses it - the RIAI Simon Open Door Initiative is on 7/8th May.



## Sue Ellen (26 Apr 2011)

Simon Open Door is a simple yet fantastic scheme. It benefits both the  Simon Communities of Ireland and members of the public. Anyone can sign  up and in return for a €50 donation to the Simon Communities, receive an  hour long consultation with a certified RIAI  Architect who can give  advice on a range of issues relating to your home.

See here for further details http://www.simonopendoor.ie/


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## Shawady (27 Apr 2011)

I'll second that Sue Ellen.
I got an extension done last year and my architect has a few slots available on both days. If anyone was thinking of going down the road of getting an architect in the future I have no problem recommending him as he would be a good person to spend an hour with. 


[broken link removed]


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## onq (27 Apr 2011)

The difficulty with this consultation last time - or so I was led to believe - was that for some people who went with unrealistic expectations it was a let-down.
People expected to walk away with sketch plans - such a thing cannot happen AFAIK, since it could affectthe PI of the architect if someone had a problem proceeding on such plans.
My own sig at the end of my posts is a reminder of how limited the information presented on AAM can be and as a means of avoiding the trouble that you can get into when advising based on limited information.

Any remote advice offered must be put in terms which protect both the architect advising and the recipient.
This is to make sure they know the limits of 2nd hand information remote from the situation - it cannot yield "hard" designs or opinions.
These meetings therefore should be treated as introductory briefing meetings and any advice received viewed on an Initial Briefing Meeting basis.

Therefore, it cannot be definitive or result in a sketch design.
How useful this meeting will be to someone on a budget who's just handed over €50 is anyone's guess.
Its very easy to be open and unguarded in informal meetings and I think this is a danger area for inexperienced architects.

One of the reasons I stopped posting to Boards.ie was that the mods wouldn't let me post the sig below on each post to protect mysef having offered advice.
Another was that people were posting house plans out of context and seeking design review advice and the mods didn't seem to understand the dangers of posting 'freely'.
This guarded approach goes against the grain for most people, but I have come across people just waiting to pounce on an unguarded utterance or undertaking and make a claim of it.

I've taken over a project where a hue amount of fees were run up - with general approval of the client - where the design had to be started rfom scratch when the house was marked out on site.
It was only at that very late point that the office realised that the client had a difficulty in understanding drawings in terms of visualising the built work on site and its location.

This informed me about laypeople generally, but more importantly it informed me as to how best to deal with this client - everything was based on samples and sketches.
That way we were able to selected window profiles and door profiles and walk the site to show the client where the new design of the house would be.

Therefore by being circumspect in offering advice, you are protecting both the layperson and the architect from later claims and disuptes.

So by all means go to the Open Day and do a good deed and donate your €50 to a very deserving charity - Simon do great work.
You will meet many competent designers who will be able to offer experienced and competent advice to bring along any project you have.
The discussion will hopefully generate ideas which open up new possibilities in terms of how best to proceed with the project of your dreams.

But please understand that there are limits to the extent of the advice that can be offered and those limits are set to benefit both parties to any meeting.
Within those limits you can explore options and methods and approaches in addressing many changes to your house or other building.
By all means, come prepared, perhaps with photos and references, but just be prepared for a limited briefing to occur.



FWIW


ONQ.

  [broken link removed]

  All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be relied            upon                                                                                          as  a          defence    or          support   -         in          and     of               itself   -                     should                      legal                  action              be                       taken.
  Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to advise       in                                                                                                Real      Life      with        rights     to                inspect         and             issue                   reports           on            the                             matters         at                      hand.


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## Nige (27 Apr 2011)

I went to it last year and found it hugely beneficial.


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## onq (28 Apr 2011)

It might be useful to the readers of this thread if you were to expand on that a little Nige.

Speaking for myself, I found the terms of reference very restrictive, but necessary.

I would like to learn how a layperson viewed the event and what he got from it.



ONQ.

  [broken link removed]

  All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be relied             upon                                                                                           as  a          defence    or           support   -         in          and     of               itself   -                      should                      legal                   action              be                       taken.
  Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to advise        in                                                                                                 Real      Life      with        rights      to                inspect         and             issue                    reports           on            the                              matters         at                      hand.


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