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As architects, we have to listen topeople a lot. Clients ask us a problem. We have to find solutions that solve it but also suit their taste and preferences. So it's a question of adaptability but also of guidance.
The client must feel helped, understood and supported by the architects. It's good to find solutions, but the plan must be made according to the client's wishes and choices. So we create a healthy and transparent environment from the start. We engage in dialogue in order to show all the options, possibilities and solutions with the aim of reaching an agreement.
This job also requires a lot of trust.
It's important to love what you do because you are also pass it on.
Our main challenge is to find solutions very quickly. Nowadays, you have to move faster and faster. When a client has an architectural project, he calls an agency. An architect meets him the same day. Then very quickly, they need 2D plans, 3D building plans with proposals that suit them. But there are many stages between these two phases. Generally speaking, people don't realise how many things need to be done and planned in order to make a plan.
We no longer have time to reflect on the project.
Why is this? Because you have to move fast. Now, time is money. Time is running out for each project. This is the major challenge for an architect.
We did our surveys by hand and with a laser and a tape measure. It was very time consuming. Sometimes it took days to survey all the information. Clients prefer us to come on site rather than a surveyor.
The risk of error is high. We are renovating existing buildings, so the measurements have to be right. The walls are not necessarily straight. Sometimes, when we redraw the plans, we realise that there are errors, angles and mistakes that are imperceptible to the naked eye. Then, on Autocad, we would draw them in this way. We got plans that were not correct. For an architect, it's crucial to have an accurate plan. We have already had problems with measurements with huge discrepancies.
These problems are then passed on to the construction site.
Surveying before iMapper was stressful. You had to be quick. Sometimes the spaces to be measured are very large and difficult. The customers ask a lot of questions. This prevents us from concentrating.
When you measure by hand, you have to be very concentrated.
So it's difficult to do two things at the same time.
Firstly, it is a question of speed. We have to move fast on every project. Measuring a building is a very time-consuming step. It takes up a lot of time that could be spent on more important stages of the renovation.
Then, the metering with the iMapper is more precise. We do a lot of works in existing buildings. And nothing is straight. But the measuring process requires a lot of rigor, because it's the basis of the renovation.
So, the possibility of scanning a part with the iMapper gives us much more precision on the dimensions, the estimations. So there is no longer any risk of error. Now we have accurate drawings. The iMapper has a laser that takes exact measurements.
With iMapper, you can measure very well while talking to the customer, answering their questions and making a real customer appointment.
Since the most important thing is the satisfaction of the customer, it's necessary to focus on his wishes and questions when meeting him.
For example, the iMapper saved our lives on this house in Corsica. We have between 30 and 40 jobs a year. We had to go there to measure more than 600m² in two hours. Mission impossible. But with the iMapper, we could talk to the customer and measure quickly and accurately.
We go straight to business meetings with the iMapper. No more stress or risk of error even for twisted buildings, places where the walls are not straight at all. With the iMapper, we even have the thickness of the walls. In short, we're glad to have it.
The main advantages are time saving and accuracy. The pure quantity survey is accurate. Then, the platform allows us to superimpose point clouds to facilitate the creation of 2D and 3D plans.
It is now possible for us to entrust this task to someone else. Sometimes we ask trainees or future professionals to take the measurements.
We can train them to go and do the measurements. It's quick and quite fun.
Generally, the iMapper interests them and amuses them a lot. It's quick and easy. You just press a button and the laser scan does its job. It's quite simple to use.
I think every company should test it. People would be much more successful. Because to err is human but unfortunately not accepted in the architecture world.
But it is the human being who works and builds. Renovation cannot be done by a machine that builds straight and perfect.
So to convince them, it is above all the precision, time saving, speed and ease of use.
We are very happy to have invested in iMapper. It paid for itself very quickly. Now we can't do without it. It is much cheaper than a professional 3D scanner. We were among the first to discover the iMapper and it's a great invention.
