This website will showcase the architectural works of matthew.Stanfield. Located in mansfield, OHio, and working to provide a much needed service in the area. Namely an architecture that services the needs of the client while at the same time seeks to go beyond the mere pragmatic concerns of the client. One that aspires to produce space, not merely occupy it. While at the same time both reflecting and contributing to the greater cultural atmosphere.
Under Construction Pictures now up on Architizer While DogHou[SC]e is still under construction. The posted pictures give a fairly good idea of the basic form and hint at the finish materials. I still have some scraps of corrugated steel and treated wood decking to add to the exterior walls as well as roofing material to finish things up. I will also likely paint some of the wood come spring time when it warms up and dries out a bit.
I have just posted a new project to Architizer: http://www.architizer.com/en_us/projects/view/doghousce/32722/?mode=ct
Follow the above link for more information. Pictures coming soon (hopefully after the rain stops)
On 19[Sep]2011 i had sent out a letter firing a client (see previous post). This letter was based on the premise that they had received a letter from a little over a month earlier detailing the terms of my continuing to provide professional services. I had sent the latter letter via certified mail so i could rest assured that they had received it. I received a voice message the following Saturday from said client stating they wanted me to contact them about finishing the work. As i had just sent them a letter terminating my services and had clearly spelled out the terms of my continuing to provide services in the previous letter, i opted to ignore the phone call until i received confirmation of receipt of the certified letter. However, i received that letter back on Monday of this week as unclaimed. I then received a letter on Tuesday with a check for partial payment of my invoice. It seems from the content of the letter that they may not have received my first letter either.
This puts me in somewhat of a tight spot as now i feel obligated to finish out the work, even though i have only been partially paid. I had said i would finish out the work so long as i received half of my invoiced amount before proceeding. They sent my just under half. The client has been nothing but trouble from the get go. Disseminating incomplete, bad, and misrepresented information to each other as well as to the contractors. They have raked the contractor over the coals and are trying to hold him accountable for items he never agreed to. They have done the same to me.
I am inclined to walk away from the situation as i do not want to get caught up in their manipulation and usury any longer. They are holding the rest of the money as hostage for items they want me to pay for as well as to get me to finish drawings for the second phase that they want me to do for free even though they had initially agreed to pay me for them.
On the other hand it would likely only take me a couple of hours to finish off the drawings for them. Then i could be done with them for good and not have to worry about the repercussions of just walking away.
This week, i had the unpleasant experience of having to fire a client. While the actual firing of the client was actually somewhat of a relief, the circumstances leading up to them are unfortunate, unpleasant, and ultimately avoidable.
I know better than to enter into a working relationship without some sort of written agreement spelling out the terms of the relationship. However, i made the mistake of entering into this particular relationship without said agreement. The client was a non-profit organization operating a summer lunch program and looking to expand into a full fledge soup kitchen. While i am not certain of the exact nature of their affiliation, there clearly was some sort of church involvement with the group. All this, combined with the referral from someone from the church my family and i were attending at the time and the time crunch the client was on led me to the foolish action of not drafting an agreement prior to commencing work. Everything was done on a verbal agreement. Which was subsequently twisted and misrepresented by the client to the point that they were unwilling to pay me for services rendered.
The project was to be executed in two phases: 1] Renovations to the existing building to comply with current building code regulations for the change of use. 2] Renovations to kitchen area to accommodate installation of commercial kitchen equipment. I had given them a price, to which they agreed, to do the first phase as it was the most pressing and they had a potential funding source for it. I proceeded to complete the drawings for that phase and secure them a building permit so they could then approach the funding source with a firm number and a plan. And then things fell apart.
Just days prior to submitting for the permit, they asked me to include the kitchen on the drawings so it would be part of the scope of work for the permit, thus eliminating the need to secure a second permit. Because i did not have all the kitchen information, i just roughed it out knowing there would be several items on the correction letter regarding the kitchen that would need addressed later. In the meantime, the client is seeking prices from contractors to do the work so they have a number to submit for a grant with. It turns out they gave prospective contractors a preliminary set of prints to give a price from. As such, they got a price not reflective of the actual work to be done and secured funding based on that price. They then tried to pin all the overage costs on me, even though a majority of them were covered in the final set of prints.
When i sent them an invoice for the first phase and a price to complete the second phase, things really got ugly. That is when i found out that they were blaming me for all the items the contractor did not include in his price even though they were on the drawings and / or explicitly not included in the proposal the contractor gave them. As such they were holding my payment until: 1] All their conflicts with the contractor were dealt with. 2] Permit for phase 2 was secured (they wanted that included in my price and were not happy that i gave them a price for phase 2 above and beyond that of phase 1). 3] Construction of phase 1 was complete. At this point i realized what a disaster the verbal ‘agreement’ was and sent them a revised invoice for 1/2 my fees with the balance due upon completion of construction and a written agreement for both phases. I have not heard back from them since. That was over a month ago, so i sent them a letter this week officially terminating my services and wishing them the best.
I think i learned my lesson on this one. Regardless of referrals, credentials, and time crunches, take the time to draft a written agreement that clearly spells out the terms of my service.
northLake community garden (nLcg) hosted an Art in the Garden Party on Monday, 2011[aug]23. The event was sponsored by Mansfield Art Center and north end community improvement collaborative (necic). The party was part of a larger project known as Mansfield Reassembled by Drew Rauschenberger, who is an intern at the Art Center.
As coordinator, designer, and major sponsor of the garden, i was approached by the Art Center and necic about including an art piece in the garden as part of an ongoing beautification, public art, and community awareness effort. The piece is going to be an assemblage of found objects from Mansfield, OHio and will be attached to the front of the larger of the two raised beds. There is also plans for a mural to be painted on the sides of the same bed. Pictures of the party can be found at the nLcg facebook page (see above link) and Architizer. There are links from the Architizer page to additional websites with pictures and an article by Holly Fackler for the News Journal.
I believe the mural is supposed to be started next week and i am not sure when the sculpture is going to be installed, but i will post pictures to Architizer and Facebook when i have them.