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Posted by EDS on November 19, 2007, 8:40 pm
>
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Michael Bulatovich wrote:
>>>
>>>>> A new sense of the old American Public Works Program would help, too.
>>>>> What's the situation in Canada?
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>From my perspective, competitions are not for small (one man) practices
>>>>for practical reasons, unless you married well. Public work is done by
>>>>various levels of governments, and they vary in how receptive they are
>>>>in giving work to small practices:
>>>>
>>>>The Feds are not friendly at all. They wear belts and suspenders.
>>>>
>>>
>>> I rather like suspenders, when the are red or bright green or otherwise
>>> scream.
>>>
>>>>The Province, as I understand it, is pretty good about spreading around
>>>>the work, though I've never bid on any myself. I've been meaning to give
>>>>it a try, as one of my current clients use to be a big wig at the agency
>>>>that doles out the work, and he could hold my hand though the process,
>>>>but it's relatively uninteresting to me so I never do it.
>>>>
>>> I rather like the patriotic aspect of federal or local work.
>>>
>>>>The municipalities are highly political, and, blind competition or not,
>>>>the staff know the work of their friends, and the staff pick the juries
>>>>who also know the work of their friends...We're starting to get a bland
>>>>sameness to public work that a colleague has dubbed, "Beaver Modern."
>>>
>>> Have any examples you can steer us all to view? Hard to get a concept.
>>>
>>>>This has led to a race to hire name brand foreigners selling 'sizzle' on
>>>>purple stilts, or crumpled aluminum trainwrecks overhanging the public
>>>>realm, where the commissions are by semi-private institutions.
>>>>
>>>
>>> My most unfave was what I call the neobrutalists....
>>>
>>>>For some, a more worrisome local trend has been the bundling of projects
>>>>so that you have to be big to do a small thing, because they'll only
>>>>give out small things out in clumps, or attached to big things. There
>>>>are billions about to be spent here over the next few years so there is
>>>>a feeding frenzy now going on with big firms eating other big firms to
>>>>become bigger firms so they can handle all this work, and American firms
>>>>are buying up mid-sized firms to get a foothold in the province. Pity
>>>>the employees after it's all over....
>>>>
>>>
>>> The bundling aspect is bad, especially since some large A/Es try to
>>> claim they can do it all when sometimes they would be better off , or
>>> the project would be better off, subcontracting certain parts of
>>> expertise.
>>> Doesn't Canada have small business setasides? I actually wish the US
>>> had micro business setasides to keep small firms in actions, especially
>>> tiny minority and tiny women owned (or both or all). I really think
>>> that architectural vision is enhanced when there are lots of happy
>>> helping hands, so to speak.
>> USA had a WAM (Women and Minority) program for small firms up to a few
>> years ago (may still be running) The firm I was last at was minority
>> (chinese) owned and got a lot of government jobs. I was the token WASP
>> ;-)
>> EDS
>
> Did you get to sit in the front or back row of the company picture?
The back. I was the tallest ;-)
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