Architectural management is an established field of study and professional practice concerned with the strategic and operational management of architectural firms and their projects. It is generally understood to fall into two distinct parts: office management and project management (Brunton et al., 1964; Emmitt, 1999a & 1999b).
Office management provides an overall framework within which individual projects are commissioned, designed, and completed. It involves the allocation and financing of resources—principally premises, trained staff, and computer systems—and focuses on establishing and charging appropriate fees for the services rendered. Project management, by contrast, focuses on timescales, developing a design from initial concept to working drawings, and managing the construction process. Both parts share the same objectives but are typically addressed by separate management systems.
The essence of architectural management is to ensure that work on a project is cost-effective and to achieve a balance between profitability and design quality.
Development
The term "architectural management" has been in use since the 1960s, when building construction became more complex due to a shift from standard traditional construction details toward innovation and experimentation. Standard management techniques and tools, borrowed mainly from repetitive industrial processes, have not always fitted comfortably with the image of the architect as a creative individual rather than a professional member of a business team.
In practice, architectural firms generally employ an office manager who may have at their disposal an administration assistant or a team of assistants. Project management is increasingly a role played by an independent consultant, especially during the construction phase. Project managers are typically drawn from one of the surveying disciplines, leaving only the architectural elements to be managed in-house by the architects.
Contemporary definition
More recent research has sought to provide a pragmatic definition of architectural management. A notable study published in Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management (Alharbi et al., 2015) defined architectural management as the strategic management of architectural firms, integrating business and project management, and responsible for the design and delivery of value for practitioners, clients, and other stakeholders. This definition emerged from a triangulated research approach combining literature review, surveys, and expert feedback, and was intended to provide a common vocabulary for researchers, educators, and practising architects.
International research
Architectural management is the subject of dedicated international research. The CIB Working Group W096 (Architectural Management) is the only international network devoted to examining the concept. Key scholarly contributions include Brunton, Baden Hellard, and Boobyer's Management Applied to Architectural Practice (1964), Stephen Emmitt's Architectural Management in Practice: a competitive approach (1999) and Design Management for Architects (2014), and the edited volume Architectural Management: International research and practice (Emmitt, Prins, and den Otter, 2009).
Related fields
Architectural management is related to, but distinct from, building management and facility management, which focus more on the operational and maintenance aspects of completed structures rather than the management of the design and construction process itself.
