An advantage of using IDP for design firms is reputation. Once competent at IDP, architects will be able to deliver better projects more consistently than their competitors. As a design professional, it will enhance your reputation, which will not only bring more business, but higherend business. An enhanced reputation also makes recruiting and retaining new talent easier. Most of the leading-edge architectural and engineering consultancies that have gained a reputation for delivering sustainability using the IDP do very little recruiting. The best and the brightest seek them out.
The future of building design is found in IDP. A recent search of the American Institute of Architects website for “IDP” turned up 481 hits. AIA’s Design and Environment committees sponsored a three-day sustainable design conference in Sheperdstown, W.Va., in 2006, with one day devoted to process, in which IDP features prominently.
The implication is clear—if you don’t become competent at IDP, you will be left behind your competitors. Reviewed by Marty Lapedus.