Related:
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A GROUP of young architects from Bendigo say there is a long history of local professionals missing out on council projects to practices located outside of Bendigo – primarily to those from Melbourne.
Bendigo Architect’s Collective (BACo) released a statement this week in response to two articles in the Bendigo Advertiser which were sparked by local building designer Rodney Smith.
A recently formed group of young architects, BACo said the issue was an ongoing concern for local practitioners.
Below is their statement:
The recent issues raised by Mr Smith have provided a catalyst for our group to bring our concerns to the table.
BACo see limitations in all of the selection criteria mentioned by Mr Morrison, however it is the definition of ‘value for money’ that raises some important questions.
There seems to be a misconception about local architects not having the same capabilities as those from the larger cities. What seems to be lacking is an understanding that the majority of local architects have worked on projects in past employment, which are much larger and more complex than what [City of Greater Bendigo] may ever require.
These skills are available here now. We are professionals that have chosen to live in Bendigo for lifestyle reasons, not because we weren’t able to meet the expectations of practices in larger cities.
We want to contribute to our city in meaningful ways through the use of our skills and expertise. The opportunities for us to contribute via CoGB projects have been very limited to date.
We agree that as Mr Morrison suggests “The organisation has a responsibility to ratepayers to make financially sound decisions to get the best value for money.”
The problem seems to be what is understood by the term ‘value’ within the tendering process.
Surely there is ‘value’ in having local businesses involved in their projects for the following reasons:
- Employing local people.
- Sustaining local businesses who are part of our community.
- Development of and retaining local expertise and skills.
- Increased responsiveness and ability to attend to onsite issues due to proximity to site and other local consultant team members.
Perhaps what CoGB should be asking is “what is the cost of not using local professionals?”
It would be interesting to undertake an analysis of what the flow on effects are for engaging local professionals rather than those outside our community in a similar way to those undertaken by CoGB regarding major exhibitions at the Bendigo Art Gallery.
We do not want to exclude outsiders from tendering, particularly for larger, complex and culturally significant projects however, the current local content criteria does not seem to be having the desired effect of nurturing and making the most of the skills currently available in Bendigo.
Work needs to be done on all sides to keep building the relationship between local government and local service providers and we would welcome an opportunity to meet with the CoGB Contract and Project Coordination Team as a starting point.