purely structural and other so-called architectural costs of construction. Thus, in tradition we find that architectural costs have been taken to be those that are not necessary for the structural strength and physical integrity of a building design.

“Essential services” forms a third construction cost category and refers to the

provision of mechanical and electrical equipment and other service systems. On the average, these service costs account for some 15 to 30 percent of the total construction cost, depending on the type of building. Mechanical and electrical refers to the cost of providing for air-conditioning equipment and he means on air distribution as well as other services, such as plumbing, communications, and electrical light and power.

The salient point is that this breakdown of costs suggests that, up to now, an average

of about 45 to 60 percent of the total cost of constructing a typical design solution could be considered as architectural. But this picture is rapidly changing. With high interest costs and a scarcity of capital, client groups are demanding leaner designs. Therefore, one may conclude that there are two approaches the designer may take towards influencing the construction cost of building.

The first approach to cost efficiency is to consider that wherever architectural and

structural solutions can be achieved simultaneously, a potential for economy is evident. Since current trends indicate a reluctance to allocate large portions of a construction budget to purely architectural costs, this approach seems a logical necessity. But, even where money is available, any use of structure to play a basic architectural role will allow the nonstructural budget to be applied to fulfill other architectural needs that might normally have to be applied to fulfill other architectural needs that might normally have to be cut back. The second approach achieves economy through an integration of service and structural subsystems to round out one’s effort to produce a total architectural solution to a building design problem.

The final pricing of a project by the constructor or contractor usually takes a

different form. The costs are broken down into (1) cost of materials brought to the site,

(2)cost of labor involved in every phase of the construction process, (3)cost of equipment purchased or rented for the project, (4)cost of management and overhead, and(5) profit. The architect or engineer seldom follows such an accurate path but should