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WHO WANTS TO PAY FOR QUALITY?

White Hutchinson Leisure & Learning Group was chosen out of eleven firms to negotiate a contract for architectural and play garden design with a state supported college that wanted to open a child development center. We were excited to be chosen as the best firm to design the high quality center and outdoor play yards. We were not able however to negotiate a contract because the state had a limit for the percentage they were willing to pay for architectural services. It seems that the state has determined that it should cost the same percentage of the construction budget to design any building, regardless of size, as it does to design a child care center and outdoor play yards. Child care centers are much smaller in size and cost than office buildings and larger projects, so there is also a loss of economy of scale; the greater the cost of a project, the lower the design fees will be as a percentage of cost.

We all know that designing a high quality child development center and outdoor play gardens is more complex and requires a greater number of design experts on the team than just having a sole architect designing state office buildings or college classrooms. Our team of experts included not only the architect but experts in children's play garden design, universal design for children with disabilities, acoustics to meet the new classroom acoustic standards, landscaping for children, and kitchen design. If we really want high quality centers, then we have to be willing to pay the appropriate design fees to create a high quality center. We must continue to educate others and ourselves about the cost of quality design and facilities in the same manner that we have advocated over the years about the cost of high quality care.

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