行行出狀元 頂級建築師的特別待遇

寶馬Jeff Dungan has a keychain full of keys to multimillion-dollar, custom-designed vacation homes on Florida's northeastern coast. They include an all-white, three-bedroom mansion, a 5,000-square-foot shingled Nantucket-style home and a condo in a private residence club with a swimming pool on the roof.

傑夫・鄧根(Jeff Dungan)手裏掌管着滿滿一串佛羅里達東北海岸價值數以百萬計、爲客戶量身打造的度假屋的鑰匙，其中包括一處有三間臥室的全白豪宅、一套5,000平方英尺（約合465平方米）的楠塔基特(Nantucket)風格的木瓦結構住宅，和一傢俬人住宅俱樂部內帶屋頂游泳池的產權公寓。

Mr. Dungan isn't a billionaire: He's an architect. The homes belong to his clients, who became friends during the design and construction process. 'I just call and say I'm going down there, and they say 'Have fun',' says Mr. Dungan, of Birmingham firm Dungan Nequette. 'It's a great perk.'

鄧根不是億萬富翁：他是一名建築師。這些宅邸屬於他的客戶，他們在房子的設計和建造期間成爲了朋友。“我只需打個電話，說我要去那些地方，他們會說‘祝你玩得開心’，”伯明翰(Birmingham) Dungan Nequette公司的鄧根說，“這是一項極大的特惠權利。”

Since Michelangelo, architects have had patrons who finance their work. But as time progressed, the relationship between architects and clients became closer to that of equals, especially at the high end. Fallingwater, the famed home perched over a waterfall, developed from the friendship between businessman Edgar J. Kaufmann and Frank Lloyd Wright. Letters between the two men illustrate the closeness of their relationship, and how Mr. Kaufmann overcame his reservations to allow Mr. Wright to design the unique house.

自米開朗琪羅(Michelangelo)開始，建築師就有了資助他們工作的老主顧。可隨着時間的推移，建築師和客戶之間的關係親密度變得更甚於對等關係，高端尤其如此。坐落於一掛瀑布之上的名宅Fallingwater就是因商人埃德加・J・考夫曼(Edgar J. Kaufmann)與弗蘭克・勞埃德・賴特(Frank Lloyd Wright)之間的友誼而修建起來的。倆人之間的書信可以說明他們之間關係多麼親密以及考夫曼是如何克服自己的保留意見、同意賴特設計這座獨一無二的房子的。

As a result of that closeness, architects often become friends with their clients, which can lead to all manner of perks. That can sweeten what isn't always a very high-paying profession. The median pay for architects in the U.S. was $73,090 in 2012, with the best-paid 10% in the profession earning about $118,230. About 48% of residential architects' business comes from repeat clients, according to a 2012 survey by the American Institute of Architects.

由於那樣的一種親近關係，建築師經常與他們的客戶成爲朋友，這就可能產生各種各樣的特別待遇，從而提高這一併非總是獲得高薪的職業的吸引力。根據美國建築師學會(American Institute of Architects)2012年的一項調查，美國建築師2012年的平均收入爲73,090美元（約合人民幣45.5萬元），其中薪水最高的10%的人收入大約是118,230美元（約合人民幣73.7萬元），住宅建築師的業務中48%來自老客戶。

Designing a house can take years. That means countless hours spent together, often over meals and in the clients' homes, with discussions about personal subjects like sleeping habits.

設計一棟宅第可能會耗時幾年，這就意味着建築師和客戶經常會在就餐期間和客戶的家裏一起度過無數個小時，討論睡眠習慣等個人話題。

'It's such an intense, psychological experience to do a residence together. You learn their idiosyncrasies,' says Stephan Jaklitsch of New York firm Jaklitsch/Gardner Architects. Mr. Jaklitsch has worked on nine homes for Robert Duffy, president of Marc Jacobs International. They include a 6,000-square-foot house in Provincetown, Mass.; a number of multimillion-dollar Manhattan townhouses and, currently, a restoration of the historic Astor Tea House, which was built in 1948 by Vincent Astor in Rhinebeck, N.Y. (Mr. Duffy has since sold all but two of the homes.)

“一起建造居所是那樣一種強烈的心理體驗，你可以瞭解他們的個人喜好，”紐約姚克利奇/加德納建築師事務所(Jaklitsch/Gardner Architects)的斯蒂芬・姚克利奇(Stephan Jaklitsch)說。姚克利奇爲馬克・雅各布斯國際(Marc Jacobs International)總裁羅伯特・達菲(Robert Duffy)設計過9套居所，其中包括馬薩諸塞州普羅溫斯頓(Provincetown, Mass.)的一套面積6,000平方英尺（約合557平方米）的住房、好幾套價值數百萬美元的曼哈頓聯排別墅以及目前正在修復中的一家有歷史意義的阿斯特茶館(Astor Tea House)，該茶館是1948年由紐約州萊茵貝克(Rhinebeck, N.Y.)的文森特・阿斯特(Vincent Astor)修建的。（達菲在那以後賣掉了除兩處房產外的其它所有房子。）

The two met in 1999, introduced by a contractor. That relationship led to Mr. Jaklitsch designing more than 50 stores for Marc Jacobs around the world. Mr. Jaklitsch says Mr. Duffy has become such a good friend they'll often take spontaneous side trips for fun. 'We'll be at dinner in Lisbon and somehow we find ourselves flying to Marrakesh the next day,' he says. On a business trip to Singapore they ended up checking out the Louis Kahn National Assembly building of Bangladesh in Dhaka, India. Mr. Duffy says the relationship is 'based on mutual respect and trust in each other's abilities to achieve the same goals.'

姚克利奇和達菲倆人1999年經承包商介紹認識。他們之間的那種關係讓姚克利奇負責了世界各地50多家馬克・雅各布斯商店的設計。姚克利奇說，達菲已經成了關係如此好的朋友，以至於他們經常會隨興地去旅行散心。“我們會在里斯本(Lisbon)吃晚餐，第二天卻不知怎麼回事就發現自己正飛往馬拉喀什(Marrakesh)，”他說。他們到新加坡出差，結果卻從印度達卡(Dhaka, India)的孟加拉國民議會大樓裏走出來。達菲說，這種關係“建立在互相尊重和信任彼此實現共同目標的能力的基礎之上。”

Luxury travel is another perk. Garland Lasater, Jr. and his wife Mollie used frequent flyer miles to fly Ted Flato, of Lake Flato Architects in San Antonio, and his wife to Japan for a week, where Mr. Flato designed a trip for themselves and the Lasaters to look at gardens and buildings for inspiration. 'You have the privilege of getting to know these incredibly talented people. It becomes more than a working relationship,' says Mr. Lasater, who is now the godfather of Mr. Flato's daughter. Mr. Lasater learned about the architect/client bond from his father, who was intimate friends with O'Neil Ford, known as the grandfather of Texas Modernism.

豪華旅遊是另一份特殊待遇。小加蘭・拉薩特(Garland Lasater, Jr.)和他的妻子莫莉(Mollie)就曾使用他們的航空積分里程讓 安東尼奧(San Antonio)市弗拉託湖建築師事務所(Lake Flato Architects)的特德・弗拉託(Ted Flato)及夫人飛到日本呆了一週時間，弗拉託在那裏安排他們自己和拉薩特夫婦做了一次旅行，參觀花園和建築以尋求靈感。“你有幸認識了這些才華橫溢的人士，我們之間不僅僅是工作關係，”拉薩特說。他現在是弗拉託女兒的教父。弗拉託是從他父親那裏學到有關建築師/客戶關係方面的知識的，他父親與人稱德克薩斯現代主義(Texas Modernism)鼻祖的奧尼爾・福特(O'Neil Ford)是密友。

Miami architect Rene Gonzalez spent a week sailing with a client, Greek shipping executive Ion Varouxakis, in the Greek Islands on a yacht with five staff members. 'He wanted me to see how he lived,' says Mr. Gonzalez. The two went sightseeing together, and Mr. Gonzalez has an open invitation for a repeat trip.

邁阿密(Miami)建築師勒內・岡薩雷斯(Rene Gonzalez)花了一整週時間與他的客戶――希臘船運公司執行長約恩・瓦羅薩基斯(Ion Varouxakis)――及五名職員一道乘坐遊艇在希臘諸島間遊歷。“他想讓我看看他是如何生活的，”岡薩雷斯說。他們倆一塊兒去觀光，岡薩雷斯還被邀請隨時再次重遊故地。

Like any friendship, the relationship between architect and client isn't always smooth sailing. They can have differences of opinion and run into tough spots. Still, architects say it is rare that projects become so combative they walk away.

與任何友情一樣，建築師和客戶之間的關係並非總是一帆風順。他們可能會有意見分歧，遭遇困境。儘管如此，建築師說很少出現因項目爭議太大而不歡而散的情形。

'Every client expands my life. You go into their world and you always learn something,' says Jim Olson, founding principal of the Seattle-based firm Olson Kundig Architects. 'But it's like family -- there are some you become closer to than others.' Mr. Olson spent his 70th birthday at Fallingwater with longtime clients and friends Nora and Vincent Petrucelli. Another client, in Korea, sent Mr. Olson and his wife on a weeklong vacation to historic temples and inns.

“每一名客戶都會拓展我的生活。你走進他們的世界，總可以學到些東西，”總部位於西雅圖(Seattle)的奧爾森・昆迪希建築師事務所(Olson Kundig Architects)的創始負責人吉姆・奧爾森(Jim Olson)說，“不過這就像家庭一樣――你跟一些人的關係比跟其他人更親密。”奧爾森和他的長期客戶及朋友諾拉(Nora)和文森特・彼得魯切利(Vincent Petrucelli)一道在Fallingwater度過了他的70歲生日。在韓國的另一位客戶出資讓奧爾森和他太太去度假一週，入住酒店、參觀歷史名剎。

Joe Luna of Luna Design Group in Danvers, Mass., is passionate about small aircraft, so it was fortuitous that syndicated radio star John Garabedian liked a building that Mr. Luna had designed and interviewed him for home project priced around $2 million. Mr. Garabedian became a confidante, and Mr. Luna has gotten to fly on some of the 20 rare airplanes (including every early model of Piper) in Mr. Garabedian's collection.

馬薩諸塞州丹弗斯(Danvers, Mass.)盧納設計集團(Luna Design Group)的喬・盧納(Joe Luna)熱衷於小型飛機，因此當聯合電臺的明星約翰・加拉貝迪安(John Garabedian)喜歡上盧納曾經設計過的一棟樓並就他家200萬美元（約合人民幣1,246萬元）左右的工程與盧納面談時，這事就太湊巧了。加拉貝迪安成爲了盧納的知己，而盧納則得以搭乘上加拉貝迪安收藏的20架飛機珍品中的部分飛機（其中包括風笛手飛機早期的每一種機型）。

Mr. Luna says that while he's happy when his clients become friends, that doesn't necessarily mean he wants his friends to become clients. 'There's always the expectation of if it's a friend, they should get a discount,' he notes, adding that he avoided doing work in his hometown for many years because 'I didn't want to be designing houses for the parents of the kids my kids played baseball with.'

盧納說，雖然客戶成爲朋友時他很高興，但那並不意味着他希望朋友成爲自己的客戶。“我總覺得如果客戶是朋友的話，應該要給他們折扣，”他指出。他還說自己多年來避免在家鄉接活，因爲“我不想爲跟我孩子一起打棒球的那些孩子的父母們設計房子。”

Having a well-connected client can also mean benefits like opera, theater and concert tickets. Architect Chris Pardo recently caught the main acts at the music festival Coachella in the desert south of Palm Springs, Calif., and met the hip-hop duo Outkast backstage. Mr. Pardo is designing a home for one of the executives at Goldenvoice, the festival's producer and the two have become friends.

擁有關係親密的客戶還可能意味着得到歌劇、戲劇和音樂會門票等好處。建築師克里斯・帕多(Chris Pardo)最近在加利福尼亞州棕櫚泉(Palm Springs, Calif.)南部沙漠中的科切拉音樂節(music festival Coachella)中參與了主要活動，並在後臺遇到了嘻哈音樂二人組合Outkast。帕多正在爲音樂節的製作商Goldenvoice公司的一名高管設計住宅，兩人已成爲了朋友。

Steve Rugo designed Chicago three-star Michelin restaurant Alinea, in the process becoming good friends with co-owner and chef Grant Achatz and co-owner Nick Kokonas, whose home he then designed. As a result, Mr. Rugo says he can now get a table at pretty much any restaurant anywhere in the world. It's often a very special table, like the one on a private upstairs candlelit terrace he and his family were recently given at the tiny La Villa Mahana on Bora Bora, run by Damien Rinaldi Dovio, formerly the chef at L'Orangerie in Beverly Hills. 'There's always a table for me. I just say Grant said I should come here to eat,' he says.

史蒂夫・魯戈(Steve Rugo)設計了芝加哥的米其林三星餐廳Alinea，在這個過程中，他與餐廳的共同所有人兼廚師格蘭特・阿卡茲(Grant Achatz)以及共同所有人尼克・科克納斯(Nick Kokonas)成了好朋友，他隨後還爲科克納斯設計了住房。結果，魯戈說，他現在在世界任何地方的幾乎所有餐廳都能得到餐位。那餐位經常都是一張非常特別的餐桌，就像他和他的家人最近在波拉波拉島(Bora Bora)上La Villa Mahana餐廳樓上私密燭光露臺上享用的那種餐桌。小小的La Villa Mahana餐廳由貝弗利山莊(Beverly Hills)橘園餐廳(L'Orangerie)前廚師達米安・里納爾迪・多維奧(Damien Rinaldi Dovio)經營。“總是有我可以用餐的桌子，我只需說一聲，格蘭特說我應該到這兒來用餐，”他說。

There are benefits for the clients, too. Mr. Dungan, the Birmingham-based architect, says when he visits all those homes in Florida that he's designed, he also checks up on them and makes tweaks, and then incorporates what he learns in future designs. 'It's one thing to design a house. It's another to have to live with the decisions you've made,' he says. One night at a home in Alys Beach, he realized he'd designed a room without anywhere to put a cup of coffee or plug in for his cellphone while reading in bed. So he created a niche in the armoire and added an outlet.

客戶也可以從這種關係中獲益。家住伯明翰的建築師鄧根說，當他到訪佛羅里達州那些他設計的所有宅第時，他也會對這些房屋進行檢查，進行一些調整，然後把他吸取到的經驗融入到未來的設計中。“設計房子是一回事，必須接受你所做的決定是另一回事，”他說。一天晚上在埃利斯海灘(Alys Beach)的一處居所中，他意識到他設計的一個房間裏沒有能在牀上閱讀時放杯咖啡或給手機充電的地方，於是他在大衣櫃裏做了一個孔位，加上了一個插座。

The closer a client becomes, the easier it is to design for them, say architects Elissa Morgante and Fred Wilson of Chicago firm Morgante Wilson Architects. The couple met Jim and Ann-Marie Streibich 20 years ago when they did an addition to their home in Wilmette. It turned out their children went to the same nursery school. Eight years later, when the Streibiches asked their now-close friends to design an 8,000-square-foot home on Lake Michigan, Mr. Wilson says he and Ms. Morgante plotted the floor plan as if they were there as guests. They even designed themselves the ideal guest room, where they now stay about three times a year on vacation.

客戶與設計師的關係越親近，爲他們做設計就越容易，芝加哥莫爾甘特・威爾遜建築師事務所(Morgante Wilson Architects)的建築師埃莉薩・莫爾甘特(Elissa Morgante)和弗雷德・威爾遜(Fred Wilson)說。這對夫婦20年前在吉姆(Jim)和安-瑪麗・斯特賴比奇(Ann-Marie Streibich)擴建位於維爾梅特(Wilmette)的住房時結識了他們。他們的孩子原來上的是同一所託兒所。八年後，當斯特賴比奇夫婦請現已是密友的兩位設計師爲其設計密歇根湖畔一棟8,000平方英尺（約合743平方米）的住宅時，威爾遜說他和莫爾甘特做樓層平面規劃時權當自己是那裏的客人。他們甚至給自己設計了理想的客房，現在他們一年要到這裏來度假三次。

Mr. Streibich says he and his wife 'let [the architects] do what they want' with the design because they know them well enough to understand their aesthetics. As for visiting, Mr. Streibich says it is an open-door policy. That's a good thing, since Mr. Wilson plans on crashing at the couple's 4,000-square-foot Chicago penthouse after an occasional night on the town. 'If I get overserved and I need to sleep over, that is where I'll go,' he jokes.

斯特賴比奇說，他和他妻子“讓（兩位建築師）做他們想做的”任何設計，因爲他們足夠了解對方，知道其審美情趣。至於到訪一事，斯特賴比奇說他們實行的是門戶開放政策。那是件好事，因爲威爾遜打算偶爾在城裏逍遙一夜之後到這對夫婦在芝加哥4,000平方英尺（約合372平方米）的頂層公寓去過夜。“如果我喝過了頭，需要在別人家裏過夜，那裏就是我會去的地方，”他開玩笑說。