Dialogue 1 meeting of the clients with the architect

(The clients are the young couple a wife and a husband)

A.—We must account all requirements of our clients.

W.—All right. I want something in baroque style . Some sculptures at the entrance door, columns with caryatids supporting the balcony, floor made of white marble, old-fashioned fire-place…

A.—Your imagination draws a real palace.

W.-- …Ornamental mouldings in rococo style and stained-glass windows on the interior doors…

H.—Take it easy. My wife thinks she is a queen of Britain.

W.—I always dreamt about a pretty fountain in the winter garden inside the house…

H.—And the sky in diamonds in your bedroom…But I am neither an oil magnate nor an Arabic sheikh. I want only a two-storey cottage for comfortable living.

A.—Oh, I see, I see.

TASK 4

Read, translate and analyze the actions of an architect

The coopiration with a client and steps to be done in the work of an architect

When an architect receives a commission for a building, he meets the client and discusses his requirements. After visiting the site, the architect draws up preliminary plans and, together with a rough esti­mate of the cost, submits them to the client for his approval If the client suggests changes, the architect incorporates them into the final design which shows the exact dimension of every part of the building. At this stage, several building contractors are invited to bid for the job of constructing the building. When they submit their tenders or prices, the architect assists his client in selecting the best one and helps him to draw up a contract between the client and the contractor.

Work now starts on the building. As construction proceeds, the architect makes periodic inspections to make sure that the building is being constructed according to his plans and that the materials specified in the contract are being used. During the building period, the client pays the bills from the contractor. Subsequently, the con­tractor completes the building and the client occupies it. For six months after completion there is a period known as the 'defects liability period'. During this period, the contractor must correct any defects that appear in the fabric of the building. Finally, when all the defects have been corrected, the client takes full possession of the building.

TASK 5

Read how the architect explains the drawing of the house to the client.

Dialogue 2 meeting with an architect

client: I wonder if you could explain these drawings to me, please.

ARCHITECT: Yes, certainly. Where shall we start?

client: Well, what does the first drawing show? This one here.

architect: Ah yes. This drawing shows the ground floor plan of the house.

client: And this one?

architect: The plan of the first floor.

client: And these?

architect: Longitudinal and transverse sections through the house. This is what you would see if you cut the house in half and looked at it from the side.

CLIENT: Oh I see. Now these drawings are beginning to make sense. The entrance to the house must be here but what are these spaces used for on the ground floor?

architect: Well, as you go through the entrance, there is a toilet immediately on the right, here. Next to that is the stable with access from the courtyard in

the centre of the house.

client: Ah yes, I see, the courtyard doesn't have a roof. Is that right?

architect: Yes, that's quite right: it's an open courtyard. The staircase leads from the courtyard to the first floor. Now look at the plan of the first floor. It shows the open roof terrace and a bedroom.

client: There's also a bedroom on the ground floor isn't there? I can see a bed shown in the room below the roof terrace. Look. There.

architect: Yes, you're quite right. That bedroom is used in the winter and the one on the first floor is used in the summer.

client: What about the room next to the winter bedroom? This one here.

architect: Ah! That's the kitchen. Many people think that is the most important room in the house.

client: (laughing) Yes, food is important, isn't it?

TEXTS FOR ADDITIONAL READING

Read, translate and make a plan of the text