While architects are responsible not only for the design of buildings but also for their economic performance to the extent that their designs meet the demands of the marketplace, it is the building developers who reap the vast majority of the rewards.

Developers conceive the projects, select their locations, acquire the land, determine the target market, obtain the financing, oversee the design and construction, and lease-up or sale of the completed building. Because they do not take the risks that the developers do, architects rarely capture a significant share of the value created by their designs. Based on the AIA Firm Survey 2012, for instance, the overall cost of architectural services averages 6.1 percent of a project’s total value. Assuming they get a ten percent profit margin, the net value of these services for architects is well under one percent of total construction costs, putting them near the bottom of the pecking order of the building industry, at least economically. This compensation is at odds with the outsized role that architects typically play in the development of a building project. As a result, for many practitioners the profession is one of long hours with relatively low pay.