There is a spirit to Invention projects that is different than Construction projects. Both are rewarding when participants can look back on a “job well done.”
Both require hard work and collaboration. It is the challenges that are often the difference.
Conventional construction has all the challenges of weather and schedule and coordination. Yet the difference is in its conventions — familiar procurement processes; the purchasing of catalog products from warehouse shelves; a known sequence of trades that is based on successful precedents; precedents that see contractors perform work that is repetitive from project to project. All: hard work done with deliberate quality.
In Invention projects, familiarity and catalog products and precedents and repetitive work are rarely the norm. The joy in invention is often balanced by the challenges it creates. The distinct challenges: materials are asked to stretch envelopes; putting a twist on common usage happens often; the commonplace finish is often used in uncommon ways; specialized components may need to be sourced from exotic suppliers; dialogue with specialty craftsmen is part of the design process; eventual builders are enlisted earlier and contribute to establishing the budget. These pages describe in descriptive narrative and photographic example the nature of the Inventive design delivery process.