We share with you the reflections of an Antana site manager. A real dream builder. With professionals like this... at the end of the world!
Today I wanted to share something that happens to me very often when I meet someone and they ask me what I do for a living, usually when I give them my answer they look at me a bit surprised, frowning in some cases or raising their eyebrows with some surprise and curiosity in others. But what I have been able to verify is that they end up agreeing with me when I explain my day to day life and tell them that I am a DREAM BUILDER.
I remember, in the second year, my old project teacher telling us, in a firm, slow voice as if he were looking at all of us at the same time, "you must work hard on every idea and every project and strive for excellence because your work will be very important in people's lives". She insisted that we would have the good fortune and the responsibility to design and build not only people's HOUSES, but every single space where people's LIVES will be spent. Finally, opening his eyes even wider, quickening his voice and raising his arms, he exclaimed "The illusion of your life, the spaces in which you will love and be happy!
At the time I was shocked and overwhelmed by this reflection, but I thought he was exaggerating a little and that in some way it was a way of motivating us. Over the years I have realised that I was not only right, but that it is something that fulfils you fully and motivates you to overcome and solve the problems that you face every day, and as "corny" as it may seem, it is something very nice and I feel very lucky.
As I was telling you, I work in a dream factory, or rather, in a DREAM BUILDER and more specifically in the housing department.
An example I could give you as an analogy for building a house is tailoring a bespoke suit. It can be done very well in an impersonal way, but the final result when it is made to measure is fantastic. In both processes it is a suit, but in the second case it is perfectly adapted to you and your taste, and that is why it is unique.
In my opinion, it is essential to know the client very well and to be aware of his or her needs, objectives and priorities at all times.
As we have commented on other occasions, the work is a living and changing element.
I can't remember a single occasion when I haven't been told before starting..."the project is super well defined, we have everything very clear and we're not going to change anything". On every occasion there have been changes, because at each moment the work is perceived in a different way and it is not always as the client imagined. For this reason, weekly site visits are very important.
You can't imagine how exciting it is for me to see the excited face of the client week after week, seeing how their house is taking shape and how their dreams are gradually becoming tangible. On the other hand, it is very hard when, on occasion, I have seen a face of disappointment produced by something that is not going as expected. It is at this moment when it is most important to provide solutions to redirect the work. Since, in a way, we are also the guides on this difficult path, in many cases counsellors and I would even dare to say, in some other psychologists.
I remember a funny anecdote in which, for example, a client, when choosing finishes, warned me that she hated green, and it was very curious that, without my mediation, several things in the house, such as the kitchen furniture, the sofas and the dining room chairs ended up in shades of green. It is also surprising in some cases, especially when choosing finishes with a couple separately, the difference in tastes between the two, who unknowingly brand the colour that the other had liked the most as horrible.
With all this, it is inevitable to take each project, each work, or better said, each DREAM, as something personal, something yours in which you put all your effort and affection.
What painter, writer, film director or builder does not love his work?
