Architects Read Less Manufacturer Documentation Brochures

Traditional sources of information are increasingly giving way to digital information. In six countries, the internet is considered the main source of information by architects. This affects the documentation brochures of the manufacturer. This is shown by the Q4 2010 report of the European Architectural Barometer, a quarterly study among 1,200 architects in Europe.

The majority of the UK architects (54%) indicate that they rarely use the documentation brochures of manufacturers and don’t understand why they still get them. Compared with the other countries this percentage is the highest. A smaller group of UK architects thinks documentation brochures are still useful (30%). The website of the manufacturer is seen as the type of manufacturer documentation that is most essential to have (57%). With 16% the percentage of architects rarely using documentation brochures of manufacturers is the lowest in Italy.

The architects were also asked to indicate of which products they usually read the information they receive. UK architects mostly indicate to read information about brick (17%), concrete (15%), inner walls (15%), doors (10%) and cladding (10%). Information about paint, heat pumps, awnings, floor coverings, durable rainwater management and expanded metal is not read at all.

These and many other results are shown in the European Architectural Barometer, an international research among 1,200 architects in Europe. Four times a year, this study is conducted by Arch-Vision in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Besides indicators to forecast European building volumes, a topic is highlighted each quarter. This is because architects are not only a reliable indicator for future building volumes, but they are also very influential in how projects are build and which materials are used.

Marnix de Bruin
Manager Arch-Vision
3062 MA Rotterdam
The Netherlands

Phone    : +31 (0)10 2066916