Many are familiar with Dr. John Gray’s theory that Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus — the examination of the distinctive and intrinsic differences between the sexes. Men are, as a population, characterized by a propensity toward organization and detail, while women are considered intuitive and more feeling.

Just like men and women, architects and builders inherently speak a different language, and it is due in no small part to their respective right brain/left brain abilities. It’s the Ying/Yang of this industry and requires a reaching-out across the aisle for an understanding of the other’s expectations and motivations. We need to learn to get along and appreciate our differences.

Distinctive approaches to problem solving are inherent to each of these two very different professional types. Architects by nature bring creativity and a vision of the big picture. Construction types see most things in black and white, and require specificity.

Basically we all need a big dose of Dr. Gray’s Emotional Intelligence to recognize, empathize and deal with the differences. It’s almost comical to witness the level of miscommunication and misunderstandings that can occur when these two groups are communicating. Both sides need to make the monumental effort of playing nice and giving the other person the benefit of possessing good sense because ultimately it’s the project and client that suffer.

For our case in point, we’ll typify the design entity as the architect, and the interior designer who is most concerned with creative vision rather than detail and how it ultimately would be put together. They are looking at the big picture — the end results — rather than the many steps required to get from here to there. At the risk of being politically incorrect, it’s the feminine nature, found in both genders, that is intuitive and creative, more fluid and less specific. This creative type may leave a lot of the design open to interpretation, yet not welcome anyone’s comments as to deficiencies or ambiguity.

On the other hand, we have the prototypical construction person who seeks precision and relates to numbers, quantifying all the pieces of the puzzle. Builders are not interested in, nor are typically capable of, interpreting the architect’s design, but want instead to be provided with detailed instructions of what to do so they can put their hands and resources to work.