MIND YOUR LANGUAGE
How important is it for architects to speak a language other than English when collaborating with overseas-based clients or from your own firm’s branch offices and design studios based in other countries?
The 'Airport Economist’ Tim Harcourt, in discussing local and global work (AR151), bluntly says, “Being a good operator is more important than having language skills, especially as you will be working with local teams.”
But it is rash to dismiss language versatility. “For practices that work extensively for overseas clients, the ability to speak another language would be an asset,” says Nicolette Di Lernia, executive director and national education manager at the South Australian
