Cohousing-L Mailing List: Using Group Members Professionally

[Robin Allison (ecohousing]

Our group is ready to choose an architect as we are close to buying
land. One of our members (well, me actually) is an architect who's been
totally committed to the project from the beginning. The group is unsure
about the advisability of hiring the architect (or any other
professional) from within the group and how that would affect power
dynamics and accountability. Of course if I applied for the job I would
do so on the same basis as other architects we invited to apply (and
would not be part of the selection process), so the issue is not about
the ability to do the job.

I'd be really interested to hear from other groups who have used or are
using professionals from within your group: what were the problems and
the benefits? What would you do differently next time? Any other advice?
Are there architects on this list who have played that role for their
group?

I still have to decide how my skills could be most useful to the group
so I'd appreciate any replies.

Thanks
Robin Allison
Waitakere Eco-Neighbourhood Cohousing Project
Auckland, New Zealand.