knowing when to step back

There was a very clear line in the Somol and Whiting reading that stuck with me: 

‘..when architect’s engage topics that are seemingly outside of architecture’s historically-defined scope - questions of economics or civil politics, for example - they don’t engage those topics as experts on economics or civil politics but, rather as experts on design and how design may effect economics or politics.’

This is a seemingly mundane statement, taken at face value, but personally, when I am researching a project, I can easily find myself getting wrapped up in matters outside of architecture. It is certainly very important to be knowledgeable about the site-specific economics and civic matters; but the architect is not the best equipped to assess these particular matters. I think the key lesson to take from the Somol and Whiting statement is the importance of starting the dialogue and building a relationship with the subject matter experts. The project can only stand to improve if there are open lines of communication between all involved parties. A collaborative and inclusive partnership of design and construction team members with the community in which they operate would improve all parties’ knowledge of the project - and therefore lead to a better finished product.