What should you consider when hiring a residential architect?

Hiring a residential architect can be an exciting and rewarding experience. Whether planning a renovation, a new build or an extension, working with an architect can help you bring your vision to life and create a space that meets your unique needs and preferences. However, hiring an architecture firm can also come with challenges and potential problems. For many homeowners, it will be their first or only time hiring an architect, and, besides their property purchase, perhaps their biggest ever investment.

With social media, design magazines and TV shows it is easy to find visual references and inspiration for our homes. If you are considering a project, you have probably saved images of houses that you find inspiring, and made note of designers or retailers that you love. Whether by word-of-mouth, or internet research, you may even have a shortlist of architects.

Do consider that, as well as being led by aesthetics, it's essential to know the potential problems that can occur between architect and client before you start the hiring process to ensure you have the right architect for your project. These problems can vary from communication issues to budget management problems and it's essential to mitigate these early on to ensure that your experience with your architect is based on a good relationship.

Be sure to talk in person early on: does communication feel easy? Do you feel listened to? Have you seen examples of their work, and do you like what you see? Perhaps you can even visit a project in person. Talk about the management of project costs and time. Talk about design fees. And make sure they will have time for your project, especially if you would like the project to progress quickly.

An architecture project is a long journey and it's important that a good relationship is established so that your architect can be in a position to understand what really matters to you.

Communication

Many homeowners, on their first build, will not usually have a clear idea of the services that an architect can provide. It is essential for your architect to communicate very clearly what service they offer and if any elements are excluded from the service. It is also crucial for them to establish how much you want to be involved in the process.

When you understand the role they can provide in your project, you should be clear about your needs. You will also need to ensure that your architect is aware of any budget and timeframe constraints to tailor their services to your needs.

Ongoing communication throughout the project is key. There will be quiet times when your architect is focused on detailed plans and technical drawings that will not require your input or waiting for approvals from local authorities. During the other active phases of the project, regular check-ins are essential to keep the project dialogue open.

It is important to listen to your architect's recommendations and feedback. You will be working with a highly trained professional with expertise in design and construction. Your architect will also listen to your ideas and provide the best advice to include these..

If issues arise during the process and you have any concerns, it is important to bring these up with your architect. Addressing issues early on can help prevent larger problems down the line.

An often overlooked aspect of communication is the use of 2D architectural drawings to explain and agree projects. This format is commonly used in the construction industry, but very few homeowners are experienced at reading plans or get a sense of their project from 2D drawings. Architects are visual thinkers and read plans with ease. 3d communication is essential for any building project to succeed as it allows all parties to participate in the process without any barriers to entry.

Communication is also crucial during the construction administration phase of the project. Your architect should have project management skills to facilitate the day-to-day activities, long-range planning and change management practice. This is especially important when working on older buildings with many unknowns even when the project are on site. Detailed drawings may need to change, and it's essential that you are engaged in these drawings to understand the implications at a relatively late stage of the project.

Design quality

A well-designed residential building can enhance the quality of your life and add value to your property. Good design can elevate and uplift your everyday experience, by offering good functionality as well as appealing aesthetics. On the other hand, poorly designed spaces can be frustrating, inefficient and even dangerous. At worst, they are dull and do not excite the human imagination.

All qualified architects are trained to design buildings that enhance the quality of your life but if you are a homeowner, it might make more sense to hire an architect with a focus in this field. A specialist residential architect will think about the everyday human experience of the house as a retreat or a rejuvenating refuge, or a welcoming and flexible space for socialising. You may have your own ideas about how you want your home to feel and a residential architect will be the expert in helping you translate this feeling into reality.

As a long-term investment, a well-designed space should meet your needs for e and it is worth considering economic and durable solutions that are built to last to achieve these needs. Yeconomicalitect should be well equipped to bring design delight to most economiconstrainingolutions.

In London, where space is at a premium, especially in areas where conservation regulations apply, your architect should be able to navigate the system with the planning authorities and design process to ensure that the maximum space is achieved without compromising building codes, neighbouring amenities or your sense of space, light and view.

Managing costs and time

The three factors that constrain construction projects are Design Quality, Budget and Time Management. It is very important to discuss realistic construction costs, overall project costs and timeframes with your architect as these will determine the design quality of the project. If there is a limited budget and a short timeframe, then it will not be possible to achieve the highest possible design quality.

The best solution in these cases is usually to consider the phasing of the project rather than spending less on the design quality as this is the element that will deliver the most return on your investment. Your architect should be able to guide you on an appropriate phased process to maximise your investment in the longer term if budget and time are of primary importance to you.

Other budget and time management issues can occur during the construction administration phase. Building material and labour costs can be volatile so it's essential to provide clear and concise information to your contractor and be in a position to establish how and when the costs are stacking up throughout the project.

Changes do occur in any construction process, especially in residential projects where you are reconfiguring older buildings. There can be many unknown factors within 18th and 19th-century building fabric which are only discovered when the builders are on site, and which may require changes to the design. Any design changes, whether led by site discoveries or the client making new decisions, can impact the project’s cost and time. So it is important to communicate any changes you want promptly and agree a contingency sum with your architect to deal with any unknown issues that may arise.

Design conflict

The reputation of the profession is coloured by signature styles, and design philosophies and then categorized by media coverage. Although these are inspiring and provide ideas for an architectural design, they can often detract from the actual problems you are trying to solve with the design of your home. Some architects will have a house style that might not fit with the way you want to live. You may also be attracted to a particular style that does not fit with the way you actually live or the house you want to build, renovate or extend.

There should be no conflict if your architect really understands the way you want to live and how to read the specific building or site to get the most out of the intrinsic value that already exists. Your architect should be able to manage the brief and the project budget and apply it to get the most out of what exists but cannot be seen yet.

Availability

London has a high demand for experienced architects and other building services such as structural engineers so it is important to understand the availability of your architect and their network of specialist consultants, contractors and subcontractors.

Your architect may have a larger practice and may not be directly involved with you throughout the entire design and construction drawing phase and if that's the case, you should probably know the person you will be working with to ensure that there is a consistent fit throughout the project lifetime.

Your architect's network is also key to the delivery of your project. These will consist of other designers, engineers, surveyors, specialist trades and suppliers. They will be working together as a team to bring your project together, and your architect will orchestrate that team during the project.

Changing schedules and priorities is part and parcel of the construction process and cannot be avoided so it is important that your architect has a solid network and the ability to manage changes and keep you informed as the project evolves.

Fees

Many residential clients fall into the same trap of hiring an architectural firm before they know what their project actually is and committing from the outset to a fixed fee associated with an unknown project. This is the wrong way to start a project for both architect and client. It is a major reason why projects end up being unsatisfactory, either because the project is derailed at the concept sketch stage while architectural plans are taking shape, or because the final built outcome is the client’s third best solution, an undesirable compromise.

Instead, it is important to have in place a fee agreement which is clear and which feels fair to both parties, and which is based on a defined project brief. Read more about architects’ fees in a following post