What to think about before hiring an architect:
If you’re looking to hire an architect and haven’t worked with one before, it might feel difficult to know where to start. You’ll probably do what one does when hiring any professional service: call a few, briefly explain the project you had in mind, and ask for quotes. While this can work, it’s certainly not the most effective way to get the answers you’re looking for. I created this guide and included some tools to help you better define your project so that you can have a more productive and informed conversation with your potential architect.
Step 1: Define the scope.
You might know exactly what you want to build, or you might just be curious as to what’s feasible on your property. One question I like to ask my clients on that preliminary call is: What are your goals for this project? Is your family growing and you need additional space? Will elderly parents be moving in and you need ADA compliant spaces? Think about any quantitative (eg. how many bedrooms?) and qualitative (eg. high end or cost-effective design?) information that you can provide the architect so they can better understand what their level of involvement, and respective fees, will need to be. You’ll be using this scope information to put together a rough budget, which we’ll discuss in the next step.
Step 2: Set a budget you’re comfortable with.
Most of us don’t have much exposure to the construction industry and lack a frame of reference to think about costs. That’s why I put together a residential cost estimating tool to help you get a preliminary understanding of what your project might cost. This is a great exercise in designing what you need. Often times we only think about the total square footage of a house and we equate that to the amount of space that we need. That is what we normally see in home listings after all. However, that square footage could be due to inefficient hallways or unnecessarily large bedrooms. A well designed and sustainable house is thoughtful with its use of space, and by going through this spreadsheet, you can envision with a bit more granularity exactly where your square footage, and subsequent dollars, are going. Click the button below to get access!
Step 3: Be clear with your time constraints.
Everyone wants their projects to be done yesterday, but unfortunately, home projects can take anywhere from multiple months to a few years. The permitting process alone can take 3-4 months depending on your local jurisdiction and the scope of the work. This can be especially stressful and disruptive for homeowners who have a lease ending soon or a child to put into school. Be up front with any time constraints you might have so that the architect can advise as to whether you need to decrease scope or potentially break the project up into phases that make sense for your timeline.
Step 4: Compromise.
These three forces, scope, budget, and schedule, are what ground your project in reality. They’re in constant tension with one another, and more often than not, you’ll have to prioritize two at the expense of the third. Do you want a high end project built as quickly as possible? You’ll likely be paying a significant premium. Do you have both a strict budget and a tight schedule? You might need to reduce the footprint of the project. Though you certainly won’t have this all figured out from the get go, having an idea of what these forces mean to you and communicating that with your architect will go a long way in managing expectations and setting up the project for success.
Have a cool project in mind? Leave me a message below and let’s chat!
