Home construction being a committed and costly project can cause many
frustrations so you need the expertise of talented architects who give
shape to well-designed buildings. While selecting potential architects,
you need to establish certain goals ranging from size and
energy-efficiency to budget needs. There must be good rapport between an
architect and the client, for a successful venture. Here are some tips
for selecting the best architect for your home:
Set your own agenda
To let the architect design your dream home, you should provide a
detailed account of your needs, like:
Your Budget - Give the architect a range of costs that would
be acceptable and within your means, since it is useless to have a
project design that is beyond your ability to fund.
Size, Appearance and Function - Provide information on your
vital needs like square footage, style preference, space requirement,
lifestyle and other functional requirements.
Materials - Instruct the architect on your preference of
building materials like wood flooring, stone and brick.
Time Frame - Let your architect know about your time
constraints like some vacations, business obligations etc.
Finding your architectural match
Before appointing an architect it is better to enquire on things like
whether the architect firm is licensed and fully insured, man power and
consultants employed, credentials and industrial experience, references,
fee structure, other project sites etc. The few things you should keep
in mind are:
- Gather as much information and recommendations possible from
your friends, colleagues and builders who are acquainted with the
job profile of the architect to assess the efficiency and
suitability of the architect in advance.
- Shortlist the contacts of a number of architects according to
your requirement and interview them to decide on best person. Also
visit some of your architect’s projects to have a greater outlook.
- Fix beforehand on the charges to be incurred for a perfect
design, since architects may charge a percentage of the whole job,
work on an hourly rate basis or require a lump sum. They may provide
services like that of a project manager, finding builders, a package
of personnel and materials ensuring the efficient running of your
project – or, providing merely the drawings to be followed up by
your own builders.
- Make sure of the services included within the fee structure of
the architect, you may need to move out while some work is done
which might incur its own costs such as storage or hotel bills. Look
out for hidden costs if any.
- Decide on the ideas, possibilities, style file, and reasons for
embarking on the job, expectations, visual requirements, time
considerations and other preferences so as not to change your mind
midway.
- Assess the design, philosophy and communication style of the
architect as you meet and gauge whether this may be a good fit for
you and your project.
- Check on the architect's efficiency in dealing with other
professional inputs such as availability of trade discounts,
requirement of prior applications and requirement of professionals
like structural engineers.
- Most importantly, always get your deal finalized in the form of
a written contract to avoid complications later.
The contribution of an architect behind every well-designed building
cannot be ignored. This leads people to hire architects to suit their
required criteria. Thus the quest for a perfect architect should be made
judiciously.
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