Before you have made a decision on who you would like to work with, it is worth understanding what are the key stages of the project and to understand what your level of involvement will be.
What is your involvement?
Close engagement with your architect is key in a successful project. This will allow key work stages to be delivered smoothly. We feel that a collaborative approach as part of an iterative process, allows development of the brief, resulting in a refined design best suited to the clients needs. A good working relationship between the client and architect is crucial to the success of the project.
What are your responsibilities?
There are occasions where clients will have a list of project requirements which is not in line with their budget. The architect should work closely with you to explore opportunities, review constraints and provide you with advice in helping you feel prepared in providing a solid design brief relative to the budget.
Flexibility, open minded and collaboration in building a professional working relationship are your main responsibilities.
How often do we meet?
Each architect will work differently with regards to the number of meetings but it is normal to meet more during the design process starting with briefing, site visit(s) and concept design.
Design development can be one of the most exciting and engaging stages as this is when the design brief is illustrated in sketches, drawings and models to better illustrate the design. During this stage, we will usually meet until the decisions are finalised prior to proceeding to the next stage.
During the technical design, it is likely that meetings will be less as the emphasis would be to generate the final drawings for the project. Emails and phone calls will allow decisions and provide feedback, whilst also keep the progress of the project moving smoothly.
How long does the project take?
As you are probably aware, this is open-ended as there are a number of factors which could determine how the long the process takes.
We can usually provide an accurate estimate of how long the design process will take once we have a good understanding of your brief. It is important to note however that there are a number of other factors that can affect the project programme. These include, planning, other consultants, building regulations, construction and costs etc.
If you are thinking about renovating your property or a new build, we would be happy to see how we can help in creating a space which suits your needs. To learn more about our services, please contact us.