Architectural designs

ensure you get the most out of your project. Your architect will construct designs that cater to your specifications, style and budget that are presented in the brief. Self-build architects cater to the individual needs of your project, and possess experience with a vast number of building styles and construction techniques. All architects registered with the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS), Architects Registration Board (ARB) and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) have the ability to prepare scale drawings and often 3D models of the proposed self-project. This information will be presented to you in design development meetings. This ensures you’re getting exactly what you want before building work starts. Need more reasons to hire an architect for your self-build? Houzz UK Contributor Michael Schienke, director and founder at Vorbild Architecture, offers just a few.

They will hold your hand

People often think only of the monetary value a good architect can add to their home, by creating a more coherent design, or adding a new room, for example. But architects also know the design and build process back to front.

They will often come up with good ideas you may never have imagined

Architects design spaces from the inside out. If you ask them to draw an extension, they’ll do that, but they’ll also discuss how you intend to use the space, or even how you use the whole property, to make sure the extension and the way it looks and feels makes sense for you.

They can help you with your room layout

While an architect’s main training is to look at the whole house on a grand scale, they also know how to look at every detail. So with a kitchen, for instance, they’ll make sure it functions efficiently for you and you can seamlessly move from one task to another without going backwards and forwards.

They can help you work to your means

This function is much more common in mainland Europe than in the UK, where cost consultants or quantity surveyors have taken over this part of the architect’s expertise. Still, many architects can help you with forming your budget right from the start, so you can feel more in control and work out whether you can afford that more expensive kitchen you always wanted.

They think outside the box

They like to encourage creativity. That wacky idea, which at the beginning everyone smiled about, could actually be brilliant, and an architect can think it through practically. Their ability to look at a house overall, think and pre-empt how you might use it or, more importantly, how you could make even better use of it, can lead him or her to suggest completely different points of view to someone solely looking at one room in isolation. Architects can help you to invest wisely in your home. Think of engaging an architect as an investment in your house. The more you can improve your property, maximise the available space or even get permission for a larger extension, the more you stand to increase its value.