Architects’ services explained
Opinder Liddar breaks down what you can expect your architect to provide and what extra services they could offer for your project
Opinder Liddar discusses what you should expect to see included within a professional designer’s contract
In conversation with many self builders over my 10 years at the Ask Our Expert desk at Build It Live exhibitions, it has become apparent that the role of an architect is a bit of a mystery to those outside the profession. In fact, many people ask whether they should just ask a builder to put together some drawings, which is a big risk and is unlikely to result in success. So, here I’m breaking down exactly what an architect does to help clients and hope to leave you in the position to be able to choose how and with whom you develop your scheme.
What is an architect?
You have to spend at least seven years in training before applying to be officially called an architect. During this time, they develop and hone creative skills to design solutions to fit a specific brief, eg for your dream home. When I was training, it was always apparent to me that architects should design structures with the aim of creating buildings to lift their clients’ spirits. After all, a self build can be demanding and complicated. Therefore, we don’t just ‘do drawings,’ we have the potential to take a holistic overview of your objectives, requirements, budget and how to deliver the designs we produce for you to facilitate the creation of your dream home.
If you want an architect, your first step is to check that you are appointing the right designer. All too often do I hear at events, “our architect didn’t do that” or “why didn’t our architect explain that to us like you did?” only to find that the person they have appointed isn’t, actually, an architect. The professional title is protected by law and only those who have passed the relevant qualifications, have experience and have been assessed by the architect’s Registration Board (ARB) can be called an architect.
You can check a designer’s credentials by searching on the ARB website (www.arb.org.uk). All architects are held to account by the ARB; the requirements include carrying professional indemnity insurance and being up-to-date in architectural training and ideas, meaning that you, the client, are protected in a variety of ways.
Here I address key stages that your architect can support you with. However, these are the basic elements that you can expect. In addition, there is a wealth of other services possible: 3D renders, cost plans, Health and Safety advice, energy performance advice, Party Wall Services and mediation. Remember that creating your own home is an adventure and a journey to be enjoyed. In order to successfully do this, using an architect as your trusted guide through the process will be a worthwhile investment.
1 Brief preparation & feasibility
To start with, be aspirational and share your thoughts with your architect. A good designer should discuss plenty of ideas with you; you’ve appointed someone to help develop your plans, not just to settle for the first draft.
Your brief needs to cover your key objectives; for instance, creating a new home for your family. It should set out the elements of your lifestyle that you are keen to accommodate or develop – do you want open plan? More quiet areas? Somewhere to work from home? Consider everyone’s needs, including how to future-proof your property so that you can live there for years to come. I often ask clients to share a scrapbook or Pinterest board of things they like as we establish the brief to understand their preferred style of design, furniture and works of art.
Set out your goals regarding environmental credentials and sustainability. Your architect should be knowledgeable on appropriate methods of achieving eco-friendly targets, from building materials through to the best use of energy saving equipment. The future running and maintenance costs of your home also need consideration here.
Your project budget will ultimately determine what’s possible, so discussing this with your designer is essential. It’s also important to get a grip on realistic timeframes – bear in mind that it can take years from the start of the design process to actually moving into your new home, so it is vital that you and your architect get on.
You could get your architect to undertake an initial simple feasibility study into the viability of your project.
This would look at the overall location of the structure, an assessment of planning restrictions and likely costs for the project. You can then use this to test the viability of your wishes before you get into more detailed planning.
2 Scheme design
Your architect will produce a strong concept design based your initial brief, but this is unlikely to be the final version. Take time to reflect on the initial design and discuss your thoughts with your architect so they can work to further develop it. This could happen several times as the scheme evolves closer to the final drawings that will become a reality.
This is the time at which to test the scheme, from both a planning permission and cost control perspective. If there are concerns about gaining consent from the council – for instance, if you are in a conservation area or next to a listed building – then your architect may discuss carrying out a pre-planning application with the local authority as a way of testing the water.
By the end of the scheme design stage, your architect should have developed drawings that you are happy with, considered the budget with you and have set out the planning strategy for your project.
3 Detailed design
Your project is now about to go live to the public and your architect needs to prepare detailed design drawings and a Design & Access Statement as part of a planning application they will submit on your behalf.
Your designer should talk to you about the relevant expert advice that will help your application, such as studies into the ecology, highways, contamination, hydrology or trees
on the site. In the past, written reports might have been a condition of planning approval once you had made your application; nowadays, there has been an increase in the amount of information and consultants’ reports required up front to be submitted as part of the application itself.
Once you’ve applied for planning consent, you and your architect should address any comments raised as the application progresses. However, be aware that some local authorities allow you to make changes during the application and extend the determination date, but others are not as customer centric and do not allow any flexibility.
Hopefully your architect’s expert monitoring and liaison with the local planning authority will result in an approval notice. If not, the refusal will set out why the application failed and your designer should talk you through how to make it more palatable or discuss making an appeal to the planning inspectorate.
4 Technical design & tendering
Once you have formal planning consent to start building, you will need a comprehensive set of construction drawings to enable you to source accurate and competitive prices when reaching out to potential contractors. The level of information required to build your project simply won’t appear on planning drawings. So never just get prices from the plans you submit with your planning application, as you’ll leave yourself exposed to potential additional costs from a builder.
At this stage, you and your architect should discuss how involved you want to be during the construction of your project and how you wish to procure
it. You’ll also need to know what other consultants may be required for at this stage. For instance, a structural engineer is employed in 95% of the projects we do.
As the complexity of mechanical and electrical kit required for new properties increases, you may need specialist advice on the appropriate heating, ventilation and electrical wizardry for your home.
Get these specialists on board early rather than once the project is on site. It is likely to cause delays and costs if, for example, you don’t know where your structural supports, ducts and service runs are going to be located.
5 Information for trades
Your architect’s portfolio of construction documents will show how the building is set out, including dimensions, and compliance with Building Regulations. Energy calculations (Standard Assessment Procedure or SAP calculations) demonstrate how the property meets thermal performance and airtightness requirements. An architect’s package usually provides a finishes schedule and proposed electrical layout for you to develop further with your trades.
As the number of providers for windows, doors, stairs etc is prolific, the construction package needs to show dimensions for these elements but. To give a competitive edge to the tendering process, we normally ask for contractors to price these items within their tender, using their preferred supplier.
6 On site management
Having taken you this far, your architect can also be involved as the build takes shape. Where tenders for separate trades are sought, your designer is unlikely to manage these individual contracts. This is because project management can be a full-time role, involving coordination of trades, site set up with temporary works (eg scaffolding), health and safety measures, keeping things clean and safe, making sure that relevant inspections happen at the right time etc. All these tasks must be organised by a responsible person, but having an architect doing this can be costly. However, where your builder takes responsibility for all of the trades on site, you may still want the architect to be involved in some capacity.
If you can’t meet with your builder regularly, want independent advice throughout the build or someone to document the process and act as go-between for you and the contractor, you may want to consider a full contract administration role from your architect. This service involves producing a set of building contract documents for the various trades; regular site visits; producing minutes from formal meetings; issuing architect instructions for variations to the contract(s); checking and producing payment certificates; and deciding whether the builder should have additional time and or costs on site.
As a more affordable option, my practice offers a scaled down service. For this we are still involved on site to help you or the builder with any aspect of the project, but without the heavily documented administration. This is usually a capped amount of time every month, so is more affordable and probably more appropriate for a self build.
You may think there cannot be much left for an architect to do once your project is on site. And until fairly recently I probably would have agreed with you; however, with the complexities of construction and the sums presently involved, I think that having your designer looking out for your build is becoming more of a necessity. Catching key details on site before they are concealed (eg behind walls or under floors) will mean that the building works perform as intended and therefore your future running and maintenance costs are as expected.