Although architects have been quite slow on learning about green design principles there has recently been a bit of a scramble to catch up and they all now claim to know about the subject. In fact most architects practices leave the technical work to architectural technicians they employ. It may pay to ask quite detailed questions about what sort of experience they have actually had with green design.
On a good day
an architect will be able to -
- get your wildest designs approved by the local planning committee
- read your mind and turn your dreams and ideas into beautiful practical realities
- coordinate all the other parties such as engineers and other consultants
- find and help organise good friendly honest hard working cut-price builders
- oversee the whole process for not too much money
Typically
on a simple job, an architect will draw up plans for outline and detailed planning approval. They will then maybe get quotes from various builders unless you want to do that. After that they might keep an eye on the work as it progresses and issue a certificate of completion when it is all satisfactorily finished.
And what to avoid
On a bad day an architect will -
- impose their taste and value system all over yours
- hate the idea of working on a job as small as yours when designing a shopping centre is more lucrative
- either get at horribly cross purposes with your builder or acquiesce to everything they suggest
- introduce extra fees at every possible point
Somewhere between the two scenarios lies the typical self build project!
Their professional associations
Architects are often (but not always) members of an association such as
- the RIBA, the Royal Institute of British Architects
- the ACA the Association of Consultant Architects
- the Architectural Association
and you can find lists of local practices from these links.
The range of what they can do
Architects have an outline Plan of Work which is a list of jobs they can undertake on your behalf. It's OK to pick and mix a bit with this providing you agree clearly about it beforehand. This is a link to the RIBA plan of work.
Prices (they call them fees)
Architects fees will be around 7% for new build and 11% for existing buildings (that is as a percentage of the total building cost including labour and materials).
It's worth bearing in mind that in the UK architecture is not a particularly well paid profession, especially where small jobs are concerned. The partners in large practices which work on huge projects can make a great deal of money (usually by employing other architects to do all the donkey work) but small practices often struggle to do well out of small but possibly complicated jobs. One of the great fears of architects is that they spend a great deal of time and creative energy getting a project off the ground only to find that the client/customer then changes her/his mind and all the effort was wasted. Either that or other circumstances may change during the duration of the project and this will affect the design.
Another complication to do with changes in design concerns what constitutes a simple change and what constitutes a complex one. Changing the colours of the paint in each room might only involve a few quick changes to a decorator's schedule. Moving a wall slightly might mean changes to all kinds of things. Try to spot the look of anguish on your architect's face when you suggest it.
Communicating
As with everything, what matters most is the quality of communication you have with your architect. This is not a simple matter and it has to work both ways. There are several ways you can express what you want:
- verbally - talking about what you would like
- with pictures - moving or still - drawings, videos etc.
- by sharing an experience - e.g. visiting a house or building you like
It can get deeper than this and you might want to share a broader range of experiences to see if you are on the same vibe.
Your architect can respond to your requests in a similar way to how you made them but usually with less of the verbal and more of the visual. This will probably start with sketches and move on to drawings and then maybe models and possibly computer simulations such as walk-throughs of a design. Remember that these can be quite expensive to produce before a final design is arrived at. The architect's skill lies in being able to present an evolving picture of what you are asking for including how feasible it is and what the cost implications are. If you keep changing your mind as the design process goes along then your architect will probably start increasing the fees. Keep asking how things are going on this score!