Perhaps not, is the short answer. It’s up to you to decide whether an investment in a professional is justified.
When you employ an Architect, you’re not just paying for drawings – you’re paying for their knowledge, skill and experience. While working through a design, an architect will be thinking about the site constraints, climate, the sun path, views in and out, how it could be built, the structural implications, the applicable Building Regulations, practicality, sustainability, longevity, health and well being, the likely cost and so much more.
Employing an architect may seem expensive, but their fee is only a small percentage of the project cost. Architects bring creative thinking and value to projects of all sizes. They are skilled at making the best use of the space that you have, ensuring that the light is right, the feel is good and that the space works for you.
Read more about whether an architect is right for you and your project here.
We are ARB and RIBA registered and bring our expertise, knowledge and skill to all projects that we work on. We will guide you through the work stages and work with you to maximise the potential of your project to best suit you.
Architects’ fees vary depending on the location and complexity of the project and level of service expected from them. Some architects will base their charges on a percentage of a total project cost, others as a fixed price lump sum or on a time charge basis.
Like all professional services, architectural fees are not cheap. It might be helpful to view the fee as an investment – in the context of the construction cost, our fee is small, but engaging with an architect is certain to add value to your property.
Our fees vary depending on our scope of work and on what it is that you’re hoping to achieve. Once we have spoken with you, and possibly visited your project, we will prepare a fee proposal for your consideration. We usually present our fees as options: Basic; Standard; Enhanced. The options will be specific to your project. It will give you the opportunity to consider how much value you would like for us to add.
Our proposal will typically include for all stages of the project – from the initial design stage through to monitoring works on site. We break our fee down into the RIBA’s work stages, allowing you to select all or part of our services.
Our fees for each work stage are typically lump sum, as this gives you cost certainty.
As a guide, depending on our scope of work, our fee could be 4-12% of the construction cost.
Remember that you’re not just paying for drawings, you’re paying for our skills and expertise; our ability and keen motivation to engage with you to create the best outcome for your needs, property and budget.
Yes, we do. We offer a free Pre-Design Virtual Meeting where you can show us around your home and we can discuss your ideas, aspirations and requirements. We will answer questions about the process, time frames and associated costs.
Alternatively (or following an initial call or virtual meeting) for a small fee we offer a Pre-Design Site Visit Assessment, where we would meet you at to your home or property to have a more in depth conversation about your project.
DROP US AN E-MAIL and we will gladly send you more information.
You should first consider whether the other designer is offering a comparable service. We are always happy to review a competing quote to see if we are able to reduce our scope of services to match.
Every architect has a different way of working and will provide you with a different experience and solution. We suggest that you choose your designer on the basis that you like them; that they understand what it is that you’d like to achieve; that you feel that you can work with them for the duration of your project.
We offer a friendly and professional service and aim to understand what you’re hoping to achieve and to exceed your expectations.
Project management involves the organising and purchasing of supplies and materials; the organising of sub-contractors, etc. On a domestic project, this role is ordinarily undertaken by the contractor. It is the contractors duty to organise and manage the day to day running of the project and to ensure that they have the correct materials on hand at the correct time.
An architect would typically be appointed as contract administrator on a domestic project. This means that our role would be to carry out site visits to see that the work is progressing in accordance with the contract, issue weekly site reports with actions and instructions and certify payments, etc. We do not offer project management services, but we do offer contract administration services.
We are experts at designing schemes that meet the requirements of planning departments. We work hard to gain successful outcomes for our clients no matter where a project is located.
We have found that the appointment of a planning consultant on a tricky site can improve your chance of success. Planning consultants understand planning policies in great detail and speak the same language as the planners – so can really help argue your case if need be. We have good working relationships with a few planning consultants and will recommend one if we feel it to be appropriate for your project.
