Architects costs

I do not understand the criticism and resentment towards architects and designers!

Architects and designers are professionals like any other in the building sector, they are trained creative with a wealth of knowledge in art, design and building technology. Employed to conceive concepts, broaden vision and deliver unique solutions for client. We have defined briefs with schedule and budget, we work closely with teams of engineers, contractors who share the same ambition to deliver great projects to client and exceed their expectation.

Without architects or designers (product designers, furniture designers, transport designers), there won’t be any beautiful buildings like St Paul cathedral, Tate Modern, the Gherkin to name a few. The house that we live in will lack any aesthetic and look like east Germany in the 80’s, Ikea will have worst furniture to sell for your home, the shops you go in will be even drier and more boring, the bike you ride won’t have those lovely lines.

I trained for 5 years as an interior architect, worked on Heathrow terminal 5 for a year along side a massive team of engineers and architects, and 6 years in retail design, I can tell you that if you want good project result, the most important element for you is to put together a team that shares your vision and have very good communication skill.

And yes, we designers are aware of Function and Form!

Originally Posted by Dave20046

Bloody civil engineers

Calm down there Dave, no need to get nasty.

[Sir Trev]

[prepares to wade in]

I will happily defend architects from my own experiences. Our initial wish list for our house extension was transformed into something practical and far, far better by an architect. She understood what we needed the extra space for, made sensible suggestions, and showed us how a few additional changes would make it all fit together far better than we had ever imagined. The creative spark and spacial awareness gave us a house we are now VERY happy with.

The plans were excellent, getting through the Planning and Building Control was no problem, the builders had everything they needed to quote from, and the proce was not too bad.

However, the previous comments about creatives not being great at project management are spot on in my experience.

Oh, and don't believe that a recession and a near death of the building trade will result in a good price for the construction work - the quotes we had were absurd three years ago and a mate who wants a nice simple loft conversion found it the same. Nobody seems to want to do any work unless they make a ridiculous profit at your expense. Compared to this the architects fees were peanuts!

[wades out before getting hit by things thrown by the "engineers"]

Originally Posted by Sir Trev

Oh, and don't believe that a recession and a near death of the building trade will result in a good price for the construction work - the quotes we had were absurd three years ago and a mate who wants a nice simple loft conversion found it the same. Nobody seems to want to do any work unless they make a ridiculous profit at your expense. Compared to this the architects fees were peanuts!

Being a builder who does this type of work i have to say you have the attitude as most of the clients i come across.

We, or I dont make a fortune out of extensions, everybody thinks self employed people make a fortune, well, i'll tell the truth.
We make a living but you'll never get rich being a self employed tradesman.
Things are great when everything goes to plan in terms of time, budget etc etc.
But what happens when things dont turn up on time, they dont turn up at all, they turn up wrong, its me that has to absorb this cost, no one else.
If i make my wages at the end of the job its been successful, if i make a profit its a bonus.
Try and stick a bit more money on the job for contingency, you dont get them.
I got 1 out of 6 extension quotes last year, lost on price and im not expensive.
Like today, i should be finishing assembling a conservatory, doors sent wrong, got no small jobs to do so cant work today.
So, my point is, its not all roses you know there is a lot of stress attached trying to get jobs done on budget etc and to try and make some money.

Originally Posted by leedsmatt7

Im a civil engineer mate, architects are ******s. Wht is it your wanting?
The architects are consultants and so if you go with an idea and then accept what ever they do for you it'll cost a lot less than if you go and ask them to amend what ever crap it is they end up drawing the first few times.

If it helps if you describe what it is your after I can knock up a couple of AutoCAD layouts no worries that will at least save you an initial back and forth expense ranging into the high hundreds. THen all you'll need it an architect to come and detail the materials for you.

Funny how architects at the practice i work at view civil engineers as ******s dont you think?

Originally Posted by TC3

Funny how architects at the practice i work at view civil engineers as ******s dont you think?

Read post 24 I say the same thing at the end. Its tit for tat, but always with a pinch of salt.

I am an architectual tech and wifey is an architect and partner in the company i work for.

I am not going to go into the amount of work needed to design something as we work on large scale projects but my wife has designed houses in the past (when she lived back in her home country the US of A) and she would quote exactly what the fees were and what the fees were for. She offered a full service which would include obtaining planning permission etc.

I do not know how it works in UK in regards to a small scale build such as a house. I would imagine most people must get planning permission themselves and then approach an architect. In terms of fees i would negotiate the cost for the initial plans which would also include any changes to be made (usually this is unavoidable) as the build is in progress.

A good architect will help create a building which will be as close to the vision of the customer as possible. In doing so they should take into account the materials, specifications and restrictions that will evidently shape the building. There is a lot to consider such as acoustic values, fire ratings and ventilation etc ... list goes on.

Amended after reading above post

[Sir Trev]

Originally Posted by specialone

Being a builder who does this type of work i have to say you have the attitude as most of the clients i come across.

<snip>

So, my point is, its not all roses you know there is a lot of stress attached trying to get jobs done on budget etc and to try and make some money.

I'm afriad a lot of people in your line of work don't help you or the perception us clients get of builders. Even the one-man-band contractor who came to price our extension turned up in a brand new 4x4 (an SUV type thing, not a pickup). One of the others even arrived in a personal-plated S-Class Merc! The guy we picked also had an enormous 4x4 car and the builder my neighbour is currently employing turns up in an almost new 5-Series Beemer.

I'm well aware it's not the case for all builders specialone, and I'm not having a pop in any way. Just pointing out my experiences and my observations.

Originally Posted by Sir Trev

I'm afriad a lot of people in your line of work don't help you or the perception us clients get of builders. Even the one-man-band contractor who came to price our extension turned up in a brand new 4x4 (an SUV type thing, not a pickup). One of the others even arrived in a personal-plated S-Class Merc! The guy we picked also had an enormous 4x4 car and the builder my neighbour is currently employing turns up in an almost new 5-Series Beemer.

I'm well aware it's not the case for all builders specialone, and I'm not having a pop in any way. Just pointing out my experiences and my observations.

Nah i know what you mean, im only a one man band really, ive got an 04 transit so not rich lol.
I never seem to get the big earning jobs and when i get ones that pay ok i have to put that extra money away for when i dont have any work or need to replace expensive tools etc.

Phil

Its funny you say that sir trev, I used to work for a very small firm mainly individual dwellings extending upto 10plots and my old boss used to say the same sort of thing you've hinted at. In fact BMW/AUDI/MERC were all banned from the company car list as it gave people the impression the company was doing far too well it didnt matter that his weekend motor was a 911 cos he drove a vauxhall through the week.
He used to insist that an expensive full suit and a family car gave a much better impression than a shirt and trouser combo in a top of the line BMW.