First of all the topic may be confusing for most of the people. But it is necessary to get a clear knowledge on "Things to know before hiring a consulting architect". We will do our best in this article to make things clear about the topic. It is important to make clear because it involves your future as the owner of a property.
You may say I have heard about an Architect but what is this consulting architect. Now let us tell you who is a consulting architect. Consulting architects are business owners or managers who own or work for independent architecture or multidisciplinary design firms.
Consulting architects and Architects are different although the main purpose of both of them is to provide a suitable design for your concept. So you should not differentiate them on the basis of designing buildings. To know the difference we should focus on what they do. Now lets see what they do.
| Consulting Architects | Architects |
|---|---|
| A consulting architect is one who makes a specialty of being available to investigate and advise on architectural matters | An Architect is a trained professional trained in art and science of building design. |
| Often involves master planning and project management, as well as design. | Architects focus on technical drawings and plans. |
| Consulting architects lead integrated teams of architects, planners and interior designers | Architects work as an team member of consulting architect |
| In short they are specialists and team leaders. | In short they are team player |
I hope you have now some clear picture about the difference between Architect and Consulting Architect. Now lets dive into one of the frequently asked questions
Is any project small to a consulting architect?
The answer to the question depends on which reference you are judging the scale of project. If you are judging the project on the basis of project budget then yes. As budget defines how the project should go ahead. Otherwise, there is no such thing as big or small project for them. Consulting architects will take a look at your dreams, visions and budget to make your project successful.
lets make these thing simple to you. Let's say you have a clear project concept and vision in your mind but don't have detail requirements. After this you may be in confusion what to do and what not to do. A consulting architect will take over from here with his team up to key handover phase. That is from finalizing requirements to completion of your project.
When should I hire a consulting architect?
There is no such perfect time that you should hire a consulting architect. As and expert we suggest you to hire him/her after developing concept of your project. It is not necessary to even finalize your requirements for your project. For this, you should make your concept very very clear to your consultant.
If you are trying to start a restaurant you will need a food and beverage consultant (FNB consultant) first. FNB consultants will help you to pinpoint your idea and take it in a particular direction. Once you have a pinpoint and clear concept about your business then you will need consulting architects. He/she will then bring your concept into existence that will involve steps described in the building design steps section below.
What is the role of client in the design process?
The client plays a major role in the design process. He/she can make either a project go smooth and successful or end in disaster. As a client you firstly you should make your vision clear to your consultant. This will decide how good your project will be in future.
Second important part is answering all the questions asked by your consultant. You should answer all the questions very honestly. You must have heard the line " You must not lie to your doctor and lawyer". I would rather say you should not lie any of your consultant. Lying to these personnel may end in disaster.
One thing you should strictly avoid during design process is to consider consultant as a draft person. This is the major mistake clients make in the design process. And as a result the project ends in high cost disaster.
Now lets take a look how you should help your consultant step wise.
- Make your vision clear to your consultant.
- Finalize the requirement of your project with the help of your consultant.
- Discuss your design with your project stakeholders
- Discuss about the changes if there is any else and take your project to next level.
Discussion about the design with stakeholders mentioned in step no 3 is a very important part of the project. It will decide how good and fine the project will be. For example: Let us consider you are in the design process of your residence. In this case your stake holder may be your family members. You should ask your kids what kind of bedroom they want, you should ask your wife what kind of kitchen is better, you should ask yourself what kind of garage and study area is good for your house. I know it will take time and there will be differences of opinion regarding this. But you and other stakeholders should take it positively and should not take the things in ego.
Steps involved in building design
It will be easy and fast for you to bring your concept to life by getting an idea on building design steps. Here I am trying to explain the steps involved in the design of two most commonly used services.
In case of residential building
- Document verification
- Site visit
- Programming
- Schematic design
- Design development
- Construction document
- Bidding and negotiation
- Construction administration
In case of commercial building
- Feasibility study
- Document verification
- Site visit
- Programming
- Schematic design
- Design development
- Construction document
- Bidding and negotiation
- Construction administration
- Post occupancy training
In case of interior design
It will be easy for owners if they get some idea of interior design steps as in building design portion. The steps listed may sound the same as the building design process but it is different in execution. Following are the steps involved in the interior design process.
- Site visit
- Programming
- Schematic design
- Design development
- Construction document
- Bidding and negotiation
- Construction administration
We will explain all of the steps involved in detail in our next article so stay online for my next article.
Our suggestion
- You should hire consulting architect instead of an architect
- You should hire a consulting architect after you have developed your project concept
- You should help your consultant to verify the property before entering the design phase. Else, all efforts made during the design phase form both sides will go to vain.
- Information acquired from site visit will be used in the programming and schematic design phase. It will also decide the budget of your project. So, you should properly answer the questions asked by consultant during site visit. This will make your building livable for its lifetime.
- You should make your concept and vision clear to your consultant. If your requirements are not clear don't worry about it. Your consultant will help you.
- Your project will be successful if you choose your project stakeholders wisely and discuss with them properly in design phase.
- Consulting architect will play the role of project coordinator, project manager or supervisor and chief advisor to the client during construction phase.
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