You'd love a sophisticated architectural design, but do you really need an architect? Also knowing where to start with so many professionals, contractors and costs involved can be a daunting situation. Let's find out if you need the help of a professional or can indeed DIY.
Architect:
Creative Process
Two things often happen when you go down the conventional design path with an architect. First, they will dive deep into understanding your lifestyle, they’ll question everything you mention and introduce their design philosophies to redesign what you’ve spent so long researching. And second, they’ll charge for it. Often the floor plan design phase can 2-6 months, and at their professional rate, that can be big $$$.
Some architects tend to think of their buildings as three dimensional forms with various textures almost like a sculptural element, rather than a building comprised of actual parts. The best architects develop their sculptural concepts into rationalised construction systems to simply things for the builder. However some architects won't be able to do this effectively and essentially expect the builder to reinvent the wheel to manufacture the custom elements they have proposed.
Skillset
Architects are, however, typically highly skilled and experienced industry professionals that provide a luxury/premium service to those wanting a custom-designed building, subdivision, estate, campus or even a piece of furniture. Thanks to their education and varied experience, they can sometimes charge substantial fees, sometimes as high as 15-20% of the construction cost if they have clientele lined up willing to invest such figures. Some architects will be more technical focused and others will have a more flamboyant fashion sense.
Office Structure
The most common architectural practice is a small one often being just a sole practitioner or with one employee to assist with the preparing the working drawings. This employee is typically referred to as a draftsperson.
In a large firm there is a Project Architect assigned to oversee the job and speak with the clients. Sometimes they will be involved in the design but in most cases the design will be passed down to a 'designer' (somebody who isn't legally an architect but is more creative than a draftsperson) and then assisted by a draftsperson as the project's drawings are required to become more technical.
Draftsperson (Unlicensed technician)
What is a Draftsperson?
Often assisting the architect, or a project builder, is a draftsperson, or team of them. They use various computer software to draw the plans, sections elevations and schedules that become the documentation used to communicate your design.
In recent decades, draftsman or draftspeople have become known to do their own freelance work under the banner of other registered professionals or for drawing illegal structures.
Since their professional experience has typically been to 'assist' and not 'lead' the process, you can expect their design and industry skills to be more limited when working solo on a project for you. They might have gaps in their knowledge relating to critical topics and tasks such as working with various types of engineers, town planners and identifying which council, state and national building codes or regulations apply. It's therefore our general recommendation, that you don't consider appointing an unlicensed designer to be 'responsible' for your project's working drawing set.
Don't Risk it
Even if their drawings are legible and accurate, if the information they convey doesn't align with what's actually required by the 3 levels of government, it can cost you serious time and money to have things rectified... either on paper or in bricks and mortar. For example, forgetting to design appropriately for flood-prone or Bushfire prone land, keeping the roof under the property's height limit, or avoiding a sewer line can lead to a total redesign and is a complete waste of time and money. A building certifier may even reject the whole building application altogether, if a license number isn't listed on the plans, as there is no credibility for who designed the building, making it difficult for them to have any confidence being responsible for its approvals.
A building certifier may even reject the whole building application altogether, if a license/registration number isn't listed on the plans.
Consider:
If you’ve built up a relationship with an talented draftsperson, maybe they could stay involved in the project but let a registered or licensed professional lead the way and produce the final drawings that will be stamped by the council, reviewed by the bank, and referred to by dozens of contractors and other professionals during construction.
Is there another option?
With the above said, there seems to be a big difference between paying a registered architect to take an in-depth journey exploring various design principles and somebody who's potentially using illegal software, with no insurance on a project that is lily a major investment of yours... Is there a third option?
Yes...Building Designers
In Queensland and Victoria, these are qualified and licensed professionals who have surpassed their early days of assisting architects, builders or other building designers and now run a legitimate business of their own.
What is the legal difference between a Building Designer and an Architect?
The key legal difference between them and an architect is the authoritative body they are registered with and whether restriction have been placed on their licence type.
Building Designers in QLD are licensed with the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) rather than the Queensland Board of Architects.
Depending on a building designer's license type, they may be restricted to some building types or hold an "Open' license, as does BYO floor Plan, meaning they can design and document any building. Be it a surf club, library, office building, school, medical center, factory, apartment building and of course a house, irrespective of how large they may be, a building designer with an 'Open' license or a registered architect can legally design it.
Note, there are some exceptions in NSW such as various types of apartment buildings that now need an Architect tp prepare the construction certificate drawings.
OK, What are the other differences?
More to the point, building designers tend to be more practical in their approach rather than artistic or critically academic. If they were more artsist and wanted to pursue the cultured field of architecture they probably would, however that doesn't appeal to everyone and it can be hard for tradies to relate to them.
Building designers are often more focused on the technical aspects design and construction of the house rather than winning an award for a remarkably unique piece of architecture or lecturing as a professor at university. For example they might be more interested in improving the energy efficiency outcomes or simplifying the construction systems of an otherwise complex design into something the builder will love to construct.
As with architects, creativity, ability and their fees will vary GREATLY among building designers.
Many building designers still attract clients with high budgets based on their portfolio of work and reputation with prior clients, engineers and builders, rather than the regulatory body they are registered with.
Cost Comparison and Scope:
Building designers tend to have less staff as they don't design as many large commercial projects which calls for larger teams. As a result they have less overhead and tend to spend less time coming up with a design concept so can charge less in fees when compared to some architects.
However this is only a very general statement and some Building Designer's concepts and drawings will be indistinguishable from that of an architect.
Some building designers will have the reputation and skillset to enable them to charge double that of a small architectural practice for the same project. In the design industry, fees and value are subjective, often based on reputation, past work, availability, or even how desperate somebody might be to win a job.
Scope of Work
Key to the value of the fees is the scope of work (AKA depth of service) they provide. At a basic level, architects and building designers can get away with preparing very basic drawing sets to just satisfy the building approval and a single builder who is happy to make desision on the fly.
If your looking to get multiple comparable quotes, your architect or building designer will need documenting the design down to the last detail. As a simple example, a kitchen bench can be professionally shown as a rectangle on the drawing with a cooktop icon added. That rectangle on the floor plan does nothing to explain the benchtop's thickness, material and colour, the configuration of drawers and shelving, their handles, the position of the microwave, indicate a pull-out garbage bin, and the type of splashback. Is there a water connection for the fridge noted and is there enough power for the induction cooktop?
Beware of cheap quotes from architects and designers, as your builder or builder(s) might end up totally clueless as to what to quote and may just default to selecting the cheapest fixtures and finishes, with zero bells and whistles so their bottom line is attractive.
Getting Quotes
Meeting with more than one architect and/or building designer is the best way to get a feel for potential pricing, the services available, and who might be a good fit. If you can give them all the same information they'll have a much better chance of being able to quote on the same service scope, so it's closer to comparing apples with apples.
There's no point in telling one architect you'd like them to explore 3 potential design schemes, then have a second designer write up a quote to produce a basic set of drawings. If you're honest and open with all of them, you'll likely be surprised as to the types of questions and comments some will raise and others won't even mention.
Communication
Along with the detail of the drawings set, a major difference in the fees will relate to how much time they are willing to spend 'talking' with you, leading you through the pre-approval process, and how involved they intend to be with the builder(s).
Some architects and designers avoid speaking with clients and keep the specifics of their design vague to avoid spending time any extra time than absolutely required. Others, however, enjoy working with clients and have no hesitation to pick up the phone or asking a vital question via email.
A good indication of how a building designer or architect will communicate with you is how well they communicate with you to provide a fee proposal.
If they have just emailed you a quote based on a quick call, email enquiry or an online survey you completed, you can expect that is likely the standard or format of customer service they will offer throughout out their service. After all if they try and win jobs with automation or minimal verbal communication, why would they try harder after you've signed on the dotted line.
Tip: If you hire a firm with less staff there is a better chance your requests and instructions will not get forgotten as the person you spoke to will actually be heavily involved in the design.
In some larger Architectural firms, your 'Project Architect' might not actually do the design work! It is often handed down to a design and drafting team, who are potentially not architects and may have misunderstood their supervisors notes!
Voluntary Industry Memberships.
Some architects and building designers are also members of non-compulsory organisations which hold meetings and industry events to better improve the professionals' awareness of current affairs, building technologies, and design trends. Maintaining these memberships often costs the business time as well as the membership fee so evidence of this is a small hint of how committed the practice might be to keeping up with their industry.
Your Design Involvement:
If you're reading this article you're likely a DIYer on some level, which we'd be glad to hear. However it's important to note, some established architects and designers will naturally be offended if you try have major input or ask them to edit their designs, as they feel you are trying to do their job. Spending weeks and months designing a project can give them the feeling it's their baby, even though you paid for it and will be the one living in it.
This is not the case at BYO Floor Plan, as we are set up intentionally to work with construction industry professionals, tradies, owner-builders and DIYers. We strive to help them develop and achieve the best design possible based on their own initial sketches and ideas. Sometimes our clients scrap their own ideas and help develop new ones with us, but the point is we welcome your input. This is not because we lack design flair or passion in our work, rather we enjoy the collaborative process and see our clients fulfill a lifelong dream to design and build their own homes.
Custom Home Builders (Design and Construct):
If you've initially approached a builder who is to 'design' your home, they will almost certainly use a draftsperson to prepare your design and drawings, as this would keep their preconstruction costs to a minimum. The draftsperson does not need to have their own license if drawing plans directly for licensed builder - who then takes on responsibility for the design.
The person designing the house has chosen to work for a builder rather than an architectural firm or to start their own building design studio.
If the builder is to actually use an architect or building designer, it's typically in their interest to tell you, as it would cost more subcontracting to an external business. This would be beneficial and you'd likely be having several meetings and conversations with the designer, even if they are overseen by the builder. Having an architect or building designer onboard will likely heighten the design flair of the project and award more flexibility than a catalog standard plan edited by a draftsperson would otherwise inhibit.
Who should you hire then?
As it may seem from reading the above, there isn't a clear distinction between what differentiates an architect and a building designer when it comes to providing the design service. Howver we can make some general statements and recommendations.
In our opinion, it really comes down to how skilled and creative each professional is, their communication style and if they have relevant experience to the project type you will be embarking on.
Most professionals will be able to adjust their service scope to suit your situation too, to ensure your specific needs are being catered for, which is also critical for your success and sanity.
Recommendations: (Generally Speaking)
If you have a budget 5x that of homes in the area and want architectural acknowledgment from the media or community, hire a renown architect.
If you're looking to work closely with somebody to create an attractive custom home, fitting of your design brief and lifestyle, hire a solo architect or building designer
If you have a limited budget and are somewhat flexible in your exact design requirements, hire a Home Builder who can customise their plans. Ask to have a meeting with their in house designer/draftsperson and lots of design questions to understand the pros and cons of adjusting their design, before settling on the floor plan.
Please note
The above is a general summary of some of the key design professions in Queensland and is not specific advice for your situation or project. If you like to read more about how we deliver our services, feel free to read our About Page or get in Contact with us to discuss your unique project and design ideas.
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