Working with an architect; how fees are structured. How to work as a team. How to make the most of it

Sunset, August, 1990

Working with an architect How much does an architect cost, and what do you get for your money? These questions may seem simple, but they have many answers--depending on the nature and circumstances of your project.

What are you paying for?

A good architect brings both imagination and expertise to the task at hand, and can provide for both short- and long-range objectives. He or she can offer approaches or solutions you might never think of on your own. In addition to supplying the design, your architect can also give you professional guidance through the construction phase of your project.

In the words of one architect, "We provide a service, not a product." Thinking of architectural plans as a commodity is a common misconception. As the client, you do receive copies of drawings and plans, but the architect holds a copyright on the originals (and also bears responsibility for their accuracy).

You are paying for the time that the architect must take to analyze your requirements, define what you need and want, develop and revise the design, coordinate the permit process, and ascertain that the project is built according to the plans and specifications. You are also paying for something less quantifiable: the skill to create functional but unique living spaces that are responsive to you, the client; to the site; and to the climate in which the project is built.

From the outset, it's important to ask about fees and have some sense of price range. It's equally important to feel that you and your architect can establish good communication and a sense of trust and mutual respect; this part of your hiring decision is personal and subjective, something you might come to only after interviews with several architects.

These four homeowners' comments about the client-architect relationship are revealing:

"The process of designing and building magnifies characteristics and personality traits of the individuals involved."

"You can't treat an architect like a bartender who just listens; you've got to give him or her some freedom."

"We thought it was important to work with someone who was creative, who could do more than just give us a solid structure."

"We needed an architect who could understand our own ideas for dealing with our sloping site and then expand upon them."

Like a doctor or lawyer, an architect is a professional qualified by rigorous training. To receive a license, he or she has to pass a series of examinations and complete years of internship. Part of what an architect learns is how to identify when consultants or other specialists are needed and how to coordinate their input.

Getting the most

from the relationship

"House design is a personal adventure. It requires mutual enthusiasm on the part of client and architect."

House design is also an exceptionally detail-oriented process, with great potential for getting bogged down in the myriad decisions that must be made. It is very tempting to focus on tangible elements such as paint color, say, or appliance choices, but you shouldn't lose sight of the original reasons for undertaking the project or of the concept you and your architect have agreed upon.

Remember that though an architect is trained to be able to translate your hopes and dreams into built form, he or she can do so only if you have taken the time to analyze what it is you really need or want.

You and the architect must work as a team to come up with a plan that directs the construction process in an orderly fashion. With planning and permit rules becoming increasingly complicated, such teamwork is more important than ever.

As one AIA official puts it, "Working closely with the architect, and being careful to communicate needs before construction, is how to avoid last-minute design changes." Those changes can be very costly in terms of both money and time; they can require new drawings, possibly invalidate permits and agency approvals--and send you back to begin the process all over again.

How are fees calculated?

There's no single method for computing architects' fees. Representative architect-owner agreements drafted by the American Institute of Architects (a 56,000-member association which "promotes a high level of professionalism," though not all architects choose to belong to it) specify that payments for basic services should be made monthly, but leave the method of calculating the fee entirely up to the architect. One architect's advice:

"Ask about fees in the first interview; it helps avoid misunderstandings later."

Fees are usually structured in one of three basic ways: as an hourly rate for time and materials, as a stipulated sum, or as a percentage of the construction cost. Many architects use a combination of approaches, such as an hourly rate for one phase of the project and a fixed fee for another, all to add up to a spelled-out maximum percentage of the construction cost. This usually ranges from 10 to 17 percent (or more) of construction costs, depending upon the architect and the size and complexity of the project.