Get More Than Just The Design From Your Architect

Robert and Christine King decided to self-build their own Spanish villa here in Spain and made the crucial decision to seek professional project managers to advise them, to ensure that while still residing in the UK, the overall management of their build was being carried out with their utmost interests in mind at all time.

They made the important decision of choosing their architect based upon a number of important factors:

1. The architects had to be able to work closely with their Project Manager.
2. They were willing to listen and understood their design requirements and budget limitations.
3. They knew how to control the design process in order to achieve a final project which met their overall brief would accommodate their pocket.

Robert said: “Although we had a budget figure in mind, having taken advice previously on the approximate build costs, between those initial discussions when we purchased our land and the time when we was ready to proceed with the build, a year has passed and the bill costs have increased.
We spoke to the architects and advised them that the project had to sit within our budget figure or we could not proceed – this was a critical and important factor we had to manage.”

“Our second problem was the design,” Christine explained. “We had seen a couple of design features and themes which we liked and we presented these to the architects to adapt to our final needs.
This was not as easy as it seemed as we now realise the restricted brief the architects had been given did not fit onto our plot topography. This is where the project manager’s experience came in, as we then went through a lengthy process of design checks, meetings and discussions to finally achieve the best value design.
We felt at times that we would not meet the target. However, the willingness of the architects’ team, who spoke both English and Spanish, enabled us to reach a final design which we were happy with and met with our budget.
Having self-built previously, we are only too aware of architects, who although presented with our outline brief, bore no resemblance to their design when reflecting our budget. It was great to work with the team, knowing they fully understood our situation, and were keen to examine all the options to ensure the design gave us the best value, without reducing the overall quality and final concept.
We are now at the tender process stage and our architects are now busy with the builder’s prices checking the price and that all elements have been included prior to recommending the best value tender."

For all your architectural queries, contact Johnson and Wilkey Architects on 952 907 295 or email info@johnsonwilkeyarchitects.com

The Importance of Choosing an Architect

While selecting an architect can be a more complex process than many people think, if basic guidelines are followed it is a straightforward one.

If a project manager has not been contacted then an architect can be located through a number of ways including recommendations, the local architects college, newspapers and advertisements.

However, as the architect is offering a service not a product it is important to consider the following, and not merely take the cheapest option.

1. How are the fees calculated?
2. Apart from the design what other services do they offer throughout the project?
3. How are the fees paid?
4. Check their portfolio
5. Is there a charge for their concept design?

When considering fees, and how they are calculated, the college of architects provides guidelines based on various build areas, including internal, external, urbanization and swimming pool.

The architect's fees are in general divided into three, with basic project (40 percent), detailed project (30 percent) and site control (30 percent and paid on project completion. Generally fees should be agreed with the architect and usually be based upon cost of the build. We recommend that a fixed cost based upon design changes vastly from the original brief. The best way to tell if the design provides the best end value is for a detailed brief, including possible magazine photographs to help the architect understand the exact project vision.

While project managers frequently tackle the technical side via the value engineering method, some larger architect offices now carry out this process on their designs. Value engineering is part of the Value Management process which questions some original design solutions through a second opinion from a group of independent technical people, including the original designer.

"Costs really depend on the project's level of complexity"

This enables an overview to see if all the best options have been considered, with this usually resulting in savings of three to ten per cent, thereby ensuring the best end value for the client. While the architect will frequently advise on the total cost, it is important to ensure all elements are included in the costs, with some architects on including those they are concerned with. They may not additionally update the cost analysis as design changes are made.

It is important to insist that an updated forecast is provided as the design evolves, this being a standard procedure with a project manager. Additionally it is advisable to have a minimum five percent contingency built into figures.

Many ask how long the licence process is, but this is rather like asking how long a piece of string is? Everything really depends on the complexity of the project and the speed design details are agreed. Times can range from two to six months depending on the work load of the relevant department, while the architect colleges normally take around four weeks to approve the plans.

It is important this is not rushed, for critical decisions are included which can cost money if minds are later changed.