The Many Faces of an Architect

  • Added:
    Jan 04, 2013
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If you ever find yourself in the position where you are thinking about building either an extension on your existing home or building a brand new home altogether, you will most certainly want to consider making use of an architect. There are so many reasons why taking on an architect can be an excellent idea, they can come up with building ideas, put those ideas down in building plans and even deal with all of the planning permission side of things.

They do more than just come up with a design for you;they can actually help you through the entire building process. They will be able to offer assistance throughout each stage of that process, even helping to oversee everything and working alongside the building contractors to make sure they follow the plans he made up to the letter.

The Benefits of Architects

• They will come up with a series of plans until you are happy with them. They will work closely with you through the design process, with the end result containing all of the features that you have approved.

• They will stick rigidly to any budget you have put in place, whilst they will even assist you in finding the required materials and manpower at a price that your budget can accommodate.

• An architect will constantly watch over your building project to ensure everything is built as per the plans.

• They will give you designs that match the environment they are built in, whilst also look to build as ‘green’ as possible by minimising the use of energy.

How to Find a Good Architect

1. You should begin by drawing up a list of architects that you would like to see in an interview. A good place to start would be by asking friends and family for any recommendations that they might have. If they have known, try the internet.

2. Make contact with them and try and see if they would like to undergo a short interview over the phone. They are highly paid professionals though also try and keep the questions to a minimum and make sure you have a list of questions already written down. Any architect that is available for work would be more than willing to answer any questions, though some may not offer all of this information for free.

3. From those telephone interviews, you need to narrow them down to between 3 and 5 that you would like to see face to face. Make sure you compare each one closely before you make your decision. Set an appointment with each of the ones that you have chosen and make sure you know what you will discuss. Make sure you tell them about your budget, what you are going to be building and any other requests that you would need.

4. After the interview stage, you are ready to make your decision. They would have all given you a price, yet that shouldn’t be the main deciding factor here. How did you connect with them? This is important because you are going to be working together for quite some time.

5. Once you have made your choice, you will need to get a contract written up. Have a solicitor look over it to make sure everything has been covered correctly.

If you are looking for architects Lincolnshire as an area plays host to many experts in the field who can assist you in creating exactly what you want.

Author's Profile

Jon Mathews is a frequent contributor for Building by Design and has written many articles pertaining to all things regarding architects, building by design, and planning, especially on such subjects as providing architectural design &consultants services for the residential market.


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