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Reasons to ask an Architect to Design Your House

  • 1.  Reasons to ask an Architect to Design Your House

    Posted 12-13-2010 03:54 PM
    What are the reasons a family should hire an architect to design their home?  Let's make a list.  I'll start it off with a couple of considerations:

    1.  LIFESTYLE DESIGN: An Architect will design your home based on your lifestyle, tailor-making the layout to suit your desired spacial requirements.  This is highly preferable to settling for someone else's plans, that have nothing to do with your desired way of life.  Don't you and your family deserve to have your home custom designed by a professional: a licensed residential architect? 

    2.  PROJECT SITE CONSIDERATIONS: An Architect will take into account your specific project building site, framing the wonderful views that induced you to buy it, and make sure that you continue to enjoy those in the built residence.  Also, the sun and winds behave in a particular manner around your site.  Your Architect will document those, and other environmental conditions, to improve your energy efficiency, comfort and enjoyment of living in a custom residence on your property.

    You get the idea.  Once we get a proper list together, I'd be willing to document it into a Word or Excel or PhotoShop format, obtain the AIA's permission to post the AIA logo on it, and produce a nice little e-pamphlet that we can all download, print and have 3 or 4 of them sitting on our conference tables to give to clients when they come around (yes, we all need more), to give them something to ponder when they leave us.  I have my own list of about 11 or 12 main benefits of engaging home architects, but perhaps we should expand that a bit.  Here is our opportunity to tell the world why they should hire a licensed residential architect versus other options.

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    Rand Soellner AIA
    Architect/Owner/Principal
    Rand Soellner Architect
    Cashiers NC
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    23.03.15 CxD - Public Trust


  • 2.  RE:Reasons to ask an Architect to Design Your House

    Posted 12-14-2010 09:26 AM

    Here is a very pragmatic reason why clients may want to hire an architect. 
    The cost of construction can vary greatly depending on whether a project is being bid competetively or not.  Other variables also effecting cost can include whether the contractor has done similar work before, if he is busy or not, or if he has an inside track on some good material pricing.  Competetive bidding is the best way to maximize the value of the clients dollar, and using an architect to make drawings IN DETAIL is the best way foster this bidding process.  The client will more than make up for the architect's fee this way, and at the same time can be assured that he will have an advocate for the project's design in his corner.

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    Stephen Altherr AIA
    EDGE studio
    Pittsburgh PA
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    Original Message
    23.03.15 CxD - Public Trust


  • 3.  RE:Reasons to ask an Architect to Design Your House

    Posted 12-15-2010 08:35 AM
    Stephen makes an excellent point:
    COMPETITIVE BIDDING (Resulting in Better Pricing for the Client): one of the main reasons to engage an architect to design your house.  Contractors may not particularly enjoy this, because they would prefer to be the ones with the client's favor, however, if clients can be made to see the distinct advantages of bidding their project out on an apples to apples basis, particularly in today's economy, based on the architect's CDs, the client is bound to receive better pricing.  We, as residential architects, are uniquely skilled to be client advocates in this role.  We should prepare the actual bid forms so that each contractor bidding prices the job the same.  Thank you Stephen.

    Okay, how about some more reasons for clients to hire architects to design their homes.

    -------------------------------------------
    Rand Soellner AIA
    Architect/Owner/Principal
    Rand Soellner Architect
    Cashiers NC
    -------------------------------------------






    Original Message
    23.03.15 CxD - Public Trust