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letsgobobby
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Grt2bOutdoors
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Re: how to find an architect

Post by Grt2bOutdoors »

Word of mouth followed by asking to see examples of completed work.
Followed by initial consultation that may or may not be free - what I mean, is my initial consultation and initial draft was "free" but the end product most certainly was not - as good as it was or "wasn't".

I interviewed two local architects referred by friends. Both architects gave helpful suggestions, but in the end, one of the architects handled more commercial type projects including industrial buildings. The other architect had direct experience with both residential and industrial/commercial projects, was well-known in town and had numerous recently completed or in process work to show and his first initial draft was much better than the commercial architect.
"One should invest based on their need, ability and willingness to take risk - Larry Swedroe" Asking Portfolio Questions
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Jay69
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Re: how to find an architect

Post by Jay69 »

I work with Architects everyday within many different firms, its a been a 30 year battle with them :wink: Generally speaking not many Architects do that well with single family housing, they just don't do that much of it. About the best you can do is call a few of them and ask if they have done single family and take a look at the work.

Look for Architects who do multi family and call them first. Many of those Architects will/may do single family but they typically don't advertise that they do.
"Out of clutter, find simplicity” Albert Einstein
Allan
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Re: how to find an architect

Post by Allan »

Are you need an entire house design or addition? Would the work be modest in nature or higher end? Architects and building designers come in a wide variety of skill, work type, pricing, etc.
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letsgobobby
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Re: how to find an architect

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4nursebee
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Re: how to find an architect

Post by 4nursebee »

I built an average home for my area. We went to many years worth of trade shows, builders showcases, open houses etc.. before we built. By then we had a lot of great ideas, it turns out our builder likely could have done the job. We used a "home designer" for about $1500 to come up with plans. He coincidentally had experience with the builder and the main unique characteristic of our house. We had a meeting with one architect, mainly to find out what he could offer us. If this topic digresses to off topic stories I can share about our meeting with him.

My thoughts:
Architects are expensive, consider what you are getting for the money.
Network years in advance for this major investment. If you don't, your results might bear this out. Following our builder over many years was the best thing we did.
Talk to all the architects in the phone book.
If my networth grew 10 fold and I was moving, perhaps a custom home with architect help would be in the cards but I would still consider the builder/general contractor more important.
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kingsnake
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Location: midwest

Re: how to find an architect

Post by kingsnake »

I would find a couple builders I'd be interested in to build my home. Then I'd see who they would suggest.
We built a house 2 years ago and used a draftsman not an architect.
Very happy with the results.
rjbraun
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Re: how to find an architect

Post by rjbraun »

I worked with an architect to renovate (combine two units of) my apartment. I identified a few candidates, primarily work-of-mouth. I met each of them and discussed the project. The decision of whom to select was kind of tough, but I was pleased enough with how everything turned out in the end. I felt pretty comfortable ("good chemistry") with the architect I went with. To me, getting along with him or her is a fairly important consideration, given the personal nature of designing one's home.

The following AIA information may be helpful to you.

http://www.aia.org/value/yaya/AIAS076558
dblck
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Re: how to find an architect

Post by dblck »

Hi,

Here is a link to a great book if you have not used a contractor to build something major before. It has a chapter on architects that we found useful.

http://www.amazon.com/What-Your-Contrac ... t+tell+you

Good luck!
Allan
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Location: Houston

Re: how to find an architect

Post by Allan »

letsgobobby wrote:I'm in the Portland-Vancouver area. This is a new home.

How would a novice like me screen for quality? Beyond aesthetics, what does it mean to be a 'good' architect? Is a bad architect at risk for making my house fall down?

I've been screening various firms in the local area by viewing their portfolios on line but I'm not making much headway. There are a lot to choose from, and I'm not really sure what I'm looking for beyond, still, "hey, like that house!"

Is there a national organization which most/all quality architects would belong to?
Registered architects can belong to the AIA. In terms of what it means to be a "good architect" there are several ways to judge or grade an architect:

1. They can be very creative in terms of floor plans, but not so good with exterior elevation (what the house looks like). Or just the opposite, good with exterior design and bad with floor plans.
2. They might be great in design but poor in providing enough detailed drawings for a contractor, meaning they don't think thru how the house or details are put together.
3. Some just flat out don't listen to what their clients needs are, some do. They might be poor communicators, they might over-design. You might want a Toyota and they design a Mercedes, or vice-versa.
4. Some are over-priced or they take forever to design a house.
5. The really good ones might be back-logged for several months.

Some tips:

1. It really should not be too hard to find architects in your area, via Google, AIA, permit department, or talk to a few builders who have built houses you like.
2. I think architects tend to have a "look", so if you want hard modern do not use someone who does primarily French Country.
3. Hire a structural engineer to design foundation and frame.
4. When interviewing establish your expectations regarding design, time frame, design & house budget, and communicate this to the architects being interviewed.
5. Establish an "Ideabook" at Houzz.com (free site) and pull together some photos of what you like.
6. Some full service architects do Construction Management (for a fee) where they make site visits during construction and review and approve contractor $ advances. Some architects will also choose materials and finishes, decide on those needs.

Hope this helps.

Allan
WhyNotUs
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Re: how to find an architect

Post by WhyNotUs »

It would be pretty rare to have to worry about the house falling down and that is really up to the structural engineer (on the architect's team) and builder to design and construct a frame that will be sound for the long run.

Good clients can help make architects better. If you can get some clarity among whoever will be involved in design and how you will make decisions, that will help. Let's say you and spouse are the client and you decide that both of you will deal with major issues- ex. total budget, building orientation, total sf, bedrooms, bathrooms, project budget, etc. by mutual agreement, then you can prepare a first cut at those before interviewing architects. You might decide that within the one space has primary say on issues related to office and another related to living room or whatever. The details are not that important but figuring out in advance how you will decide.

Spend an afternoon driving around the area with your spouse with a camera and take pictures of homes that you both like and make notes about what you like about them. It may just be one aspect of a home. Doing it together allows you to discus likes/dislikes and refine consensus taste. Similarly, when you are at friends homes take interior photos or cut photos from magazines/internet.

Next, I would spend an afternoon at the lot that you are purchasing or own. See where the shadows fall, wind blows, sun path across property, listen for noises, changes is topography, etc. Bring the pictures and photos with you on a poster board and imagine the things that you like on that site- where would be a great place for a patio given the wind, sun, shade, grade, where would a front door entry be great, how about the garage, etc.

Ask friends who have built custom homes for recommendation and look on the net for websites of architects in your area. Most will have portfolios on their site. Is the practice rooted in residential homes that are similar is scale and type that you are imagining? If so, Give them an interview, tell them that you wish to meet with the project architect that would be assigned to your home.

Then can prepare info to interview architects by having an outline of your program- bedrooms, baths, other rooms, special needs- in two columns must have and want to have and a budget. Let them know if that number is all in- planning, permitting, construction, landscaping or just for construction. Show them your story boards and share what you learned from the exercise. Recognize that this is not a design but rather communicating inspirations and aspirations.

Look for the interviewees to respond to your presentation and then take a lead of the discussion in a manner that makes you confident that they "get you" and have the communication skills and process skills to lead you through the process. Ask if they include price estimate at 60% design to check your design against budget. Ask their fees for design, construction bidding, permit set, and construction inspection.
I own the next hot stock- VTSAX
davebarnes
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Location: Berkeley, Denver, Colorado USA

Easy for us

Post by davebarnes »

1985
We were planning to buy a 1926 and pop the top.
So, prior to the purchase, we needed an architect.
We started to wander around some neighborhoods to check out new buildings and renos.
In our new-to-be neighborhood was a sign from an architect.
We called him and met him for breakfast.
He pulled out his portfolio and the first house in it was one that we had admired.
Decision [almost] made.
Call 3+ references which we all glowing.
Done.
http://www.dougwalterarchitects.com/Eng ... eBrae.html

Doug Walter, Architect in Denver, was one of the best decisions we ever made. $6k well spent.
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carolinaman
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Location: North Carolina

Re: how to find an architect

Post by carolinaman »

Unless you have some unique characteristics that suggest or require an architect, you may do better simply finding a house plan that you really like and contracting with a good custom builder.
donall
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Re: how to find an architect

Post by donall »

I would say that if you or your significant other can't see the difference between an architect designed house and a spec house, forget about an architect and use a design-build firm. An architect will give you a complete design with all parts harmonious and balanced. A design-build firm will start with a standard plan and then add, subtract, and bump where needed giving you a less desired esthetic result, but possibly more functional. I've always thought that design services were well worth it, even for small projects such as kitchen remodeling or landscaping, as the end result is so much better.
A good comparison would be deciding between a Mac and PC. The Mac will cost you more, but is a vastly more beautiful (and functional) object than a PC.

Finding an architect is very personal and I would look at houses that appeal to you and ask the owners who the architect is. Talk to the owners to get an idea if the architect is knowledgable about the technical details. If you are considering a larger architectural firm, make sure you specify which architect will be the designer, as large firms often give credit to the principals in the firm.
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letsgobobby
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Re: how to find an architect

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kingsnake
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Re: how to find an architect

Post by kingsnake »

I would suggest reading "Your Perfect House" (maybe called Designing Your Perfect House). It is written by and architect by the last name of Hirsch. I found it useful for ideas even though we did not use an architect. We used a draftsman, I dont think they have as much formal training as an architect, and are much cheaper. We found the builder we wanted first, and good way to do this is to check out high end homes on the annual or semi annual Showcase of New Homes or something like that if your area has them. When you do that you can talk to various builders and look at the quality of the workmanship.
An experienced builder should know a lot about how to layout a home on the lot for your various wants also. An actual architect may be overkill these days for most.
desiderium
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Re: how to find an architect

Post by desiderium »

Make sure you come to a good understanding of the fee structure. Some architects work on a percentage of the overall costs. But this can include and exclude certain things (e.g. hard landscape, upgrades you make with the contractor or other things not necessarily designed by the architect). Other architects will want to work by the hour, in which there is an incentive to over-design things or provide minute detail that you may or may not need.

During the construction, legitimate questions for the architect may arise. The degree of involvement at this stage can vary, along with the cost.

My suggestion is to ask lots of questions and reach an understanding about this at the interview stage. This is where you have the best bargaining position, rather than after your house is half designed
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