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<\/p>\nIt\u2019s really hard for people to find an architect. To further get to the point, it\u2019s not hard to look one up that\u2019s in your hometown \u2013 that\u2019s easy. What\u2019s hard is trying to figure out which one you should hire.<\/p>\n
Architecture is a service industry and as such, personality is going to figure heavily into the process. This is a collaborative process between the Architect and the people who want to hire, you want to surround yourself with clients who want to enjoy the process as well. Seems pretty straightforward \u2013 work with good people and the result will be a good product\u00a0and<\/em>\u00a0a good experience.<\/p>\n But how do you determine if you are going to like working with the architect you are interviewing? Even then, there are probably some questions you should consider asking your architect when you interview them. Here are some that you should consider:<\/p>\n To everyone else, this means that there are few architects out there that find themselves in the position to turn down work. To the interviewer, you should follow up with how many projects are currently in the office. \u00a0You can get away with larger ratios because the different level of skill positions required for each task can be assigned to different individuals in the office.<\/p>\n There is nothing worse than interviewing with one architect, deciding that you really connected with that individual, only to never see them again (unless there is a problem with the billing<\/em>). Some architects are extremely protective about letting the clients interface with someone other than themselves (because that\u2019s how new architecture firms are made<\/em>) but this is all about getting along with the person who is doing the work. It\u2019s okay if you only interface with one person if there is a team \u2013 that makes financial sense. Just try and get an understanding of how the firm handles the division of labor and if possible, get an understanding of who is on the team.<\/p>\n The \u201cprogram\u201d is the first part of a design process where you list out the needs and requirements for the project. If you\u2019ve never designed a house before, how are you supposed to know all the considerations? That\u2019s where your architect should help you out. So how do they provide this help? Is it a questionnaire, is it a lengthy face-to-face meeting, maybe a bit of both.<\/p>\n Some architects limit the number of meetings you have for the various phases of the work \u2013 most of which are tied to the financial consideration they are receiving from you.<\/p>\n Asking this question is more about understanding the back and forth nature that you will be developing with your architect. If someone tells you that you get three schematic design meetings, and if any more are required, there would be additional design fees.<\/p>\n If you think about all the decisions that need to be made, you\u2019ll quickly realize that the process of designing and preparing construction drawings for a house takes a fair bit of time. You can get a design development set of drawings put together in about 4 months \u2013 and that\u2019s when you get to meet with the clients as often as once a week. It\u2019s not that uncommon that you are waiting on the client to take the appropriate time to think through the information you have just given them, and some people need to take more time for review.<\/p>\n\n
\nIt seems pretty obvious \u2013 of course, the architect is going to say that they really want to do your project\u00a0but what if they don\u2019t want to do your project?<\/em>\u00a0Always think of this as the first question because it gives the architect you\u2019re talking to an escape path should they really not be in a position to take on your project.<\/li>\n\n
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