Overview

Creating a new building is a complex process involving various professionals, local authorities and in most cases a building contractor. An architect’s role as Principal Agent (PA) of a project is to determine the feasibility of the project, and create a project pathway for the client based on the client’s brief, budget and time-frame.

Architect or Project Manager?

Under normal circumstances, the Principal Agent (PA) of a building project will co-ordinate the professional team and move the project forward whilst ensuring quality. It is common for the Architect or Quantity Surveyor to act as PA. However on larger or more complex projects, you may consider hiring a Project Manager to perform the administrative roles of a PA, that is; to run the project.

However, unlike Architects, Project Managers do not design, nor produce drawings and documentation, and they can’t provide technical solutions to builders either.

So while it may be useful to have a Project Manager on larger or more complex projects, an Architect will always be required for the design development, local authority submission, builder’s construction drawings and quality control on site during construction.

Risks

You can think of an Architect as a guide on your journey to creating a new space. Without an Architect’s skill set and expertise, you risk the following:

• Poor planning that results in a sub-optimal environment: Architects are trained to design spaces for human habitation and human activity. It may sound trivial, but the size and placement of entrance, staircases, service areas and social areas, just to name a few, are absolutely critical to creating a space that functions well within its context. In addition, the architectural design process ensures that any future expansion is factored into the design, and you will not be left with wasted opportunities on your site.         

• Incorrect or sub-optimal orientation of your project: Badly orientated buildings have a dramatically increased operating cost (as you run machines for active heating & cooling), and some spaces in such buildings may be uncomfortable during certain times of the day or year due to too much light, not enough light, glare or noise, to name a few. At Renewable Architects we use passive design strategies as much as possible to achieve the desired performance and comfort levels.

• Awkward relationship between your structure and its context: Architects will explore how new spaces should relate to the landscape, to existing structures, to the street, or to the urban fabric. This effects things like the levels of a building, and the positioning of universal access infrastructure such as wheelchair ramps and elevators for instance.

• Sub-standard construction and poor detail resolution: If there is not sufficient information about how something is assembled or constructed, the builder will likely just “make a plan” to resolve the issue on site. And we all know what “making a plan” can look like. At the best of times, this compromises aesthetics, and at the worst of times there may be structural issues or conflict with the National Building Regulations (NBR). During construction, the appointed Architect visits the site regularly to make sure that the contractor is building according to specifications, and if there are any building issues, the Architect is responsible for resolving them with the builder and the professional team. A client appointed architect has the right to condemn a builder’s work and instruct the builder to demolish and re-build – at no additional cost to the client – as long as it can be shown that the builder deviated from the architect’s drawings with no good reason.  

• Illegal construction: By law, projects need to be approved by local authorities. Starting to build without approved plans constitutes a legal offense and you will be fined, and a stop works order placed on your site by the building inspector.

• Not being able to sell your property: One should never buy a house without first obtaining the approved drawings from the local authority. Otherwise there is a substantial risk of buying a property which does not meet the National Building Regulations, which means the new owners will have to pay a professional to obtain approval, and in the worst case, pay a builder as well to bring the property up to standard. Thus a property must have approved drawings with the local authorities, irrespective of size and complexity, if said property falls within a metropolitan area. Approved drawings are referenced by banks when approving home loans, and by estate agents when transferring the title deeds to the new owner.  

Summary

Getting your design right the first time with the correct professional team is better than repairing a poorly conceived “design” after it has already been built. If you agree, then you acknowledge that an Architect is a useful professional to have on your team.

Is it worth it?

Do you pay a Professional Architect once, or do you pay for a bad building for the rest of your life? As a future client, the choice is yours.