Your Project

When you are making major alterations to your home or building an entirely new one, an RIBA registered practice can help you to manage the design, the builders and the money. 

Architects are trained to make the most of the site, space and materials to maximise what you can get for your budget and reduce your future bills. They are familiar with the construction industry’s working methods and with legislation, regulations, and standards, and can guide you at every step of the project. They interpret your ideas with imagination, creating spaces that can be used, enjoyed and valued for decades. 

To any building project, no matter how small, they will bring three essential qualities: imagination, value for money and freedom from worry.

You can select all or part of an architect's service. 

If you want only an hour's general advice then that is all you will pay for. If you need just the detailed drawings or want the scheme to be guided to the planning permission stage and no further, then that is fine too. 

The RIBA has standard appointment documents from which you can select the precise services you need.

Whether you are looking for tradition or innovation, boldness or understatement, an architect can lift your project out of the ordinary. 

Anyone can alter a building. It takes a professional to do it with flair, imagination and style.

An architect will find the extra light and space you didn't know you had, suggest materials you hadn't thought of, make sure you find the right builder at the right price.

Architects are not only designers; they are trouble-shooters. 

They will guide you through the complex procedures of planning permission and building regulations. They will attend to detail and monitor the builder's programme of works through to completion. 

Throughout your project, you will have protection under your architects' indemnity insurance, which effectively guarantees the integrity of the design.

Architects' professional training and experience means that they can interpret and respond to any realistic brief they are given. 

At your initial meeting you will discuss your intentions and ideas. Your architect will listen carefully to what you have to say, and will take and develop a brief which covers not only design aesthetics but also the function of the building, running costs budget and timing. 

Only after you have seen and approved initial sketches will the ideas be translated into detailed designs. At an early stage your architect can help you define a range of costs for your project.

The quality of your finished building will reflect the quality of your brief. This is the key document defining your vision of the finished building, and also of how the project will be managed. For your architect, it is the central reference point that will guide the direction they take and the services they provide. 

Your brief should be clear and unambiguous and it should enshrine a common understanding between you and your architect. Seek their help in formulating the brief. The process may involve a number of discussions and help to establish the dialogue between you that the project needs. Some architects may charge for the consultation but others will be happy to advise you without charge on the understanding that you are going to appoint them as architect for the project. The project brief should describe:

• The functions of the finished project: who will use it, and for what? Have you visualised how these activities will be accommodated and provided for in the new space(s)?

• Your motivations and expectations: what do you hope to achieve by this project, in the short and long term, for yourself and others?

• A design direction: contrasting or in keeping with existing buildings? Contemporary or traditional? Are there certain materials, fixtures or finishes you favour? Is sustainability an issue for you?

• Authority for decision-making: who will sign off decisions about design, about costs and about day-to-day matters on-site?

• Timetables and budgets: when should key stages be completed, how much should they cost, and how will they be financed?

A good, thorough brief will form the basis of the professional agreement you sign with your architect. Clarity on services, costs, timings and procedures is vital to the relationship.

An important part of an architect's service is to smooth the path with the local authority and act as an ambassador on your behalf. 

For instance, your architect may discuss the plans with council officials before applying for planning permission and building regulation clearance, and greatly reduce the risk of planning refusal. He or she will understand, and know how to apply, a complex web of building regulations and other rules which govern such things as structural integrity, ventilation, ceiling height, sanitation, insulation and fire safety, party wall agreements, rights of light and listed building consents. 

Clearly-presented, professionally-drawn plans can both save you a great deal of time and significantly improve your chance of success.

Your architect will help you find and brief any other consultants you may need - a structural engineer or a quantity surveyor, for example. 

With planning approval in place your architect will prepare working drawings with technical specifications for builders to tender, and will ask a number of firms to estimate costs and timings. 

When you have chosen a builder, your architect can recommend a form of contract that will set out the terms , the timetable and what will happen if the builder overruns on costs or time.

Your architect will monitor the building work, organise site meetings (you can attend if you wish ) and reduce stress to a minimum.

Yes. 

Not only will architects provide better value for money, in many instances they will save their clients at least the equivalent of their fees. Professional attention to detail will save money both immediately, through the most efficient use of space and the careful selection of materials and finishes, and in the long term through environmental sensitivity, energy efficiency, low running and maintenance costs. 

(Extracted from the guidance leaflet " Why use an architect? " published by the Royal Institute of British Architects.)