Architects

A well-chosen architect can design a home that is specifically tailored to your family's lifestyle. Highly competent and professionally-trained designers, many architects also use sustainable design principles to maximise the site and materials used, so your home uses less energy and saves you money in the long term.

If your renovation is more than a simple benchtop replacement or roof re-tiling job, then it may be time to find an architect who can manage your project from start to finish. Depending on the architecture firm you hire, the scope can span from planning sustainable design into your renovations, to selecting furniture and even interior finishes.

How do I find the right architect for my home design project?

An architect is often the first person you hire for your project. Before taking steps to find an architect, ask yourself what you want to achieve from your renovation or home construction. Do you want to improve the liveability and sustainability of your home, or simply expand? What style of architecture do you prefer? Once you have established your motivation, research architects that have completed similar house designs in your locale and within a comparable budget to yours.

Undergoing renovations, house extensions or building a new home entirely can be stressful. For this reason, it’s important that you and your chosen architect get along and share the same values, especially if you require an architect to help you refine your brief. To establish this rapport, you may need to meet several times with the architects on your shortlist before making a final decision on who you hire. The relationship you have with your architect is very personal, and will involve discussions of your habits, hobbies and tastes, so you want to ensure you have picked someone you feel comfortable in sharing this information with.

Most importantly, you need to trust that your architect will manage your home improvement or house design within budget, while working with site constraints, and coordinating the relationships of all parties involved in the project.

Ideally, your architect will be involved in all phases of the design process, from the initial concept to the completed construction. Your architect may be needed to select and hire subcontractors (e.g. builders, engineers and landscape architects) just as they may need to negotiate contracts with stakeholders. A good client-architect relationship will ensure they are your biggest advocate along the way during construction.

Finally, remember that the most well-known or established architect may not provide the right architectural services for your needs. It all comes down to the individual project.

Questions to ask prospective residential architects:

What is your fee structure?

What does the cost include?

Do you have professional liability insurance?

What types of renderings (3-D, video, illustrative) will you produce?

What is your experience with similar projects?

When do you expect to start and be finished with the project?

What do your services include?

What happens when the cost exceeds the budget?

Would you say your work has a defining style? (The architect's personal style could interfere with your vision.)

Will you help with hiring a project manager and subcontractors?

What do you estimate the cost will be?

What will I need to provide?

Do you foresee any complications with this project?

Find residential architects on Houzz. To find the best architect for your home design project, narrow your search to find professionals in. Then browse their latest projects and read reviews. You can also look through photos of projects to find an interior architect or designer who has worked on a project similar to yours.