ᐅ Option to Ask Preliminary Questions to Architects

Hello everyone,

I am currently in the final selection phase for my house project. One of the providers has offered to come to the site for an informal meeting with the architect.

I think that’s great.

Besides questions about orientation, size, elevation profile, demolition, details of the offer, and costs – what questions would you ask the architect in such a meeting?

Regards, Rosmarin

I consider non-functional questions to be important.

• How do you ensure that your clients will enjoy living in their house later on? (Difficult question – if you can’t answer this, you might not be the right fit.)
• What do you need to know about us and our lifestyle habits to design the right house for us? (It should be more than just how many rooms we need...)
• What have your previous clients particularly appreciated about working with you? (If you say we need to ask the clients —> follow up with: Who exactly should we ask?)

If answers are too brief, follow up with “What else?”

Process-related questions are also important:

• What criteria do you use to recommend craftsmen or tradespeople?
• Which companies do you prefer to work with?
• And why?

It is also essential that an architect is a good listener. Prepare for your appointment by thinking about how you want to live, not just what your requirements are. Also consider how you will communicate your aesthetic preferences. Do you have a list of no-go’s?

Just to clarify: do you want to build with a general contractor and one of you will send your employed architect over? Or are you looking for an independent architect?

Hampshire, this might involve a general contractor coming along with their house architect. The contract awarding and so on are then outside the builder's scope. Overall, I would avoid interview-style questions. What would actually come out of that except vague marketing talk? "Of course, we only work with well-established, local traditional craftsmen," "We design the house entirely according to your personal wishes; for us, 'impossible' does not exist," "We can gladly arrange a meeting with homeowners family xy," which obviously won’t be those with problems, and so on. It’s a waste of time.

You get a free on-site appointment with an architect, which would otherwise cost a lot of money, so use it wisely: slope of the drainage pipes, height positioning, possible building boundary violations, garage built on the boundary only makes sense there, emergency access via a ladder on the side, place the utility room behind the wall to keep supply lines as short as possible (saving costs), and so on. Concrete planning issues that advance your desired floor plan. Whether it then goes competently or not, you will notice anyway along the way.

I also find the proposed casting unrealistic. That is not the job of the employed architect, Mr. Feelgood. He is a technician.

House orientation, sun position, soil conditions, potential issues arising from the layout or location. Does the intended building fit on the plot, and how much space remains? What are the neighbors likely to do (especially in new developments), and what conclusions can be drawn for the own design? Privacy visibility, and so on.

Is the designing architect also the construction supervisor? How often does he inspect the construction site? How is the client informed about progress and problems?

Thank you for your responses.

I want to build with a general contractor (GC).
I hesitated on a (good) offer and had some questions.
The GC then came to the site with his architect to clarify these questions.

Although it is important to understand the architect’s approach, their ability to listen, and to implement ideas and concepts, I also think I want to focus first on the hard facts.