ᐅ Initial Consultation / Architect Selection

Our planning process is currently going exactly as described by 11ant. We are very satisfied, not comparable at all to the two general contractors we spoke to before. However, we had built a large buffer into our budget, so if I were you, I would definitely ask for references to find out about satisfaction with the results, the timeline, and budget compliance.

One topic is very important to me today based on painful and especially costly experience: who will be in charge of construction management later on? What experience does that person have? Possibly some construction-related training before university studies? How often is he/she on the construction site? What does he/she consider especially important during the construction process?

We once built with an architect... he was likable, came recommended, matched our style, and we got along well right from the start – but on site, he was useless (afraid of heights on scaffolding!), and most of the tradespeople didn’t take him seriously. Consequently, the result was disappointing… but we only realized that far too late. One of the “renovation measures” was later taken over by an architect who had previously trained as a roofer… a completely different level of expertise…

@stfn_86 : How has it been going so far?

hampshire schrieb:

@stfn_86 : How has it gone so far?

We haven’t made a final decision on an architect yet. 🙄

At first, we contacted several architects, including some with offices about 1 hour (60 minutes) away from the plot. They either declined right away because they couldn’t manage the site supervision due to the distance, or they suggested building with a general contractor instead.

At the same time, we mailed around 20 homeowners who had built with the architects on our shortlist, asking for a phone conversation. Fifteen of them responded and shared their experiences. Several had worked with an architect plus a general contractor and were quite dissatisfied. In some cases, the architects only handled the design phase themselves and outsourced site supervision to freelancers, so it wasn’t certain that the client would get a good site manager. One homeowner reported that their architect hired a site manager with a doctoral engineering degree who actually lives in England and would only fly in occasionally 🤨.

For us, the decisive criteria now are:

• A good impression during the conversation
• A building style we like
• Offering project phases 1–8, meaning individual trade contracts (I’m leaning toward excluding general contractors completely due to some very negative experiences)
• Managing site supervision personally or delegating it to a permanent employee within the architect’s own office
• Strong references

I know we’re moving slowly and maybe overthinking it a bit, but I believe that through the talks with other homeowners we have gained valuable insights that will benefit us in the long run.

stfn_86 schrieb:

I know we have been very slow and maybe a bit over-analytical in our approach

That’s perfectly fine; there’s no need to rush. From purchasing the plot of land to selecting the architect, we took 6 months. Then another 8 months for the planning process. We waited 3 months for the building permit / planning permission and 11 months until moving in.
Those who plan carefully are less likely to face setbacks.

We are also working with an architect, but we have only just started, so I can’t say anything about the final outcome yet. We got stuck with the very first "candidate." What heavily influenced our decision:

- a personal recommendation for this architect
- immediately likeable
- very pragmatic approach, not just an idealist; “the house has to work”
- often matches our taste straight away (also in his own apartment)
- has a practical background, so he also has hands-on experience in construction
- will also take on the construction management
- many years of experience and well connected (knows many tradespeople in the region)
- he does not build to show off or advertise the results afterward. At first, we were not familiar with any of his previous projects (except for an extension). By now, we know several of his buildings (partly by chance, partly because he showed them to us) – we like them all and some were made for well-known clients in the area.

Not everything has gone perfectly so far; his very pragmatic and sometimes chaotic approach conflicts with my desire for organization. However, everything has happened so far as planned and predicted. Up to this point, we would make the same decision again.