ᐅ Architectural Design Phases 1-4 – Which Documents Are Required?
Created on: 20 May 2022 22:06
P
prisma17
Hello,
we have signed an architect agreement with a planner for service phases 1-4. Now, due to various developments, we have decided not to proceed with the construction and want to cancel the planning contract. The planner has sent us an invoice, or rather just stated the amount he wants to charge for phases 1-4. The sum is around 12,000 + VAT.
We are now wondering which documents he should have at least produced – apart from a finalized dimensioned floor plan, a site layout on the plot, and the elevations of the house, we don’t have any other documents. We don’t know if he has already prepared others – we don’t want to rule it out – but he should be able to provide those to us. He verbally told us the construction costs would be around 300,000. We definitely went through several iterations of the floor plan and even changed the type of house. Still, in our view, not much has happened so far that would allow us to submit a building permit / planning permission application. Since the plot is still being developed, there are no surveys or similar reports yet.
What documents should he at least provide to us?
I want to clarify that we were aware from the beginning that planning involves significant costs, and we want to pay him fairly for the services provided—there is no question about that. However, during discussions, he hinted that he is now making us “pay dearly” because we are not going ahead with the build. He originally quoted us a significantly lower price for the four phases at the start. For now, we have decided to review his invoice carefully. At the moment, it is just the bare amount without any explanation or breakdown. If he can clearly justify this to us, we will consider it a learning experience.
Thanks in advance for your assessment!
we have signed an architect agreement with a planner for service phases 1-4. Now, due to various developments, we have decided not to proceed with the construction and want to cancel the planning contract. The planner has sent us an invoice, or rather just stated the amount he wants to charge for phases 1-4. The sum is around 12,000 + VAT.
We are now wondering which documents he should have at least produced – apart from a finalized dimensioned floor plan, a site layout on the plot, and the elevations of the house, we don’t have any other documents. We don’t know if he has already prepared others – we don’t want to rule it out – but he should be able to provide those to us. He verbally told us the construction costs would be around 300,000. We definitely went through several iterations of the floor plan and even changed the type of house. Still, in our view, not much has happened so far that would allow us to submit a building permit / planning permission application. Since the plot is still being developed, there are no surveys or similar reports yet.
What documents should he at least provide to us?
I want to clarify that we were aware from the beginning that planning involves significant costs, and we want to pay him fairly for the services provided—there is no question about that. However, during discussions, he hinted that he is now making us “pay dearly” because we are not going ahead with the build. He originally quoted us a significantly lower price for the four phases at the start. For now, we have decided to review his invoice carefully. At the moment, it is just the bare amount without any explanation or breakdown. If he can clearly justify this to us, we will consider it a learning experience.
Thanks in advance for your assessment!
K
k-man202118 Jan 2023 19:4211ant schrieb:
This is exactly what I’m talking about: that the ceiling slab is poured only after I have already given the architect final instructions on where each light, access point, or whatever should be installed. That’s exactly what I meant… I expect the architect to manage this “building is an interlocking process” (quote from the architect) in such a way that there are no surprises… I don’t want to have to worry about when something needs to be prepared…
11ant schrieb:
This requires a phase of finalizing the planning decision (or its definitive correction). The architect also needs to feel confident at some point that there won’t be endless last-minute changes, so that work can continue in an organized way toward the goal. A dog driven crazy sleeps poorly; an architect is no different. That’s exactly what happened. It was finalized for us by the 4th iteration. I don’t know if that counts as “endless” up to that point. We’re fine with how it went and hopefully will continue that way.
11ant schrieb:
That was/ is clear to me. That’s exactly what I’m talking about: the concrete slab is only poured after I have definitively told the architect where each light, access point, or whatever will go. Either we’re talking past each other or I’m not expressing myself clearly enough 🙂 That’s precisely what I mean—at that point, the client should have already realized that lighting was not yet finalized if they then felt blindsided by it. Therefore, I also partly see the client as responsible for this failure.
K
k-man202118 Jan 2023 22:50Araknis schrieb:
Therefore, I partly see the failure here with the client as well. Since you are indirectly addressing me, I’ll respond: that’s one way to look at it, but not necessarily 😉… especially when you live 220km (137 miles) away from the construction site, the architect is managing the site supervision, the electrical planning was already completed, but not a single word was mentioned about the connection to the ceilings. And yes, maybe I was more naive 20 years ago, but even today I expect from an architect—who charges a five- or six-figure sum—a proper plan and timely information.
By the way, this was not about the client’s competence, but rather about what can happen with a poor architect.
Araknis schrieb:
Either we are talking past each other or I have a wrong impression of my ability to express myself 🙂 That’s exactly what I mean—at some point, the client should have realized that lighting was not yet addressed, especially if they are caught off guard by it at that stage. Therefore, I partly see the failure here with the client as well. No. We are not talking past each other here; we just seem to have different views. The architect is a professional planner. Neither the architect nor the client are mountain climbing partners who must rely on each other. They have an asymmetric contractual relationship: the client is the orderer with layman rights, and the architect is the qualified service provider with a duty of care, which is why they must carry professional liability insurance. The client does not have to keep the architect’s memory in check or verify a checklist; they are not their co-pilot.
Araknis schrieb:
That’s exactly what happened. By the fourth iteration, we were done. I have no idea whether that qualifies as "a thousand times" by then. It works for us how it turned out, and hopefully it will continue that way. I’m glad to hear that. And no, a fourth iteration is not “a thousand times” — I deliberately named the “textbook example” princess, @Shiny86: after the house was completely redesigned once and everything was back to its original place and I checked out — I think even @ypg eventually lost patience — there were still about one hundred seventy (?) posts discussing the exact depth of the wardrobe, until finally the windows on the street-facing façade were “straightened out” again, and after 1,278 posts the thread was locked by the moderators. Some clients take countless additional rounds that would wear out even the toughest sailor. I sometimes don’t even want to know the suicide rate among draftsmen ;-)
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