ᐅ The architect has become emotional and does not want to continue. How should I proceed now?
Created on: 11 Mar 2026 17:41
O
Ohropax
Hello,
I hired an architect in the Stuttgart metropolitan area to design a single-family house and submit the building permit / planning permission application (service phases 1-4). The architect immediately received an advance payment of 15,000 euros without doing anything.
Service phases 1-2 were basically skipped; at least, I did not receive a project schedule, summaries, cost estimates, or a timetable. She basically spent all her time working only on the design.
The first design was unusable! Our budget is 750,000 euros, which was communicated both verbally and in writing. According to three construction companies, realizing the design would have required 1.25 million euros.
So a new design was created, but it contained so many practical mistakes (corridor too narrow, wardrobe not deep enough, kitchen wall too narrow for a sliding door, ceiling heights too low, bathrooms too small), and many more. An unbelievable number of errors, which you wouldn’t normally expect from an architect (at least I didn’t). The design is now in its 10th iteration because we repeatedly had to point out illogical corners, incorrectly placed windows, etc. Many of the changes were contributed by construction companies and included in the design because it was otherwise not suitable.
It was agreed with the architect that the remaining amount of about 15,000 euros would be paid before submitting the building permit / planning permission application. However, this is too risky for us because the architect’s work is very poor technically, and we fear the application will not be approved as is. The architect charged fee zone IV for a simple single-family house and noted this in the invoice. Is that correct?
Our proposal is to pay the 15,000 euros only after approval. The architect has now completely lost it, refuses to submit the application, and demands 12,000 euros for the design.
I actually did the design myself, and she just used the software. I was not advised. She simply implemented things without pointing out poor practicality. As a layperson, I am not familiar with this and expect advice; that is part of the architect’s job, isn’t it?
What should I do now? I am emotionally exhausted...
I hired an architect in the Stuttgart metropolitan area to design a single-family house and submit the building permit / planning permission application (service phases 1-4). The architect immediately received an advance payment of 15,000 euros without doing anything.
Service phases 1-2 were basically skipped; at least, I did not receive a project schedule, summaries, cost estimates, or a timetable. She basically spent all her time working only on the design.
The first design was unusable! Our budget is 750,000 euros, which was communicated both verbally and in writing. According to three construction companies, realizing the design would have required 1.25 million euros.
So a new design was created, but it contained so many practical mistakes (corridor too narrow, wardrobe not deep enough, kitchen wall too narrow for a sliding door, ceiling heights too low, bathrooms too small), and many more. An unbelievable number of errors, which you wouldn’t normally expect from an architect (at least I didn’t). The design is now in its 10th iteration because we repeatedly had to point out illogical corners, incorrectly placed windows, etc. Many of the changes were contributed by construction companies and included in the design because it was otherwise not suitable.
It was agreed with the architect that the remaining amount of about 15,000 euros would be paid before submitting the building permit / planning permission application. However, this is too risky for us because the architect’s work is very poor technically, and we fear the application will not be approved as is. The architect charged fee zone IV for a simple single-family house and noted this in the invoice. Is that correct?
Our proposal is to pay the 15,000 euros only after approval. The architect has now completely lost it, refuses to submit the application, and demands 12,000 euros for the design.
I actually did the design myself, and she just used the software. I was not advised. She simply implemented things without pointing out poor practicality. As a layperson, I am not familiar with this and expect advice; that is part of the architect’s job, isn’t it?
What should I do now? I am emotionally exhausted...
N
nordanney16 Mar 2026 19:41Ohropax schrieb:
To get from the guest room to the guest bathroom, you had to walk through the hallway/utility area. I then asked to have the guest room and guest bathroom arranged in the same "corner" so that guests wouldn’t have to go through the hallway/utility area and potentially be seen “half-naked” by other people in the house. You know what I mean? Such basic practical considerations were not taken into account. I don’t really see that as “basic.” I would also never place the guest bathroom just beyond the guest room (utility area = entrance hallway?). Unless the house is so large that you can actually afford such layouts. But that’s not to be expected with the “limited” budget. So a normal house with a normal floor plan oriented towards the residents.
In fact, the “flaws” you found in the floor plan are almost completely unclear to me, since we don’t know the plan. At first glance, they are not “flaws,” but rather the architect couldn’t read your mind and/or you didn’t communicate your ideas. I stick to the communication problem, which (in my opinion) increasingly comes from your side.
I would be glad if you all reach an amicable agreement and later we can see a resolution of the situation with the architect’s poor floor plan and the final result meeting your wishes.
ypg schrieb:
Maybe the entire original room requirement profile didn’t really fit from the start, which is why the lady consciously accepted this down payment 8-) She even had the down payment before that. Apparently, she lacked confidence in her own abilities from the very beginning ;-)
ypg schrieb:
Your hallway is probably too narrow as a result of prioritization. As an architect, you need to point this out instead of blindly creating a design that is "rubbish." You can say, “I can do it like this, but the house will be 20cm (8 inches) wider, which will cost XYZ. Do you want to proceed like that?” That’s what I expect as a client.
By the way, the architect never commented on the construction costs for the house. There was a lot of back and forth in planning, and the general contractor told me the costs each time. Is that normal?
Ohropax schrieb:
"Unusual" is not the standard of measurement. The issue here is good or poor performance. I have simply explained why the poor performance cannot be any better when choosing an inexperienced architect…
Ohropax schrieb:
By the way, the architect never commented on the construction costs for the house. Plans were developed back and forth, and the general contractor then told me what it would cost each time. Is that "normal"? … and then it is "normal" because it is "causal." The architect probably hoped her design could be realized within the budget. How else would she know better if her task regularly ends before the moment of truth?
That is why I always say: even if you don’t continue working together after the "Module A" phase, the architect must be able to manage both halves.
You should always ask the architect to show references that are meaningful, not just attractive-looking houses.
With the exception of Rockefeller or Onassis, everyone has limited funds. The architect must be able to manage those funds responsibly, otherwise you might as well just hire a graphic designer.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
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K
k-man202116 Mar 2026 20:35I have been following this from the very beginning because we had a very similar experience – we gave an architect a budget, a rough idea of the rooms we wanted, shared a bit about our lifestyle, and of course showed the plot of land. He created a wonderful design that we accepted with minimal changes right away – only the cost estimate took a while. Then the surprise: it was more than 50% over budget. Okay, overall our budget is higher than @Ohropax’s, but the effect was the same.
However, we didn’t start by reducing areas or moving walls. Instead, we discussed together which parts of the design were particularly expensive and what we could do without. After that, the architect revised the plans, and the result was something that made us all wonder why we hadn’t gone for the cheaper options from the beginning. We are still slightly over budget, but now we can manage that. The architect also suggested getting rough quotes for the most expensive trades to back up his calculation, which we think is a good idea and helps secure the cost planning (we don’t want to build with a general contractor, so this way we have much better control over the costs).
What would have been our fallback solution: we would have asked the same architect for a new design that completely sticks to the budget, putting our requirements and ideas second. After all, he delivered the first design that we really liked, meaning he understood us. We did not reduce him to a draftsman but looked for a solution on equal terms, also because we are not architects and can’t assess how a narrow hallway, a lower ceiling, etc. will feel – just as @ypg wrote. Working together has been a learning experience for him and will cost us some reserves, but it is still a great collaboration. By the way, we have a contract based on HOAI, not a fixed price. Our “last-last resort” would have been a standard prefab house.
In your situation, we would either check if you want to continue working with the architect and maybe find common ground or accept the learning costs (even if, in the worst case, that means paying the full amount) and start anew with a different architect. Who knows, a new design might be much better than the current one – and I would have serious doubts that a lackluster design with shifted walls will become a house you want to live in for the next 30 years.
However, we didn’t start by reducing areas or moving walls. Instead, we discussed together which parts of the design were particularly expensive and what we could do without. After that, the architect revised the plans, and the result was something that made us all wonder why we hadn’t gone for the cheaper options from the beginning. We are still slightly over budget, but now we can manage that. The architect also suggested getting rough quotes for the most expensive trades to back up his calculation, which we think is a good idea and helps secure the cost planning (we don’t want to build with a general contractor, so this way we have much better control over the costs).
What would have been our fallback solution: we would have asked the same architect for a new design that completely sticks to the budget, putting our requirements and ideas second. After all, he delivered the first design that we really liked, meaning he understood us. We did not reduce him to a draftsman but looked for a solution on equal terms, also because we are not architects and can’t assess how a narrow hallway, a lower ceiling, etc. will feel – just as @ypg wrote. Working together has been a learning experience for him and will cost us some reserves, but it is still a great collaboration. By the way, we have a contract based on HOAI, not a fixed price. Our “last-last resort” would have been a standard prefab house.
In your situation, we would either check if you want to continue working with the architect and maybe find common ground or accept the learning costs (even if, in the worst case, that means paying the full amount) and start anew with a different architect. Who knows, a new design might be much better than the current one – and I would have serious doubts that a lackluster design with shifted walls will become a house you want to live in for the next 30 years.
Take a look here, @Ohropax
https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundrissplanung-fuer-Einfamilienhaus-inkl-keller-und-doppelgarage.p4x2g5/#j9t4n4
Exactly the same: 750,000 euros available, but all additional costs still have to be deducted from this – and the plan is for a million-euro project.
https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundrissplanung-fuer-Einfamilienhaus-inkl-keller-und-doppelgarage.p4x2g5/#j9t4n4
Exactly the same: 750,000 euros available, but all additional costs still have to be deducted from this – and the plan is for a million-euro project.
11ant schrieb:
The architect must be able to manage resources reliably, otherwise you might as well just hire a graphic designer. That is a very nice way of putting it! Exactly!
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