Why you shouldn’t fire your Architect

Posted on 25. Jun, 2009 by Mike Bradford in Process

If you have hired an architect whose only job is to design and deliver your new home exactly the way you had imagined, then why would you remove them from the project when the ground breaking begins in order to save money, potentially at the sacrifice of your ultimate vision?  In these strained economic times, many people who are looking to rebuild their homes, and trying to find ways to save money, are doing exactly this. Many times treating the architect as a draftsman and leaving it up to themselves, their Contractor or their designers to help with the finish details.  What people are missing is that they have an expert who has worked to develop a solid set of blueprints that accurately portrays their dreams, who have sifted through all of the design and permit processes and who, more than anyone but the themselves, understand the vision the best.

Mark Brand of Mark Brand Architecture, a high end architect based out of San Francisco, looks at the involvement of the architect as “one part of the team, each member bringing a unique perspective” to a project. Mark, being known professionally as an especially grounded architect, takes the involvement of the architect to a higher level calling it, “Art through Architecture.”  Mark states that “The architect will raise the necessary issues to keep the ultimate vision upheld.”  The goal of every project is to give the client what they want, but as the project moves through to fruition, there will be numerous challenges.  It is “cheaper on paper, than onsite”, says Diarro Foster, one of Marks associates. Clients who try to design themselves “underestimate the value of their own time”, rather than leaving the design to the architect they hired.

The architect is a member of the Team that will develop the design, promote the design and ultimately be a key player in the effort to deliver the design, as such, don’t bench them when the game is just starting.

Look to our next blog on the “Process of Design Development” where we talk about how the Design is realized, who makes up the Team, and what it really takes to Deliver a key to your new home.

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Tags: Architect, Design Process