This post will be the last in our series on architects and building designers, and will elaborate on the conclusion to last week’s post - that a person’s status as architect or building designer is usually less relevant to the question of who to choose for you project than the suitability of the individual him or herself - by examining one of the most commonly held beliefs regarding the difference between architects and building designers: that architects are more expensive.
While this perception is in fact true in general, the difference in cost isn’t due to anything inherent to either occupation, but rather comes down to a) the scope of services and b) the ‘level’ or ‘depth’ of services historically and typically offered by each profession. As in most things, ‘you get what you pay for’ usually holds true, regardless of whether these services are offered by a building designer or an architect; and as mentioned previously, there is nothing preventing an individual building designer offering the same scope or level of services offered by a typical architect, or vice-versa.
In any case, what accounts for the difference in cost between one architect or building designer and another? When people speak of a building as ‘architectural’ or as having an ‘architectural’ quality, they are usually referring to a certain degree of refinement. This need not imply that an ‘architectural’ building must be modern in its design - traditional architecture, for it to work, arguably requires as great as if not a greater level of refinement and attention to detail than modern architecture.
In terms of the stages of the design process, the refinement of the design takes place mainly in two areas: firstly, in the sketch or concept design phase, in which it is expressed in the level of care and consideration given to the functional aspects of planning, and to the aesthetic and compositional basics of the building - the layout and interrelationships of rooms, overall massing of forms, scale and proportion, placement of openings, etc. Secondly, refinement is achieved in the detailing of the building. Detailing can mean anything from resolving the ‘joints’ of the building - the places where different planes or different materials meet - in an aesthetically pleasing way, to bespoke joinery, landscape design, exterior and interior materials and finishes, colour selection and coordination, lighting, furnishings, and the like.
It should also be noted that the further the designer departs from the norms of the building industry, or from ‘builder’s vernacular’ as it is sometimes called, the more research, consideration, and drawing will be involved, thus more time will be required, and this will be reflected in the cost.
The inclusion of contract administration in an architect or designer’s services can also have a significant effect on cost: in a full services contract, the contract administration stage can account for 25-35% of the designer or architect’s total fee. Contract administration is relevant to the concept of refinement in that it could be said that one important role of the contract administrator is to make sure that the building is ‘built as drawn and as documented’ - ensuring that the refinements made in the design and detailing stages are properly implemented in the construction stage, and not altered or omitted by a builder deciding that they are too much trouble or unnecessary.