10 Best Questions to Ask Before You Hire an Architectural Company

Want to hire an architecture company to implement a building project? While interviewing, the 10 best questions will help you to reveal a truly talented specialist. Go on reading!

Nowadays, with all these architecture companies available on the engineering services market, how can you decide which one of them is the ideal fit in terms of having a team of world-class engineering specialists? In case this is currently a task for you, this article will provide you with clarifications. Meet 10 questions that you should ask before recruiting the architecture company.

Want to get a response to the query “what is an architect” and its must-have qualifications? This article will also come in handy.

In case we hire your team, what would be the full design procedure?

In case constructing or remodeling is novel to you, ask an architecture company to explain clearly what services they deliver, the deadline in which they traditionally implement those services, how long every stage might continue, and other key aspects you should expect in the design process. Such a discussion not only provides you with necessary data for your scheduling but also a sense of the company’s working style and priorities.

What specialists from your company would be engaged in the project?

Though you may firstly meet with a head of the architecture company, it never means that they will be working with your solution at all. Will a client be performing primary plans with a head and communicating with a project manager daily? Will a junior architect be a greater fit for your solution (and will that help to save money)? Your task is to get the idea of who will be conducting what and the potential mean for you.

What is the date when the company joins the project, and how about contractors?

Note that when builders are invited early in the design, it may strongly influence your budget and design drawings as they will be able to introduce pricing and insight recommendations from the very beginning. Contractors can be chosen using several approaches.

In case you receive a reference for a builder from a colleague/friend, for example, you can select to hire a builder before recruiting an architecture company. As an option, the architecture company you are interviewing may have a partnering contractor they prefer collaborating with or recommended specialists that you should confirm. In case the last is your case, you should ask whether there will be a common bidding procedure, i.e. when an architecture company generates drawings and delivers them to a couple of contractors to bid on the solution. The last usually results in a more competitive cost.

Are my design wishes affordable within my budget?

Frequently, the reality is that our design plans can often exceed our financial situation. Moreover, building prices significantly vary. When you ask this query, you will understand how sincere an architecture company will be with you in the design process and the way they interact and discover solutions that support getting you as close to the desired design.

Additionally, you will realize whether the solution might be a better option for someone at an architecture company that is proficient at smaller-budget solutions or another company at all. It can also be a sign that your dream is impossible with your budget currently.

Can you mention 3 challenges you see they can face in this project? How to cope with them?

Why ask this query? It provides the interviewer with an opportunity to check an architecture company’s experience and their attitude towards problems. Furthermore, it gives an idea of what problems may lie ahead, and whether you are sure that the engineering design team of this very architecture company could resolve them.

What if I want to introduce modifications and what might this mean for my project?

You should realize the essential rules regarding how a modification request can influence the solution’s price and deadline. Traditionally, reputable architecture companies point out such an issue in their services agreements; however, it is always a good option to initially negotiate that.

What are the drawings I can expect from the full construction doc set?

Commonly, a design project is divided into stages with certain schedules or drawings. In the first stage, an architecture company may create several initial sketches as well as schematic designs. In this phase, such documentation will help to get into the specifics, for instance, the way the project will interact with electrical, heating, or plumbing systems.

Most probably, an essential building drawing set will contain all required elevations, floor plans, and several more comprehensive section drawings. Some architecture companies will charge an extra fee for a more difficult building drawing documentation that can involve components, such as system layouts, appliances, interior elevations, cabinetry development elements, and built-in functions.

What charge format is preferable for you (what fees will be included)?

Architecture companies require realizing what budgets you expect to spend on the project just as much as you want to understand what fee format they prefer. Ensure that you can get clear data regarding how the fee schedule is organized, what is included, and what extra fees are (project management, local area submittal, etc.).

Do you think we will have a fruitful partnership within my project? Why?

This query provides an architecture company with a great opportunity to demonstrate relevant samples of the value they are delivering to their clients. You should ask for details here.

Can you please share several references with me?

Meeting with customers the architecture company has previously collaborated with can strengthen your confidence in the company’s potential and support you in predicting what the design procedure may look like as you realize another customer’s experience. In case it is possible, you should visit those projects to get proof.