How Not to Save on Architecture Fees
When it comes to construction, everyone has a budget, and the Architectural Fees are often the first time budget becomes bills. Naturally, this means that these proposals for a professional to design your project is the first pain a customer feels. With so many projects starting under budgeted, if the designer has a frank discussion about what to expect, it’s only natural that the potential client is going to start looking to get spending under control. In many cases, clients struggle to see the value. In some projects, it can be difficult to see. And while this is an architectural firm’s site (and therefore motivated to advocate for paying us), there are good and bad ways to save money on the design work.
In Defense of Professional Fees
Before we go on a deep dive on where to save, let’s discuss the value proposition. Utilized properly, your architectural fees pay for themselves. Trading proper preparation and coordination for lower fees can be a misleading choice. The client has the most power prior to signing a contract. After the contract is signed, it is very difficult to change contractors. This means you have the most leverage in negotiations at the beginning. The second you sign on the dotted line, that leverage flips to the contractors. So, the more you have figured out prior to signing, the more accurate everyone’s understanding is and the more you can hold your contractor to after signing. Every change order you do during construction is a negotiation at a disadvantage. A good set of drawings can minimize change orders, which can save you more money than you paid in fees.
We can illustrate this with a recent project. We had a client who was purchasing equipment that included a platform for their fit out. We requested and never received shop drawings of this equipment to make sure it would all fit. Low and behold, 7 months later during installation, they ran into a ton of problems coordinating the access ramps, egress doors, and assorted other intersectional work because of assumptions made that didn’t turn out to be accurate. For instance, the original assumption was that the ramp would be 30′ long, in the end it ended up being almost 70′ long. These changes necessitated a ton of changes and rework all done on an emergency basis. To be completely fair to this client, this wasn’t a problem of trying to cut corners on the design and more an issue of getting the overseas supplier to provide proper documentation.
Where can you save?
So, skimping on the planning and coordination isn’t where you want to go, what can you do? First and foremost, be prepared. If you know you want something specific, make sure you communicate that. Most architects charge by the time they spend, so if they have a clear program and goal, they can keep their fees lower on the creative side. There are lots of ways to do this. A clear programe and well defined goals are a minimum. If you can, provide concrete examples or a starting point like plans you found on-line. Always provide as much detail as you can and want expressed. Confusion is your wallet’s enemy.
Do your own homework within the limit of your skills. Depending on your experience, you may be comfortable sketching out your ideas or selecting your own materials or systems. The more legwork you can credibly do, the less you have to pay someone else to do. But an important caveat here is that you need to know your skills and your limitations. For instance, becoming your own contractor with no experience will probably not save you money. If you struggle to read drawings, you may not be capable of creating them. Doing your homework can both save you money and cost you tons
Be open-minded. Flexibility about design choices, timelines, or materials and pretty much anything to do with construction can save you money. It’s great to have clear goals, but too often our clients get locked on on ideas they had and make choices that do not maximize their bang for their buck. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but it needs to be intentional or you’re just wasting money. Remember your skills again, if you’re not experienced, you may not realize that the choice you won’t move from makes building code compliance trickier or require a specialized solution rather than something off the shelf. Bringing the inspiration to the table and letting experts fill in the details is usually the best at getting bang for your design buck.
