The designer decision: should I hire one or not?

Here are the major services that an architectural designer can perform for you

• They can advise on new site purchases or renovation scopes.
• They can design a unique dwelling that is specified to your family's specifications.
• They can make design suggestions that make your home more efficient with regards to space planning and structural layout, which will save you money in construction materials and general labour costs.
• They will help you choose appropriate materials, ones that are long-lasting, safe for human contact and environmentally sustainable.
• They can periodically take you on Virtual 3D Modeling tours or presentations of your home during the design process. That way, you can get a better realization of your home than you could from a 2D black and white floor plan from a plan book.
• They can co-ordinate your architectural drawings with an engineer and tradespeople as required to receive a building permit. They will ensure everything is co-ordinated and correct.
• They can submit your home’s drawings, on your behalf, to city hall for a building permit.
• They can collect general contractor construction bids on your behalf. If you use the bid system instead of choosing one contractor from the phone book, you will almost always save at least 5 to 10 per cent on construction costs.
• They can also provide building inspections during construction to ensure the contractor and sub-contractors are building your home to the highest quality. This dramatically relieves many of the headaches that naturally happen in the construction process. You then have someone qualified with your best interests at heart, in your corner, dealing with the issues that arise that you may not have any experience with or desire to deal with.

I suggest using architectural technologists and architects only. Self taught designers and even trained architectural drafters have not taken courses based on the principals of design. I compare them to a medical surgeon’s assistant or nurse. They’ve seen a skilled surgeon work or the product of their work, possibly many times. They obviously have medical training, but most importantly, they don’t have surgical training themselves. We wouldn’t put our lives in an assistant’s hand, unless we were in a very desperate situation. When you think of a home being (for most of the population) our largest investment and our family’s habitat, would you risk those aspects of your life to an untrained designer? Unfortunately there are so many butchered homes that it’s become the norm.

What specific training do architectural designers have? They’ve been trained to create living spaces that are specified by appropriate size, priority and linkage to other spaces which can create a healthier human habitat. Then from these design recommendations and sometimes standards taught in school and practice, they have the ability to adjust these for your family’s specific needs.