Architectural price summary
Price range = £500 to £16,500
Average cost = £8,700
Best / cheapest price = £500 for a planning application.
UK based Architects can charge anything from £500 for a planning
application to over £16,500 with a mid-price of around £8,700.
Architects offer advice and planning on your project, allowing smooth
progression from start to finish. These services can maximize your returns and
minimize your risks when building any property.
Quotes are usually free though the work they carry out includes looking
at planning permissions, building regulations, creating technical drawings that
represent your future property or extension and provide a certificate of
lawfulness.
According to the two representing bodies in the UK – The Royal Institute
of British Architects (RIBA) and the Architects Registration Board (ARB) have
been able to register more than 37,075, with 74% and 26% of the registered
architects consisting of males and females respectively.
Architects are known as design experts, but many people are not aware that there are at least eight main types in the UK.
These include:
Residential Architect
Residential architects are not common in the UK, especially since a wide array of people can design primary homes that are more affordable and practical. However, some world-renowned architects like Le Corbusier have created famous homes for their beauty in design and structure.
These architects must have a knack for creativeness to turn a client’s dream home into a reality while sticking to their budget. They typically work for real estate developers and private homeowners. In addition, they must adhere to the local building codes in the location of the home they are designing.
Commercial Architect
They are common in all major cities in the world, and that includes the UK.
These architects are known for designing projects like hospitals, retail stores, offices, museums and other non-residential houses. Apart from having excellent designing skills, they are well-versed with the financials in constructing private and public homes, safety regulations and the commercial building codes.
Landscape Architects
They are responsible for planning the outdoor spaces like public gardens, parks, building walkways, and orchards. In addition, they have a knack in the horticultural sector as they provide professional guidelines concerning the type of flowers, trees, and other greeneries to be planted in a particular environment.
England has the highest number of golf courses and these recreational spaces, including resorts and other leisure open spaces, are also within the purview of landscape architects.
Industrial Architects
The goal of an industrial architect is to provide space that eases the operations of the business while providing an ergonomic environment for the users. In addition, they ensure that the overall design has adequate provisions for logistics and distribution facilities, warehouses, production and processing plants, transport terminals/hubs and power plants.
Conservation Architects
The UK is home to some of the most magnificent structures rich in history.
Unfortunately, just like any building, these historical structures are prone to wear and tear. Conservation architects employ their skills and experience gained over the years to restore these pieces of history to their original glory without changing or altering their design.
Additionally, they make the structures fit for the modern inhibition’s functionality and effectively preserve its beauty.
Interior Architects
They are responsible for turning a space into a habitable environment with their interior-solid designer skills. They possess excellent knowledge of the technical aspects of construction. However, it’s important to note they are not interior designers because the two roles may appear to serve the same purpose. Interior architects are accredited and licensed with a focus on the science of the designing process.
Green design architects
They are responsible for building energy-efficient and environmentally friendly buildings. In addition, they generally create designs that complement the natural environment. Therefore, they have to be proficient in developing innovative construction features and integrating them into appealing spaces.
Urban Architects
They specialize in areas within the city or town rather than a single building. Additionally, they provide insight into the remodelling of an existing urban setup. They also decide where public amenities such as bridges, roads, residential homes and public buildings will be.
With the understanding of the different types of architects, it’s equally crucial to know the different types of architectural services they offer. They include:
Programming
Also known as project inception. It entails conducting a site visit with a typed format document with photographs and sketches to understand the property better and listen to the client’s description of their needs, ideas and goals at the end of the project.
Schematic Design
During this stage, the architect reviews the client’s options by going over some pros and cons of the project, then divides the process into two:
1) Single-family
residential – They use the data collected in the previous stage to create a plan for the proposed project.
2) Commercial projects – It’s not
unusual to see the tradesperson bring to life the plans to create a conceptual
building plan.
Design Development
After deliberations and agreements during the schematic process, the architect has a clearer picture of the design of the finished project. Additionally, it’s decided whether the plans conform to the initial budget and adjustments in the building project.
Construction documents
Following on from design development, the architects must agree on all the working drawings and specifications. The documents must be clear and precise as they will be presented to the local municipalities to obtain a building permit. Likewise, the architects shall also seek bids from the various contractors required to work on the project using the information contained in the documents.
Bidding and negotiation
By evaluating the competitive bids, the architect can provide insights on the best contractor. Then, after successful negotiation with the contractor, they assist in drawing contracts between the contractor and the client.
Construction and Contract Administration
During this final phase, the architect’s role is to advise if the contractors and materials meet the acceptable standards. In addition, they provide an on-site inspection to ensure the construction matches the designs intended.
Other services offered include:
Record drawing
If the client wants a home/building renovation but lacks the initial blueprint, the architect can provide additional services of recreating a plan known as ‘record drawing’ to help them understand the building better. However, record drawings are not guaranteed to be accurate as the architect only uses them to provide measuring instruments.
The architect will determine how much information is helpful to them when recreating a record drawing; therefore, the size of the drawing will vary from room to room and the complexity of the new project.
Project management
The home/building owner may want to have some aspects of the project managed by a professional. They include tiles and colour combinations, appliances and accessories that match the project’s overall theme, and other details where the owner may need assistance.
Construction administration
It’s not uncommon for contractors to use shortcuts or overlook the initial specifications for their benefit without the owner’s knowledge. Unfortunately, these shortcuts can drastically affect the quality of a project, leading to reduced durability. To prevent this, the client may compensate the architect for overseeing the construction of the project. This compensation ensures that the work is done well and saves in incurring costs like overpaying for a project or being defrauded when purchasing materials.
Price negotiations/ bidding
An architect’s insight is crucial during this process because of their immense experience in this field. As a result, they can obtain fair price reductions through negotiations. Moreover, they are the only party in the project who can process coordinated price reduction without sacrificing essential materials for the project.
Calculating the cost of employing an architect
The cost of using architectural services could be a fraction of the overall budget. For example, this price might be approximately 5-10% of the overall project price.
An architect might be employed for an extension or a conversion and should be contacted early on in the process to gain a better understanding of how much the project might cost overall.
Why might Pricing Change
When you carry out your search for an architect keep in mind that the price might change depending on your location, the complexity of the work to be done and the experience of the hired professional.
There are different services that an architect can provide as stated earlier and one of these is measured surveys, which can also be carried out by professional surveyors. These include measurements and photographs taken of the property and can cost anything from £250 to £900.
Another example is the proposed design where you might have the guidance of a designer from the architectural firm. This can cost anywhere from £600 to £3,000 with the average being dependent on the size and complexity of the project.
Prices quoted are all estimates.
