10 Tips for choosing the best building designer
At StruXi, we understand that our job as your building designer is to see your residential or commercial design project vision realised, without stress. We like our clients to coast through the whole process of creating their new residential house or commercial development project. It is our aim to identify and deal with all the issues or potential problems long before they affect the budget, timeline or quality of a house design or development project.
Whether you are looking for an architect or a building designer for your new office design, commercial development project or cutting edge house plans, following are 10 tips to help you find the one that helps you achieve the perfect result.
1 | Seek recommendations. If you have family or friends who have recently had some house floorplans drawn up, or a home renovation idea drafted, find out who they used and why. Similarly, if you have seen a stunning new property development, make contact with the agent and find out who designed it – they will be more than happy to help. If you don’t like the style of that building designer recommendation, then find out about the process in general and if there were any areas that could potentially cause problems. Knowledge is power after all.
2 | Be inspired by what is around you. Are there any modern house designs or commercial buildings around your local area that you love the look of? Contact the owners of new buildings that you like, and ask who designed them. Most commonly, people will be happy to help by recommending their building designer after they have done an excellent house design or commercial construction project!
3 | Google search. If you are looking for a building designer that is local to you, search the area, and jump on Google. Once you have a list of possibilities, then look through their websites for their standard of work. Remember that the top few listings on a Google search page are paid ads, with the rest underneath being deemed by Google as having good quality sites.
4 | Ensure that your building designer is a member of the standard association bodies. In Queensland that is the Building Designers Association Queensland.
5 | Once you have a shortlist, make sure that you understand the way they work. How involved do you want to be in the process? Do you want a designer who will incorporate your ideas where possible? Or do you want someone to take your brief and run with it? The way that you work together will dictate the success of the commercial building or house design project overall.
6 | Have your list of potential building designers worked on a project that is similar to yours before? Ensuring that your building designer has worked on a similar level of commercial project or house design brief and budget that reflects yours should feature highly in your list of criteria.
7 | Understand your budget. Typically, creative and edgy design requires a higher level of the budget than a more modest brief. Make sure the expectations your building designer sets are compatible with yours.
8 | Get a clear idea of how fees are charged. There are myriad methods of charging fees for house design, including hourly rates, percentage-based fees, progress payments, lump-sum fees, or cost per square meter. With any of these choices, make sure you understand it thoroughly, and don’t be afraid to ask for clarification. Your selected building designer should be completely transparent in their payment structure, so sign it off, and get on with the project at hand.
9 | What do your fees cover? Is it just working drawings, or are you needing contract administration as well? Would you prefer to have a Project Manager on hand for the build of the commercial project or residential job as well, and if so, does your building designer offer that service as one point of contact. This is advantageous, resulting in a seamless transition from drawings through to construction. Again, clarify, and understand.
10 | Work out if you like them, and can maintain a positive professional relationship with them during the course of the project. Personality clashes can sometimes turn a sweet project sour, depending on the client and the provider. Working with people who treat you with respect, turn up on time, are genuine and honest will make a considerable difference to your experience.
If you are looking for any assistance or guidance with choosing a building designer, please get in touch.