I've read articles online detailing the design process residential architects go through when commissioned by clients to design private residences, and have read it involves interviewing the client, visiting their home site/potential home site, drawing conceptual sketches of the home, calculating preliminary estimates/prices/costs to build their home, making more detailed drawings/sketches to use for the building process/for contractors to use when building the home, hiring a contractor, and ghost monitoring the project to ensure it ends up built to the clients specifications.
The interviewing of the client involves getting the clients opinion on their vision for their home, and it includes square footage, types of rooms, number of bedrooms/bathrooms, dimensions of rooms, style of home, and anything else necessary for the architect to know to have a strong starting point to designing the clients potential home. The clients budget will be figured out during the interview stage as well. If a home site has been purchased prior to hiring the architect, the architect will visit the home site. The purpose of the visit is to figure out any potential benefits/pitfalls of building a home on the potential home site including views, obstructions, issues revolving around the type of land, and anything else that can come to the architects mind.
The sketching of the clients potential home will involve sketching preliminary drafts/sketches of elevations the home, more detailed sketches will be made as ideas on the home are approved, modified, and revised by the client, floor plans will be made, and more detailed sketches/drawings will be made with enough finality/specifics for a contractor to be able to read/use as a detailed guide for building. Preliminary prices will be surmised by the sending architectural notes, sketches, plans, and supplemental information to contractors, and designs for the home will be modified if preliminary prices/quotes to build the home are too high/the client has desires for certain aspects of the home to be changed. Finals sketches/drawings will be made to present to a contractor when selected to build the home/hand over to the client, and alongside them 3D computer renderings/3D physical models of the home will/can be made for the client to own.
Next final/more refined bids will be collected from contractors and evaluated on what they claim they can build the potential home for, a contractor will be selected, and the project can/will commence after securing any permits, licenses, and paperwork necessary. The architect will/can then be around to routinely monitor the project to ensure it's completed to the clients specifications/needs. The contractor while monitored/aided is responsible for construction methods, techniques, schedules, and procedures.
Some things will vary a bit depending on the specific project, your needs and the architect's scope of work- but what you've described is generally accurate.
There are specific terms architects usually use for the stages of design and construction: predesign/programming, schematic design, design development, construction documentation, bidding, construction administration.
These steps can be changed too for certain situations, especially where the contractor is involved early. Forum members who've done more single family residential than I have can give more detail probably.
The AIA has some general info on working with architects that might help explain more for you:
And this is a friendly website by an architect who focuses on single family residential which includes a lot of explanation of the process on buildings he has worked on. Good to look through and see real stories of what goes on:
Strongly recommend having an architect help you evaluate sites if you're planning to do this. A local architect will know zoning issues and other things that could cause a big problem for building a home if you buy the wrong property.
I know of a house in the small town I came from which has no driveway - the owner parks his car at his neighbor's and walks. The state didn't allow the owners to build any connection to the local highway due to a dangerous turn. I bet he wishes he knew about that before plopping his dream home there!
Is this the design process to building a home?
I've read articles online detailing the design process residential architects go through when commissioned by clients to design private residences, and have read it involves interviewing the client, visiting their home site/potential home site, drawing conceptual sketches of the home, calculating preliminary estimates/prices/costs to build their home, making more detailed drawings/sketches to use for the building process/for contractors to use when building the home, hiring a contractor, and ghost monitoring the project to ensure it ends up built to the clients specifications.
The interviewing of the client involves getting the clients opinion on their vision for their home, and it includes square footage, types of rooms, number of bedrooms/bathrooms, dimensions of rooms, style of home, and anything else necessary for the architect to know to have a strong starting point to designing the clients potential home. The clients budget will be figured out during the interview stage as well. If a home site has been purchased prior to hiring the architect, the architect will visit the home site. The purpose of the visit is to figure out any potential benefits/pitfalls of building a home on the potential home site including views, obstructions, issues revolving around the type of land, and anything else that can come to the architects mind.
The sketching of the clients potential home will involve sketching preliminary drafts/sketches of elevations the home, more detailed sketches will be made as ideas on the home are approved, modified, and revised by the client, floor plans will be made, and more detailed sketches/drawings will be made with enough finality/specifics for a contractor to be able to read/use as a detailed guide for building. Preliminary prices will be surmised by the sending architectural notes, sketches, plans, and supplemental information to contractors, and designs for the home will be modified if preliminary prices/quotes to build the home are too high/the client has desires for certain aspects of the home to be changed. Finals sketches/drawings will be made to present to a contractor when selected to build the home/hand over to the client, and alongside them 3D computer renderings/3D physical models of the home will/can be made for the client to own.
Next final/more refined bids will be collected from contractors and evaluated on what they claim they can build the potential home for, a contractor will be selected, and the project can/will commence after securing any permits, licenses, and paperwork necessary. The architect will/can then be around to routinely monitor the project to ensure it's completed to the clients specifications/needs. The contractor while monitored/aided is responsible for construction methods, techniques, schedules, and procedures.
Is this accurate? Close to accurate? Am I missing anything? Do the steps happen in that exact order? A different order? If so, what order?
Some things will vary a bit depending on the specific project, your needs and the architect's scope of work- but what you've described is generally accurate.
There are specific terms architects usually use for the stages of design and construction: predesign/programming, schematic design, design development, construction documentation, bidding, construction administration.
These steps can be changed too for certain situations, especially where the contractor is involved early. Forum members who've done more single family residential than I have can give more detail probably.
The AIA has some general info on working with architects that might help explain more for you:
http://howdesignworks.aia.org/fivephases.asp
And this is a friendly website by an architect who focuses on single family residential which includes a lot of explanation of the process on buildings he has worked on. Good to look through and see real stories of what goes on:
http://www.lifeofanarchitect.com/
Strongly recommend having an architect help you evaluate sites if you're planning to do this. A local architect will know zoning issues and other things that could cause a big problem for building a home if you buy the wrong property.
I know of a house in the small town I came from which has no driveway - the owner parks his car at his neighbor's and walks. The state didn't allow the owners to build any connection to the local highway due to a dangerous turn. I bet he wishes he knew about that before plopping his dream home there!
Richard!
He's never around when you need him. We need some kind of Balkins Bat-Signal.
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