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What does an architect cost?

This is a question that we are often asked.  Like every service, there is always a broad range of services and associated costs when you ask an architect to quote for services on your new house or refurbishment project in Ireland. 

Historically the Irish institute of architects had suggested fee bands for projects and carried out and published surveys of architect fee levels, however in recent years these have stopped being generally circulated.  While there was a wide range of charges, above and below, we found that our own fees were generally middle of the road and followed the mean line. 

There are some practices that offer standardised lump sum fees for all or certain part of a project, and while this provides you with certainty on the cost of architectural services, can you be sure that you are getting a fee tailored to your particular requirements.  All projects, briefs, budgets and site conditions are different and as a result we don't believe that there is a one size fits all fee to match.

What about discounts and haggling, well, if a quotation is cheap, the reality is that the service provider, whether architect or other, corners have to be cut somewhere to make it economical for them to provide you a commensurate service.  Do you want a designer that has priced too cheap to cut corners on the time that they can afford to spend on design, construction detailing or visiting the construction site of one of the largest financial outlays that you are likely to make. 

It’s always worth getting a couple of quotations from practices that you believe have successfully delivered projects in your area in an architectural ‘style’ that is in keeping with your own visions for the project.

It is contentious that architectural projects are charged for on a percentage of the construction cost of a project, however the reality is, bigger projects take more time, there is commonly more involved and the architect will need to commit more resources to your project.  That being said a lot of refurbishment projects can have many elements that require almost as much effort as a bigger project and this is a challenge that we encounter daily on smaller projects. 

Your architect and engineers are obliged to make regular site visits to the project and especially at key milestones during the construction process.  On even a small project this may mean that they easily have to make twenty site visits to the project site and this can be compounded by the distance of the project from the office or other sites.  The reality is that many architects, ourselves included, are not able to take on projects that are below a certain budget or are not located within areas where they already have current work.

Architecture is about much more than design, the role encompasses project management, construction detailing, managing expectations of clients and the contractual relationship with builders and so much more.  When you are working out what an architect should cost, bear in mind that they will be wearing many hats over the time that you will be engaged with them.  So, while it is important, how much they cost, please also consider that you will be spending a lot of time working with and as much as anything you want to know who specifically you will be dealing with, that ‘they get you’ and that you have a good working relationship with them.

Feel free to ask us for a no obligation estimate of what we expect the architectural fees to be for your project.