PAONE
ARCHITECTURE, P.C.
Interior
Design
· Consulting
Why hire an Architect?
The following
editorial is from the April 2002 issue of Residential Architect;
I’m
learning this firsthand as I try to convince someone dear to me to hire an
architect to design her custom home. She’s
a professional accustomed to billing handsomely for her services, and she
enjoys well-designed things. Still,
she just doesn’t get why she should spend a sixth or seventh of her
budget on an architect’s work. To
her, the service that architects provide is intangible or, at best, an
expensive luxury.
In
some ways, products are your competition.
Homebuyers would rather cut out that superfluous design fee than do
without the granite countertops, Viking range and Bosch dishwasher.
After all, they believe they can find a decent house plan through a
book, Web site, or “custom” builder. If
it’s not exactly what they’re looking for, the builder can tweak it
for them. Or they can go to a
design/build firm that swallows the design fee to get the construction
job. Ask them to spend $60,000
for full architectural services on a $400,000 house and they’re
apoplectic. Buyers want money
in the house, they’ll say, not someone’s pocket.
I
feel like I’m arguing with one of those people trapped in Plato’s
cave-the ones who think the shadows are beautiful enough because they’ve
never seen the outside world. Maybe
you can help me bolster my argument and get you that $60,000 fee. Here’s
what I’ve told her so far:
Instead
of plopping a generic plan down on your property, architects design the
house to fit your site, your budget, and your lifestyle.
They are problem solvers. They
can find efficiencies in design and construction that will make the house
less costly to build. They can
develop a footprint that gets you the space you want without consuming all
of your valuable backyard. They
can open up the house to light and breeze, but block the view of the
neighbors next door. They will
also supervise construction of the house, watch-dogging the builders to
make sure they’re building it right.
Ultimately, they will work on the house for at least a year and a
half. And, frankly, they
rarely charge enough for all the work they put into a project.
Will that contribution amount to XX dollars at resale?
Well, how do you measure amorphous but vital qualities like
pleasing proportions, effortless functionality, and the simple, daily
delights of something designed well? You
can add the Sub-Zero refrigerator a few years from now, but you can’t so
easily solve a flawed floor plan after the fact.
Good design is a necessity; nice products are the luxury.
I
guess it’s another battle in a never-ending war: some people will get
it; some just won’t. If you
think of any more ammunition, let me know.
I haven’t given up the fight.
