How to tell your designer what you want to achieve, and what your budget is. You’ll discuss what service the designer can provide and sign a contract.

Briefing your designer

Once you have selected your architect/designer, and depending on how much ground was covered in the initial meeting, the next stage is the thorough briefing. In this briefing:

• Go over your ideas – the architect or designer should be able to tell you what will look good as well as be functional.
• Be flexible. If you are too fixed in your ideas, the architect/designer won’t have any room to design and come up with exciting ideas you haven’t considered – let the designer design!
• Have a budget and be prepared to shuffle items within the budget – usually area and space, but savings can be made elsewhere, for example, using corrugated steel instead of slate on the roof.
• Sort out exactly which of the following services the architect/designer will be providing:
  • Site selection.
  • Design – initial sketches through to final plans.
  • Budgets.
  • Managing the building process, getting building consent, selecting the builder and various subcontractors and liaison with the council over completion of the project.
  • Interior design and selection of furnishings and appliances.
  • Landscaping
• Have everything agreed in the contract and reviewed by your lawyer.

The full service

Most architects prefer to be engaged for a full service. This means they manage the whole building process for you including selecting the builder and subcontractors, and monitoring construction. Observation on the building site is an important role carried out by architects and designers and lack of supervision is often the reason things go wrong.

The architect will want to ensure you have the best advice throughout the building process. The architect’s full service will ensure that there is no deviation from the consent documents and that the work is of a high standard. The architect can also arrange any variations to your plans as work proceeds. They will also ensure that the Building Consent Authority is properly informed of changes and the Building Consent altered accordingly. Failure to do this will cause problems when trying to obtain the Code Compliance Certificate.

It is particularly important that someone experienced in building work carries out supervision of your project on your behalf if you do not have these skills. This will smooth the building process and help to avoid future problems such as a leaky building. Some architectural designers will also manage the project for you if this is part of their brief.

If you contract them just to do the plans, you could rehire them later at an hourly rate to advise on changes or solve unforeseen problems. But be aware that most architects are not comfortable to take on only part of the process – they would rather see the whole job through from design to completion. This may include internal furnishings and fittings and colour schemes. They will want to see the contract documentation followed faithfully to prevent mistakes by the builder or subcontractors.

This way they are on the spot to keep the project on track and anticipate problems. For example, if the builder uses a different grade of timber than specified, and it is not noticed until the house is nearly built, you could find that the affected area will need to be rebuilt. 

The contract

You should get an agreement in writing regardless of the size of the job. Both NZIA and ADNZ have standard contracts which are very detailed and likely to cover every possible situation that arises. Whatever contract form is used, make sure you understand it and if you don’t, get your lawyer to check it. Make sure it includes clauses about what happens if any disputes arise.

The contract must cover the full scope of the architect/designer’s involvement in the project.

You will need a separate contract with your builder for the construction of your home.

Information gathering

Once engaged, the architect/designer will start gathering information on the building site (your section). This might include the certificate of title, drainage plans, and zoning and town planning information.

They may take photographs and organise to have the site surveyed on your behalf for its contours and boundaries. They will also look at trees, water courses and soil type, if it could affect the building process. They may recommend you get an engineer’s report. Have an agreement with the architect/designer about who is responsible for this information gathering and any extra charges involved, for example, paying the engineer or quantity surveyor if any are engaged. 

Materials and features

A good architect/designer should know about all the materials, latest products and innovations in design. They are responsible for producing designs that meet the manufacturers’ requirements for the materials. For example, you have advised your architect/designer of the type of roofing material you want used. It is likely that this roofing material comes with installation instructions which recommend the pitch at which the roof should be built. The architect/designer would have to design the roof to the recommended pitch otherwise the roofing material cannot be installed to the manufacturer’s recommendations.

They should also be able to advise you about environmental and energy features.