The architectural project is a complex process.
The architect designed building is most likely to be an individual one, tailored for your needs (see project brief), budget and building plot’s geology and planning restrictions. The fees that architect charge will depend on these parameters.
1. First of all, there are project progress stages. The project will start with initial brief development and design sketch drawings. After this you will need the Planning drawings and Planning Application. Once you have the Planning Consent, you will need the Building Warrant drawings, specification and Application, then Tender documents and Tender Action. When construction starts on site, your Architect will help with site visits and certification. You can see full list of standard services https://www.mwparchitects.co.uk/services.
Your architect will typically charge for the above project stages individually per stage, however the total fee amount for the full service is usually based on the construction cost or time based per hour, depending on agreement. If it is based on construction cost, then the architect’s fee for standard services will vary between 5-15%.
2. For a small project it is possible to agree a lump sum fee. This normally applies to a drawing service only.
3. There are other factors that influence the architect’s fee level.
If your building is existing, there will be a lot of factors that complicate the design. The fee percentage is therefore higher when the existing building is involved and will likely to be from 8% to 15%. For a new build the architect will normally charge between 5 -10%, depending on budget and complexity.
Paradoxically, the bigger the project budget is, the lower will be the fee percentage across all of the project types.
4. The standard architectural services are outlined above in 1. There are also services like Measured Survey, Listed Building Application, Interior Design or other as required.
