When it comes to designing your new space, it’s remarkable how few people understand the importance of hiring a residential or commercial building architect. If you are planning a new building or home renovation you’ve probably already considered speaking with a contractor and a designer, but until you’ve added an architect into the mix, your team is incomplete.

So What’s the Difference?

The designer, contractor, and commercial or residential architect have some overlapping skills and abilities, but each one has a different approach to design projects.

What’s the difference between them?

• Builder or Contractor: This professional constructs the new building. The contractor executes the project’s plan, meets construction timelines, arranges for building materials and manages subcontractors.

• Designer: The designer maximizes interior space use for the building’s occupants. When you watch home improvement shows, the designer is the one picking out colors, furnishings and fixtures.

• Architect: This unsung hero is at the center of it all. The residential or commercial architect creates the building’s full architectural design. The architect creates the construction master plan that contractor implements and sets the dimensions for the rooms the designer finishes.

Their Skills Complement Each Other

Why have only one expert when you can have them all? While architects won’t tell you the finer points of laying drywall or choosing complimentary colors, they will ensure your space is structurally sound and set the tone for your design.

Think of the architect as the quarterback of building design. While the other players are also important, it’s the commercial or residential architect who makes the play. All team members work together to ensure your project comes to life on every level.

How Does the Partnership Work?

Architects take the first step in the remodeling or building design process. For example, office plan architects take into account the client’s needs and draw the building’s plans. Designers study the plans and make choices for the interior’s functionality, safety, and look. Contractors follow the architect’s office or residential plans and construct the building. If designers or contractors have questions about the building’s design, they defer to the architects.

Architects often monitor the construction to make sure contractors and designers follow the plan and meet the clients’ expectations.

What Are the Ground Rules?

Have you heard of build codes? Alabama has strict regulations about what you can do to a building, depending on where it’s located and the type of space it is. For example, projects incorporating the following require the involvement of a certified architect:

• Multi-family homes
•  Spaces for education or assembly
•  Interior alterations that change occupancy type
•  Buildings over 2,500 square feet

Architects work hand-in-hand with designers and contractors to construct buildings that meet clients’ needs. Architects lead the building team from the project’s start to the finish. Hire a residential or commercial building architect from the start to make sure your new construction project goes smoothly and turns out as you expected.

Bill Whittaker, Registered Architect offers personal attention to clients in Alabama and Georgia. To learn more about how we can lead your construction project team, visit our website or contact us at (256) 689-0238.