Architect

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Ardent Architects

We typically charge 10% of the construction budget for domestic work. 12% if it requires town planning approval.

We meet with the client at the property in question and spend time going through the property room by room discussing their needs and ambitions. One of the most important discussions we have is how one space can full fill multiple uses, reducing the need for building of space and allowing for a higher quality finish for their budget.

Registered architect, registered building practitioner.

As the director I have been working in this area for 17 years. I started Ardent Architect's nearly 8 years ago.

On residential projects we typically work with a couple to deliver their project. Some of our clients are overseas and we work with them via live design meetings online. This allows us to deliver their project while overseas so they can come home to a completed project.

Typically residential projects take *information hidden*months from commencement of design through to hand over of the completed project.

Work with an architect you like as a person and feel you can get along with. Working with someone on a project that involves a huge amount of your personal wealth that you don't personally get along with is a recipe for disaster. Make sure you know what your budget is and do some research on whether it is reasonable for what you are looking to achieve. If you've seen a house recently completed house you like knock on their door and see whether they will tell you what it cost to build, if it is twice your budget then you need to halve your expectations. It is very important to remember that when builders or architects talk about construction budgets it is typically ex GST and doesn't include their fees, the engineers fees, building surveying fees, land surveyor fees, geotechnical fees. These typically add up to 25% on top of the construction budget. This is the difference between the construction budget and the project budget. So if you've seen a project that costs $1m to built the project budget would need to be $1.2m. With contingency the architect should be designing to a budget of $900k to allow a 10% contingency. You need to understand that architects fees are percentage based. This means that if you decide to increase your project budget from $500k to $800k at any point the architects fee will increase from $50k to $80k.

Ask about their team size and workload in regards to whether they have the capability to deliver your project. Ask for client references on recently completed projects so you can ring and get a reference from someone they have delivered a project for.