Building Designer versus Architect

Thu, 13 Oct 2011

When building a new home, many home owners may consider using an architect or builder, particularly when it is a custom designed home. Often, your builder will already have a highly skilled draftsman, however when looking for a more complex or unique design, an architect or building designer may be required.

When designing a house, both an architect and a building designer will need to be across appearance, layout, structure, room scale, etc but the real difference is simply the certification or qualification that each profession requires. Generally an architect will be required to register with their state board, whereas there is no such requirement for a building designer.

So does this mean that there is a difference in quality of work? Not necessarily. Like any profession or trade, a qualification never guarantees quality of work and the only way to determine this, is by seeing previous examples of work and testimonies. More importantly, it is being clear about what you expect and the outcomes you require. And as per your relationship with your builder, it is important that the relationship with your building designer or architect has excellent communication and trust.

Some of the benefits of utilising a building designer are that often they have a construction background and therefore can consider the cost implications of their design. Generally speaking as well, they are generally less expensive and will work on a wide range of projects.

Often for something a little bit different or abstract, an architect can really be the best option for this sort of projects where they can take your idea and produce a design that a client would never have been able to conceptualise.

Whatever you decide to do, both building designers and architects will work to your budget and quite often your builder will be able to point you in the direction of a reputable architect or building designer.

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