Developing a brief between you and your chosen architect is a vital step in determining the success of your dream build.
A clear brief sets the parameters of your budget and what you are looking for when it comes to your chosen living style and aesthetics. However, this doesn’t come without effort. Good communication between you and your architect is key.
But how do you find the right architect to work with in the first place? Rob Harris, director of Elements at Home Architecture & Building Design suggests thinking about your ideal brief and budget first to find someone who will suit your needs.
“Think about your brief. Is it a new home or a renovation? Are you looking for a single or double storey?” he says. “Work out your budget — an approximate figure is fine at this stage. Letting me know if you have a $100,000 or $500,000 budget helps me to tell you what you can and cannot do.”
Choosing your architect
With so many architects to choose from, it can feel a little overwhelming. Each one has a different style and costs can vary. Rob suggests asking people for referrals first, especially from those who are local.
“Referrals are the best. Finding someone local is important and preferred but not critical,” he says. “Just make sure to review their website and check for a name and number and if there are examples showcased of work that you like.” Asking questions such as “does their work feel relatable?” and “are there any testimonials or reviews?” helps narrow down the pool of choices to someone you will feel comfortable working with.
In these days of social media, this can make it a little easier. Rob suggests checking out a company’s Instagram page and starting an initial conversation. “It’s important to have a connection and you will know that through your first meeting.”
Creating the brief
The brief is the final product of a collaboration between you and your architect. It will be used throughout the build of your dream home to keep everyone on the same page. To create the perfect brief, Rob recommends clients do a brain dump onto paper of everything they want.
“When I meet clients for the first time, I ask them to download everything in their head — to give me their wish list,” he says. “Ideally they will have thought about this prior to our meeting and have lots of notes and images.”
A word document full of images, a Pinterest board or scrapbook of magazine cut-outs helps architects find a starting point. It defines your style and provides insight into what you want your dream home to look like.
“I also want to know how your family lives,” says Rob. “How do they function and interact during the week and on weekends? Do you have children and what are their ages? It’s important to consider not only the now, but what your future needs are. I have personal experience to help with this as my children are teenagers and I understand the requirements of a growing family and how these requirements change over the years.”
What to avoid
When creating and finalising a brief, sometimes things can go haywire. An architect can misunderstand a sketch or a client may feel undecided. Here are a few tips Rob recommends might help with finalising that all-important brief:
- Often items are forgotten during the first meeting. Rob suggests writing a list of bullet points, like a wish list, before the meeting so you can discuss them.
- Some clients are fixated on a particular way of planning their house. They have a specific layout in mind. If, in your architect’s opinion, it doesn’t work because the spaces don’t flow well, the orientation to the sun is wrong or there is poor circulation space (the areas people walk through), your architect will tell you and will suggest and design the best way to do it. “I will also draw the way the clients want to do it and explain the pros and cons for each; ultimately it is the owners’ decision,” says Rob.
- Often clients want to show their sketches or ideas. “I don’t want to see them initially as I don’t want to be influenced by them,” says Rob. “I will come up with my own design based on their brief and, more often than not, I will come up with something different, something they haven’t thought about. That’s the best part.”
Find architect Rob Harris’s work at Elements of Home, elementsofhome.com.au or
@elements_of_home on Instagram.
Photo by Maria Orlova
