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Why pay 10% on top of your construction costs for an architect?
Imagine you were buying a new car, and for 10% extra you could have the car fully customised to your own personal needs, with no increase to manufacturing costs. Would you do it? The same precise analogy can be used when engaging an architect to design a home to your own personal needs and aspirations. The 10% (or whatever percent is determined necessary for the complexities of your project, be it 6% or 15%) is buying you expertise that will allow you, for the same construction cost, to create a home that has been specially customised for your needs.
The majority of people have no idea how much architect’s fees are, and it is not without good reason. The different methods on how we can charge are confusing.
Traditionally we charge on a percentage of the Cost of Works, other wise referred to as the construction costs.
Here is an example on how it works. We have standard percentage fee depending on the projects complexity. To make the calculation simple we will use a figure of 10 percent. Thus if the budget for your Cost of Works is $600,000 (excluding GST) for a new build home, our fee would be $60,000 (excluding GST). If you had double the budget, the percentage fee charged by most architects would be less.
Fee bidding is arguably the worst way to select your architect. It is a means of selection where you ask a number of architects to submit their fees and the lowest fee usually wins the job. Fee bidding is false economy because it is unlikely to result in the best architectural outcome for you.
How are architects’ fees usually set?
Architects’ fees are set by negotiation with their clients. In most cases architects will calculate the amount for which they can afford to provide the service and quote that amount to the client. Read more…
There are several different methods that architects use for charging fees.
This is a very common method of charging fees. The architect charges a percentage of the cost of the building (usually the cost on completion). Read more…
