#1 Improved your life
A big ask there for sure, but think about it – your surroundings have a profound impact on how you work, live and feel every day. Good design can make a HUGE difference to your lifestyle and the way your family and guests feel use and feel about your home. Equally, high quality design thinking, applied to your work environment, can significantly upgrade productivity, and the experience you create for staff and customers.
#2 Respected the environment
Every project has unique opportunities and challenges but good design always has a positive rather than a negative impact on its environment, in every sense of the word. A good architect will design sensitively to respect and enhance your site, your neighbourhood, and to meet your energy efficiency and other sustainability goals.
#3 Let you build with confidence
There are many unregistered “architectural designers” out there, and some of them are even quite good, but only a genuine Registered Architect has met stringent qualifications, skills and experience requirements. With thousands of dollars to lose if things go wrong, and thousands to gain if the design work is better than average, entrusting your financial future (and peace of mind) to the lowest bidder may not make a lot of sense.
#4 Let you really understand what you are getting
Traditional freehand sketching to convey a concept still very much has a place, but the best architects don’t just stop there. These days integrated 3D design visualisation technology, in skilful hands, lets you see and understand what you are getting all the way through as the design evolves, at whatever level of detail you require, and before it is too late to change! Compelling images help communicate and market your proposal to others as well.
#5 Maximize value, minimize cost
Good design improves your return on investment. Ask any real estate agent – the same budget can simply achieve that much more for you and your bottom line when coupled with above average design. Your mileage may vary, but we understand a house this practice designed in Halswell, Christchurch recently sold for around 5 times the build cost, even allowing for land values.
