Frequently Asked Questions
Please reach us at davidharmonarchitecture@gmail.com to ask any question
For extremely cost sensitive projects, we can adjust our services and work to meet most budgets-- if that's what you're asking?......Our work and added value is difficult to ignore as this work will determine your project path and results including how the contractor may view and build it. If we can influence a contractor's means and methods by in effect designing the actions of building, you soon realize that everything is designed which means we have power to discover refine and economize to arrive at your best least cost project. To short circuit planning is to increase risk. 10% of the cost is about where the average should be on building projects. Up or down depends on the project's starting points-- which include everything about the context of the project including you. An initial review of the project conditions will help estimate what kind of planning effort is recommended. We also can work in a feasibility phase to comparatively assess project possibilities.
...experience. judgement, efficiency----We use our long experience to look after your money and constantly measure return value of your project in relation to your stated goals.
It helps to think of our fee as a productive cost——as it helps manage the really big number which is the cost of construction - Our work will direct your decision making and ultimately the kind of construction process required. Design is not just aesthetics but the entire program to think, conceive, plan, build and maintain your property. - All of it is part of a design process to isolate the best path for your project. . We can design for any outcome prioritized for you requirements.
Architect's talk about a design process but if you know exactly what you want theirs is no process! I often have clients who see their project exactly and say just the blueprints please!. The problem is that they don't have a professional's perspective. You're going to spend a lot of money and time - why not make sure your effort is as productive as possible? If you have to pay a financial advisor to make you make wise decisions about your investments you should see this in a similar way. You risk way too much not doing enough analysis or planning. Contractors can only build what's on the blueprints. Any sense of competence from the contractor is good to have but the project is only as good as you're planning process.