What Is It Actually Like to Work With an Architect?

For most clients, working with an architect means having someone take a complicated process, make it understandable and lead it on their behalf.

Building a substantial home asks ordinary people to make extraordinarily complex decisions about a process they may only go through once. The client should remain deeply involved in the decisions that shape the home, while the architect brings the specialist knowledge needed to navigate planning, structure, building performance, consultants, approvals and construction.

At Borland Architecture, our role is to understand the family well enough to know what matters, coordinate the right people around the project, make the design clear and bring the client into the process when their judgement is genuinely needed.

It starts with understanding how you want to live

Clients usually arrive knowing some of what they want. They may need four bedrooms, somewhere to work from home, better storage, more privacy or a stronger connection with the garden.

We then need to understand the reasons behind those requests.

A family may ask for a second living room because they want somewhere teenagers can make noise without taking over the main part of the house. A guest room may be intended for an ageing parent whose needs could eventually extend well beyond occasional accommodation.

We also want to understand what frustrates the family about their current home, how much space they genuinely need, which parts of their daily life work well and what matters enough that they would regret compromising on it later. The brief also needs to look forward, because the home may continue serving the family for decades.

Part of our job is to challenge the solution a client first arrives with when the underlying need suggests a better answer.

That investigation becomes the foundation for the design.

The architect coordinates the wider project team

A substantial home can involve a surprising number of specialists before construction begins.

Depending on the project, there may be engineers, landscape architects, planners, building services consultants, building surveyors, cost consultants and specialist suppliers. The builder and trades introduce another layer of information once construction starts.

Each specialist is looking at the project through a particular area of expertise. We need to understand how their advice affects the architecture, the brief and the decisions already made elsewhere.

An engineer may develop a structurally sound solution that has consequences for the architecture. A mechanical route may be technically effective while reducing the ceiling height in an important room. A planning response may resolve an approval issue while weakening the relationship between the house and garden.

We brief consultants, review their work, resolve conflicts and bring their advice back into the design so the client is not left trying to coordinate a collection of separate technical documents.

You need to understand the design before it is built

One of the more difficult things we ask clients to do is approve a building that does not yet exist.

Plans, elevations and sections remain essential documents, but three-dimensional modelling allows most clients to understand space far more intuitively. They can see how rooms connect, assess views, understand ceiling heights and develop a much clearer sense of scale before construction begins.

As the project develops, we bring in physical materials and products as well. We review samples, visit suppliers where seeing or touching something adds value, and work through important fixtures, fittings and finishes in person where useful.

The aim is to remove as many surprises as reasonably possible before construction.

A client should reach site with a strong understanding of the home they have approved, rather than discovering fundamental aspects of it for the first time after they have been built.

Good architectural service should protect the client’s time

Clients should spend their time on decisions where their judgement has a meaningful effect on the finished home. Once we understand the brief and agreed priorities, much of the technical detail can be resolved within the project team.

When the client does need to make a decision, our role includes explaining the consequences and making a recommendation where appropriate.

I do not think good architectural service means presenting every possible option and asking the client to choose between them with no guidance. The architect is being paid for judgement as well as design.

There may be five technically possible ways to resolve an issue. If one best supports the brief, architecture, budget and performance of the home, I would rather explain why I recommend it than transfer the entire decision back to the client.

This is particularly important for people with demanding careers and families of their own. The design process still requires proper engagement, but that time should be concentrated where it has the greatest impact.

There are periods when the project will demand your attention

Working with an architect does not make the client passive.

The early briefing deserves thought. Major design reviews require attention. Cost decisions can force priorities to be tested. Materials and finishes need to be considered carefully, and there are points in almost every project where the client has to make a decision with real consequences.

There will also be occasions where we challenge an assumption or recommend against something the client initially wanted. That is part of doing the job properly.

A successful process gives those discussions enough time while shielding the client from the constant stream of technical coordination happening behind them.

Cost will influence the design

An architect-designed home develops within financial constraints as well as architectural ones.

We discuss budget from the beginning and continue testing it as the design develops. On the substantial homes we work on, we also prefer to involve an appropriate builder early enough for construction knowledge and cost feedback to influence decisions while the architecture can still respond.

This can lead to difficult conversations. The brief and budget may not align. A particular design decision may cost considerably more than the value the client places on it. Priorities sometimes need to change.

I would much rather have those conversations early than allow a client to become attached to a design they cannot comfortably afford to build.

Our article Does My Budget Match the Home I Want to Build? explores that process in more detail.

The architect carries the history of the project

By the time a substantial home reaches construction, we may have spent months or years understanding the brief, testing design options, coordinating consultants, resolving approvals and working through cost.

That history becomes useful when questions arise on site.

A product may become unavailable. Existing conditions may differ from what was understood during design. A builder may suggest an alternative detail or construction method. Each of those decisions benefits from an understanding of why the original design developed the way it did.

For that reason, we generally recommend maintaining architectural involvement during construction on complex projects.

The level of service can vary depending on the project and client. We cover those options separately in Do I Need My Architect During Construction?

What should the relationship with your architect feel like?

You should feel able to ask questions and understand the answers.

You should also expect your architect to have an opinion.

There will be many decisions during a substantial home project where several solutions are technically possible. Part of the value of experience is being able to judge which response best supports the brief, site, architecture, performance and budget, then explain that recommendation clearly.

There will also be times when the right advice is uncomfortable. The design may need to change. A planning constraint may limit an ambition. A cost decision may require a priority to be reconsidered.

A good working relationship allows those conversations to happen openly and early.

What is the client responsible for?

The client remains the key decision-maker throughout the project.

Your role includes being clear about what you want to achieve, responding when major decisions are required, giving honest feedback and maintaining realistic conversations around budget and priorities.

You do not need to arrive knowing how to design a house or manage a consultant team. That expertise is part of what you are appointing the architect to provide.

The strongest projects develop when the client brings deep knowledge of their family and ambitions, while the architect brings the experience needed to translate that into a coherent home.

So, what is it actually like?

At its best, working with an architect is a collaborative process in which the client remains closely connected to the important decisions while the architect leads the technical and design complexity around them.

There will be periods that demand attention, difficult decisions and moments where assumptions are challenged. That is part of creating a substantial home carefully.

The architect’s job is to make those decisions clearer, coordinate the people involved and apply enough professional judgement that the client never feels they have been left to navigate the process alone.