Hiring an Architect: Scope, Fees, and What Owners Should Ask For

8 min read

Most owners compare architects on fee percentage and portfolio. Both matter less than scope definition, consultant coverage, and how the design process handles cost.

Know the phases you are buying

Standard design phases:

**Programming** — defining what the project must do
**Schematic design** — form, layout, and general character
**Design development** — systems, materials, and coordination
**Construction documents** — the permit and construction set
**Bidding or negotiation** — assisting with contractor selection
**Construction administration** — site visits, submittals, RFIs, pay application certification

Proposals that exclude construction administration are cheaper and usually more expensive overall. The architect who drew the building is the right party to interpret it when questions arise.

Consultants are the real cost variable

Ask explicitly which consultants are included in the fee and which you will contract separately:

Structural engineering
Civil engineering and stormwater design
Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing
Landscape architecture
Geotechnical
Survey
Specialty: acoustics, lighting, kitchen, code, accessibility

Two proposals that look 30 percent apart often converge once consultant coverage is normalized.

Fee structures and when each fits

**Percentage of construction cost** — simple, but the incentive is misaligned when cost rises
**Fixed fee** — predictable, requires a well-defined scope up front
**Hourly with a not-to-exceed** — appropriate for early feasibility and undefined work
**Phased fixed fee** — fixed per phase, re-set as scope becomes clear

Phased fixed fee with a defined scope per phase generally gives owners the most control, because it creates natural stop-and-evaluate points.

Build cost checkpoints into the agreement

The most expensive failure mode in design is a set of drawings the market prices above budget. Prevent it contractually:

Require an independent cost estimate at the end of schematic design and design development
Define the budget as a stated number in the agreement
Define what happens if the estimate exceeds the budget — redesign responsibility and at whose cost
Require the architect to participate in reconciling estimates

Deliverables to specify

Number of design options in schematic design
Number of revision rounds included per phase
Renderings or visualization, and how many
Level of specification — outline versus full
Meeting frequency and attendance expectations
Permit application support and response to review comments
Construction administration site visit frequency

Unspecified deliverables become additional service requests later.

Additional services and change

Every agreement has an additional services clause. Read it and negotiate the triggers. Common ones worth defining: owner-directed scope change after a phase is approved, redesign due to jurisdiction requirements, and value engineering after a failed budget check.

Require written authorization before additional services are incurred. That single term prevents most fee disputes.

Questions worth asking references

Did the project bid within budget the first time?
How responsive were they during construction?
How were errors and omissions handled?
Did the fee end where it started, and if not, why?

The last question is the most informative one you can ask.

Next step

Normalize consultant scope across proposals, add a stated budget and cost checkpoints to the agreement, and keep construction administration in scope. Those three moves control most design-phase risk.