Time + Scope + Budget: The Architect's Balancing Act

We all know time is money.  When it comes to the world of design/build, the relationship is all that more apparent.

An architect sells his time and expertise. As such, his fees will vary based on three elements:

• The time allowed by the client’s deadlines to complete the design and drawings;
• The scope of included services and design requirements requested by the client;
• The overall construction budget established by the client. 

Each of these three elements - time, scope and budget - affect how the architect approaches the project and the time, resources, and expertise he will need to apply to the project in order to keep the three elements in balance.

For example, a client engages an architect and his engineers to design and provide drawings for the client’s project. The project is a 2,500 square foot dental office. The dentist doesn’t want anything fancy: just a “starter” offi ce with a few special finishes concentrated in the reception/waiting area and the operatories functional and pleasant. Ordinarily, a project of this size takes six weeks for the architect to adequately design and coordinate the engineering with the appropriate level of quality control prior to submission for permit. Let’s say the fee for this project is $15,000.

Time
Circumstances beyond everyone’s control have compressed the deadline. Every possible day must be saved in the schedule. The dentist absolutely has to have the design completed and the drawings submitted for permit in four weeks instead of six. The number of hours needed to complete the project doesn’t change, just the deadline. The only way to complete the project by the new deadline is to make up that two weeks of schedule with overtime hours. The fee must go up.

Scope
In the above example the client has engaged the architect to provide a “base” level of service: space planning, engineering, and construction documents. Let’s say in addition to the base level the dentist wants interior decorating, furniture selections, and closer monitoring of the general contractor. All of these additional services increase the scope of work and the time needed by the architect to adequately provide the services requested by the client. The fee must go up.

Budget
Typically the budget set by the dentist for the overall project covers two significant expenditures: the cost of general construction and the purchase of the equipment. The architecture and engineering fees are influenced by this third element - the budget - in this way. The amount of money you set to construct your office dictates the level of detail and finish material you can expect to find in your design. The higher the level of detail (curved furr-downs, special trim and mouldings, varied ceiling heights and lighting levels), the greater the amount of time the designer must dedicate to the drawings to ensure the design is coordinated with all of the disciplines and that the drawings are complete enough to instruct the contractor how to install the increased level of finish details. The fee must go up.

This balancing act is not possible without a lot of cooperation and understanding between the parties involved. If any of these three elements changes, the fee goes up.

The Sykes Team