Design professionals often complain that owners and developers do not enable them to do their job. One of the most common complaints is that the owner does not want to compensate them for the time required to fully and thoughtfully investigate the project requirements before undertaking the project's design.

It is a worthwhile investment for an owner to retain one or more design professionals to assist with the process of developing a program for a construction project. The program formalizes the owner's objectives for the project and helps to guide the project's design. An experienced architect knows the project-specific inquiries to bring life to an owner’s vision.

Proper planning streamlines the design process by identifying and addressing issues such as:

Investing the time and money at the outset of the project to identify and address key issues that may later impact the project will help maximize profits down the line.

In the program phase, the architect studies the community in which the project is located to determine how to incorporate design elements that enable the owner to obtain the highest possible market price. A knowledgeable architect will consider such factors as:

In performing a comprehensive market analysis, the architect also analyzes the statutory and regulatory requirements in the project location to determine whether there are any tax benefits or other incentives for such things as:

For more information on sustainable building elements, see Practice Note, Owning and Leasing Green Real Estate.

Sensitivity to market and design trends helps to ensure that a project is in the best position to get ahead of the competition.

Early value engineering, before the design-review process is completed, is critical to keeping a project on time and on budget. First performing value engineering after completion of the design-review process can be both time consuming and costly for the owner because:

An informed architect also has an understanding of different material and design options and can present the owner with choices that:

An experienced architect is aware of the market availability of different materials, which can help prevent delays and unanticipated additional costs as the project progresses. For a recent example, see Legal Update, Glass Shortage Leaves Construction Industry on Thin Ice.

To maximize a project's bottom line, owners can benefit from earmarking more of their soft cost budget to retaining and adequately compensating a design team to perform the required feasibility studies and investigations early in the planning process. Defining the scope of work and expectations for the design professional's role can ensure a thoughtful process. Working from the outset with a design professional who is both creative and knowledgeable will go a long way to ensuring a project’s success.

For further guidance on negotiating an owner-architect agreement, see Owner-Architect Agreement for Design-Bid-Build: Owner's Drafting Checklist.

For more information on the typical design phases of a construction project, see Practice Note, Private Construction Project Delivery Systems: Overview, Box: Customary Design Phases.