The Times, They Are A Changing

The past 40 years have seen a seismic change in the practice of architecture – particularly with regards to custom residential design. Prior to the 80’s, most architectural practice was focused on various forms of commercial design. The introduction of luxury golf course developments soon after, allowed custom residential design to become a respected form of architectural practice. In many ways, custom residential design and construction is much more complex than most commercial work. Whereas commercial work tends to fill a business need, custom residential design is more expressive of an owner’s desires and is not just a ‘means to an end’ but often the ‘end’ itself. Custom residential work usually takes considerably more time to execute than commercial work. Often, the site is much more challenging, the detailing more extensive and the spatial relationships more complex. Because of all of these factors, the value to having a custom home professionally designed could not be greater.

As custom residential work has evolved, so has the complexity of the design solutions and the expertise required to execute these design solutions. In the past, a drafting service was all that was usually needed for most residential work. With the evolution of the complexity of custom residential design, this is no longer the case. To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with a drafting service; it’s just a question of appropriateness. While it’s still true that a licensed architect isn’t really necessary for homes that cost up to three or four hundred thousand dollars, once the construction cost gets over that amount, a prudent owner should start to consider the benefits of hiring an architect. Once the cost becomes greater than a million dollars, the decision not to use a licensed professional is a classic example of “penny wise but pound foolish.” It comes down to education, expertise and experience. To become a licensed architect takes a minimum of eight years of study and experience before even becoming eligible to take the State Board Exams for licensure. Of those taking the State Boards, only about 20% pass at any given time. In short, to become a licensed architect is a very time consuming, demanding and selective process, and those that take the time and put forth the effort to become licensed are more than qualified individuals.

So why are drafting services utilized in the design of multi-million dollar custom homes? It comes down to cost. It’s usually a lot less expensive to hire a drafting service rather than a licensed architect. Sadly, the old adage “you get what you pay for” couldn’t be more true. In addition to the design work, a thorough knowledge about structure, mechanical and electrical systems and construction administration are usually part of the service an architect provides. These services are rarely provided by a drafting service. Often, these shortcomings only become evident once the project is well underway, much to the chagrin of the owner.

The housing explosion of a few years ago provided a great example of this, particularly in the multi-million dollar ‘spec’ market. A very large number of ‘spec’ homes were designed by drafting services. One fact that seemed to be lost during this period was that there weren’t many people that could afford a home of this value and the ones that could were usually well educated and therefore discerning buyers. Many of these homes were not well conceived or constructed, and constituted a very large portion of the multi-million dollar homes that ultimately went ‘back to the bank’. Amazingly, most banks were entirely unaware that they were loaning incredible sums of money to developers that didn’t want to spend the money to hire a licensed architect or contract with a high-quality builder. In reality, these banks became unknowing financial partners in projects that were doomed to failure because of these shortcomings.

Is there a quantitative value to utilizing the services of a licensed Architect? One experienced real estate firm that focuses on the sale of quality custom homes sought to find out. This firm researched case studies on over a hundred transactions over the past several years, and the results were both startling and enlightening. They found that homes designed by licensed architects sold for a price that averaged 17% higher, on a per square foot basis, and the days a home was on the market was about 21% less than those designed by a drafting service. Additionally, when a group of over a hundred of the top producing realtors were polled, they felt that the homes designed by a licensed architect added about 23% to the value of a home. These are significant numbers and should be considered by anyone contemplating the design and construction of a custom home.

So where does this lead us? As the complexity and level of detail in the custom home market has increased, the value of using a licensed architect and putting together a quality team to construct a custom home has become increasingly apparent. If we do not wish to repeat the mistakes of the previous market, we must recognize the difference that a professional design team brings to a project. Not only does the team contribute during the design process, but, because they assure a quality level of construction, a professional team should give the banks and other financial institutions the confidence to move forward recognizing that this significantly reduces their risk.

BE AWAKE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YOUR LIFE

Waking up in a Hästens bed is an eye-opener about the value of perfect sleep. It’s built with the ultimate combination of nature’s materials – together with tireless craftsmanship. You can’t see it. But you’ll defi nitely feel it. 24 hours a day.

HÄSTENS DETROIT | 100 S Old Woodward Avenue Birmingham, MI 48009 | (248) 940-5466