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This checklist is intended as a starting point for your own thinking. It isn't definitive, it is intended as a guide. There's a downloadable pdf (a link at the bottom of this list) version which I'll update in the light of comment. Comment and discussion make this list more useful: please add to it, and make suggestions or offer constructive criticism. Is an architect appropriate at this stage of your project? Will a Planning Consultant do? Do you have to brief an architect? Will an Architectural Technician do? Consider doing some of the designing yourself or perhaps a CAD Technician Is an architect working for a house manufacturer appropriate for your build? Research suitable architects: websites, relevant journals Make a long-list of possible companies Check each architects credentials here Is the architect bankrupt? Check the architects Indemnity Insurance Make initial contact; listen Ask for examples of existing work; visit / drive by Company brochure Work up a brief. Consider budget and don’t forget VAT Will the architect of choice actually do the work? Does ecology come into the mix somewhere? Time scales. Refine your brief, and write up. One side of A5. Send it to the architect in advance of your meeting List the questions you want to ask, and refer to the list during the meeting Meeting: has the architect read the brief? Does the architect listen? Is the architect merely an “Educated Artist”? What does the architect think of as the scope of his / her work? Clarity about Extras and Incidentals Does the chemistry work? Ask for references. Visit / ring/ talk to them Decide Checklist Briefing an Architect.pdf