Architecture Design Fees: How It’s Calculated.

You will agree with me that it’s often difficult to understand how and why an Architect will charge the way they do, especially when you don’t get to see a “physical product” to actually base the pricing.

Unlike regular business models where there are physical products, you can touch and feel, cash and carry, the Architect’s service is streamlined to your needs, one at a time.

You have to wait till the end of the design process to be able to fathom what the end product is unless you are buying an already designed and built house.

Well, not all Architects can afford the initial fees required to construct streams of mass buildings from start to finish (without huge funding and associated risks), and then display a catalog of building listings for you to come and buy.

Therefore, it’s difficult to actually quantify the value of the profession.

Hiring an Architect for your designs, especially in building, does not put your finances in ruin if you get to understand the value they offer. It actually protects you and saves a lot of time and any future anguish.

There are other services Architects render from helping you with building plan approval, landscaping diagnosis, interior design, and property valuation (before and after), to supervisory and construction services.

You just need to discuss your budget with your Architect and see if they can adjust their work output and times to fit your budget.

Where does the Architecture design fee come from?

An Architecture student spends a minimum of 9 years preparing for licensure. 4 years in BSc (in an Accredited Architecture school), 2 years for Master (in an Accredited Architecture school), 1 service year, a minimum of 2 years working with a registered Architect in an ARCON (Architect’s Registration Council of Nigeria) approved architectural firm, and then the license exam.

The license exam is a cumulative experience gotten from all these years, after which the student is allowed to go about and practice with the appellation “Architect” attached to his/her name.

Read also Understanding the Gravity of design thinking and design process.

Building a Client base takes a lot of time, and some young and new Architects have to depend on the firm they got their experience for licensure for quite a long time. While some stay back with the firm or move on to bigger paying firms, others make a go at practicing on their own, incurring the regular fees of operating an office.

For the ones that leave, operational costs set in. Office supplies, printers, a secretary, and a junior staff, abiding and paying all statutory/regulation fees.

The Architecture Design billing methods

When the Architect starts practicing, the billing method follows any of these. Note that the method chosen has an implication on the way the job is executed.

1. Time charges/Hourly Billing:

It’s often difficult to actually state how long it takes an Architect to complete a design. Design is brain work, the mind is constantly thinking about possible solutions to a Client’s design need. With the use of computer-aided tools, designs take from as little as 8 hours to over 1 year. However, an Architect with 1-4 years of experience, using this method of pricing is required to charge N50,000-N85,000 per hour for the job done, N64,000-N100,000 for 5-9 years of experience, and so on.

2. Lump sum fee:

Certain types of designs are predictable and this gives the lump sum figure. These types of designs are fixed with no ambiguities and have an already established time frame for completing the design work.

3. Professional fee/Percentage of the Construction cost:

In using this method, Architects are required to charge 7.5% of the overall estimated construction cost for your new building project, and 15% of the estimated cost for renovation works. So, if the estimated cost of your new 4-bedroom bungalow is N25,000,000 (twenty-five million naira), the Architect’s professional fee is N1,875,000 (one million, eight hundred and seventy-five thousand naira), and this covers for the Architectural design alone. Construction supervision is calculated on an hourly rate and standard supervision is one visit per month. There is a different calculation for when a project construction is outside the Architect’s base and when a project is repeated as seen in Housing Estate designs.

Read also Building Construction Cost Influencers You should keep in mind.

Reading Your Design Bill

Most Architects will send your bill after they have ascertained the scope of work required to fulfill your design need. While some may send your invoice after the first sketch is submitted to you, others send their invoice before any work begins to ensure you are all in agreement before the pencil meets paper. The contents of your invoice may include:

1. Service charges:

Service charges for Architectural drawings, Structural drawings (if your structure is above the ground floor), Electrical and mechanical drawings. Each design drawing for building plan approval must have all 4 drawings and the service charge from the other drawings are from the other service professionals. A fee for the Quantity Surveyor may be included if your Architect is billing you with the Professional fee method.

2. Reimbursable:

These are fees that the Architect incurred while helping fulfill your design solution. They include visiting your site to work with the existing site conditions, market surveys, and sourcing for building materials they are proposing for your design needs.

3. Taxes:

These are fees required by the government for every financial transaction and must be remitted to them, unless where stated otherwise.

Paying Your Design Bill

The invoice you received from your Architect should state payment terms, plans, and options. Whether there is a 35% commission fee from the total fee given, and then a final 65% payment at a stipulated date, or whether you are required to pay all at once. 

The invoices will also contain a penalty for default in payment when due. Either way, you must understand and agree to the invoice for design work to continue.

I hope this has helped you to understand how Architect fees work. If you have any questions concerning this post, do drop them in the comment section and I will be happy to answer you.

Also, learn to read a floor plan like a pro.