Architectural firms come in many sizes and types, and they are not all appropriate for you and your project. The average firm is made up of 5 to 10 people, but many are smaller (1 to 2 people), and some have over 100 architects on their staff. Some firms specialize in one or more project types, others do not. Some have structural, mechanical or electrical engineers on their staff, while others select the consultant most appropriate to work for them for each specific project. Each architectural firm brings a different combination of skills, experience, interest, and values to its projects.

The first challenge is typically to identify a list of potential architects. The reality of the architecture business is that firms cannot spend much on marketing themselves so you may not even be aware of the firms that are around you. The architect of your wife’s friend’s kitchen or you child’s pre-school may, or may not, be the best choice you.

Ask friends and colleagues who have worked with architects for referrals. Use Google (you will anyway), and check out listing services that feature design that you like such as Houzz.com. You may be able to research who designed a home you like by looking up its address on the permit section of your city’s building department website (San Francisco Building Department). Consult your local chapter of the American Institute of Architects (San Francisco AIA) for member firms that specialize in your type of project.

[CLICK HERE for 20 questions to ask your
prospective architect]

Contact architects that you feel may fit your needs and ask them to describe how they would approach your kind of project and what experience they have with similar projects. Select one to three Architects to interview and visit their offices. Discuss fees and schedules as well as their design philosophies and the scope of work. Successful projects only happen when architects and clients form positive relationships with each other. It will be a long road, and you are trying to determine your compatibility to work together throughout the project.  Thoughtful architects are as careful in selecting clients as owners are in selecting architects.

Your final selection should be a professional who you trust and feel good about and not necessarily the least (or most) expensive. Understandably, fees are an important part of your budget, but the architect’s total fees will probably not amount to more than 12% of the total project while the difference between the lowest and highest fees among will be only a fraction of that. Fees should – and can – be negotiated within reason, but you risk being “penny wise and pound foolish” if your selection is based solely or primarily on fees.

• CA Architect's Board:
  Consumer's Guide to Hiring an Architect (PDF)

• AIA:
  The Value of an Architect

• AIA:
  You and Your Architect (PDF)

• AIACC:
  Architect's Practice Act (PDF)