Boston Residential Architecture Firm Offering Design Build Renovation Services
Hiring a Boston residential architecture firm is one of the best ways to ensure that your home construction or home improvement project is done well. For people who have high expectations for their home’s appearance, quality and style, there’s no better way to ensure that your home improvement or construction project will be successful.
But what qualities should you look for when hiring a residential architecture firm in Boston? Why do some of the best Boston architecture firms also offer building services? Why is it better to hire an architect that also offers building services? Here’s what you need to know before you start your home improvement project.
Is a residential architect required for my Boston home remodel?
While residential architects are not a requirement for Boston home remodeling services, there are many benefits to hiring a residential architect for a Boston home remodel.
Some primary benefits of having a Boston Architect are as follows:
Expertise:
Architects have expertise in home construction and design – far beyond a standard building firm. Architects also go through years of training to learn their craft, and have expertise in various forms of design software, building standards, architecture styles, building methods, building codes and more. When you’re working with an architect, you’re working with a professional that knows building and design better than anyone.
Customer service:
The best architects provide a high level of customer service for their clients, beginning with the initial consultation and continuing throughout the construction phase of their project. The work begins with a consultation, during which the architect determines the needs of the client. When the consultation is finished and an agreement has been reached, the architect moves into the design phase, creating a full suite of architectural drawings. These drawings help the client envision their finished product, and also serve as the guiding documents for the builder. Value engineering is also done at this stage – determining the most effective and cost-efficient manner of achieving the prescribed design goals. As this is not a theoretical activity, this can be done most effectively by experienced professional Architects and Designers with actual, hands-on building experience. This can lead to a more sound, realistic, and cost-effective overall project budget and ensure an efficient and practical design that can be seamlessly executed in the build phase.
Quality:
Good architects produce work of unrivaled quality. Going beyond the drawings they produce, it is the job of the architect to bring the homeowner’s vision to life while also holding to and utilizing the best building methods.
Professionalism:
When you’re working with a good architect, you can expect your designer to handle your project with a level of professionalism that makes the design process a smoother, simpler, better experience.
Qualities to Look For In a Boston Residential Architecture Firm
There are many architects in the Boston area, and not all of them provide the same level of service. When you’re hiring a residential architecture firm in Boston, what qualities should you look for?
Experience
Years of experience make a difference when you’re hiring an architect. Throughout their careers, architects learn how to avoid the pitfalls of designing a home addition, remodel or custom home. The more time they spend working with clients and builders, the easier these interactions become.
In addition, architects pick up many customer service skills along the way, learning how to keep clients happy, balance workload and follow through on projects. When looking for an architecture firm, take into account their years of experience to ensure that the firm you hire will be able to provide a high level of service.
Sustainable Building Expertise
Eco-friendly homes save money for homeowners, increase property value and reduce the homeowner’s carbon footprint. Not all architects have sustainable building expertise, so if this is an important feature in your home remodel or construction project, look for an architect that has experience in sustainable building. Ask the architect what they do to create eco-friendly homes. Inquire about eco-friendly certifications they’ve helped successfully manage in the past.
We highly recommend Passive House as the gold standard of eco-friendly homes:
Construction Abilities
Not all architects provide construction and building services. That said, there’s a significant advantage to hiring an architect that does.
When the architect and builder are part of a single team in one firm, you can expect them to work seamlessly on your project. In cases when the architect and builder come together from two separate firms, the level of cooperation, coordination and effective teamwork may be lacking—leading to costly miscommunications and impractical planning that results in frustrating and unanticipated delays.
Why the Best Boston Residential Architects also Build
In the past, Master Builders were both architects and contractors—providing all their own designs before building for the homeowner. This is the impetus behind a design-build firm, providing design AND building services under a single umbrella of accountability. The best residential architects also provide building services, ensuring both a high level of customer service and the highest standard workmanship. The benefits of hiring a single firm for Architectural Design Build are multiple:
Convenience
When your design team is in direct communication with your building team, there are fewer opportunities for miscommunications or delays on the jobsite.
Streamlined experience
When you’re working with one office to create a home remodel, you’ll only have to explain your project once to your project manager and designer. Your architecture firm will do the rest.
Cost benefits
It’s easier to control the cost of your home renovation or home building project when your builder and designer are working together with your budget constantly in mind.
For all these reasons, it’s wise to entrust your project to the combined talents and expertise of a design and build firm. Separate Architect and Builder? You as the client should never be left to navigate between that particular rock and a hard place.
About Our Boston Architecture Firm
At New England Design & Construction, we’re proud to be the premier residential architects in Boston. Embracing the architectural legacy of the Master Builder, we are Boston Architects who Build. It’s our honor to craft the built environments that our clients call home. When you’re working with NEDC, you can expect:
- Superior customer service
- Total professionalism
- Seamless design and construction services
- Streamlined experience
- Successful design and build process
To get started with your home improvement or home construction project, contact us.
See what New England Design & Construction can do for your family. Give us a call at (617) 708-0676 or contact us to request an in-home visit.