Useful information for clients of Kenneth Moholt-Siebert's architectural services

Common Questions about Architecture and the Design Process

* [What is an architect?]
* [What does an architect do for me?]
* [The architect’s fee]
* [What is the building code? The zoning code?]
* [How can I develop a good client-architect relationship?]
* [Why build?]
* [What is sustainable architecture? What is green building?]
* [How do I build sustainable and green?]
* [Where can I find useful links about architecture?]

What is an Architect?

People generally have a high opinion of architects as a profession. Even so, a lot a people are misinformed about what an architect is, or what work is done by architects.

As a general rule, large public buildings, office buildings and the like are designed by architects. These buildings are complex and simply cannot be produced without the expertise of an architect. On the other hand, most houses are not designed by architects. The house building industry is geared toward lowest cost production, which encourages repetition, but discourages artistic expression, considerations unique to a client or site, or much design effort at all. The house-building industry uses stock plans out of books. These plans are churned out constantly by plan book companies using computer drafting operators.

But architecture is a lot more than just drafting the plans for a building. Architecture is about ideas expressed in buildings. The architect goes about designing a building the way a composer composes a symphony: It must be a coordinated whole, it must be beautiful, it must work, it must fit in with its context and it must treat in a new way a conversation of ideas that goes back perhaps hundreds or even thousands of years.

The best buildings are built when the client understands that architecture is about ideas and encourages the architect to reach for those ideas.

What does an Architect do for me?

An architect is responsible for the design of a building from concept through realization. The services that Kenneth Moholt-Siebert, Architect, provides include:

• Consulting regarding the suitability of a site or building.

• Land division applications to city and county jurisdictions

• Consulting for upgrading finishes and appearance of existing buildings

• Facilities planning for growth or expansion

• Workshops with user groups or community groups

• As-built drawings of existing buildings.

• Consulting to determine space requirements and project scope

• Project feasibility analysis

• Pre-development grant-applications

• Conceptual drawings

• Schematic drawings, specifications and cost estimating

• Coordination of consulting specialists, including engineers, landscape architects, professional cost estimators, etc.

• Design

• Construction drawings and specifications

• Assisting the owner with bidding, selection and contract negotiations with a contractor.

• Review and observation of construction progress

• Review and authorization of shop drawings and submittals during construction.

• Administration of the contractor’s applications for payment and of change orders

• Post-occupancy evaluations of buildings

For more details of Ken Moholt-Siebert's design services,click here.

evelopment drawings and specifications

The Architect's Fee

So, how much does the architect cost? Of course, the architect's service is priceless at some level--there is just no comparison to the architect-designed house. But at the level of dollars and cents--the answer is between 5 and 15% of the total project cost, typically.

Of course, every building is unique. No two are alike. Each client is different too, with different needs and working styles. So, fees must be different to fit each situation.

And then there is the fact that architecture is a creative process of discovery: you're asking the architect to design the building, and you don't know what the building is going to cost until you have at least a preliminary design.

For these reasons, I set fees in a step-wise fashion. Early work that is exploratory in nature may be hourly. Then as the scope is clarified and the design begins to take shape we often transition to a stipulated sum per phase.

What is the building code? The zoning code?

For projects in Oregon, there are two building codes in use: The Oregon Residential Specialty Code, based upon the International Residential Code, covers houses and duplexes. The Oregon Residential Specialty Code, which is an amended version of the International Building Code (formerly known as the Uniform Building Code), covers all other buildings. These codes are adopted by the State Legislature and apply to all buildings built within the state. The primary purpose of these codes is to set minimum standards so that in general buildings are safe and do not present a danger to occupants or to the public.

The building codes are concerned with fire protection, means of exit for people in a fire, structural stability in the event of an earthquake, fire or windstorm, separation of hazards from people, adequate ventilation, and so forth. The codes don’t really care if the building is usable after everyone gets out —they just want everyone to get out without unreasonable loss of life in fire or other emergency...And the codes don’t care if the building is good bad or ugly—just that it meets minimum safety standards.

The zoning code (or ordinance) is adopted by local government, either city or county. Portland has a rather thick book that contains its zoning code. It is available online (See Links). The zoning code regulates the use of property and the size and nature of development on it. The purpose of the zoning code is to organize the development of a community so that incompatible uses are separated, that the rights of a property owner are not unreasonably impacted by neighbors and so that community as a whole benefits.

A given 50 foot by 100 foot lot might have a house, a small store, or a 40-unit apartment building on it. It is the zoning code that tells you which is allowed. The zoning code specifies minimum setbacks, maximum sizes for buildings, parking requirements and certain design requirements.

In many cases, the zoning code is more restrictive than the building code. In others, the building code is more restrictive. The MOST restrictive is what applies. Both the applicable building code and the zoning code must be reviewed thoroughly prior to determining what the minimum requirement really is for a given situation. Neither the building codes nor the zoning code are particularly simple. You have to have some familiarity with the documents in order to find your way around them and you have checked multiple sections within a given code.

Furthermore, there may well be some sort of required discretionary review, such as design review, prior to the actual building permit application. This will depend upon the particular mapping of the property and the scope and size of the project.

Finally, if you intend to sub-divide or partition lots, you must comply with additional city and county regulations.

In practice, you first deal with any sub-division or partition. Then you have to check if discretionary review is required. You prepare a tentative design and submit it for such a review, if required. Once you’ve passed that, you submit your design for zoning review. Only after you have passed all of the above can you actually have your building code review.

How can I develop a good client-architect relationship?

The best architecture develops out of a strong client-architect relationship. Both the architect and the client need to be inspired to make good work. At the same time, the client can’t micromanage the process. Ideally, the process is a kind of conversational journey of discovery, involving words and drawings: The client describes what he or she wants to be special about the building, the architect becomes excited and responds with some ideas, these engender a deeper dialog and a flurry of drawings and a more refined building. It may be the initial design is scrapped completely, as a whole new understanding develops about what the client really wants and needs.

If you know exactly what you want and how you want it to look, you are unlikely to be satisfied with your architect. Your architect will propose ideas and you will shoot them down because they do not match your preconception of what the building is going to be like. You need to be open to the ideas and experience that the architect brings and to the process of discovery.

You also have to be prepared to spend money. Nothing is built out of thin air or purely out of hope and prayer. Buildings always seem to cost more than you expect at first. Costs increase over time. Unexpected costs appear. And of course the design costs money too. If you are building new construction, remember that a new building is going to cost more than a “used” building. And a custom design is going to cost more than something that is “off-the-shelf”. If you are remodeling, keep in mind that if walls are being moved, it generally costs more, often significantly more money, to remodel existing space than it does to build new construction.

Why build?

Good question!

Sometimes people call me for an initial consultation for a new house or a remodel. We sit down and one of them says, “I want this and I want to make sure I will get my money out of it.” Then I have to break the news to them that is simply not going to happen. They are going to build something beautiful, but it is going to cost a lot of money. If they sell, the increase in value is unlikely to cover their cost to do the work in the first place.

So why build at all?

Well, if you can find exactly what you want where you want, then you probably should not be building. Moving is a lot cheaper and less messy. People need to build because they don’t have the building they want in the place they want to be.

Fact is, most buildings are pretty mundane. Hiring an architect is the first step in making a building that is exciting. Of course, you don’t get excitement without risk. You’ll be putting money on the line, as well as putting up with the mess and stress of construction. You’ll have to place a lot of faith in your architect, because you will only really understand what you are getting when it is finally unveiled.

But the rewards are a building that could not be achieved any other way.

What is sustainable architecture? What is green building?

Clients and architects have become more conscious of the environmental impacts of building construction and building use. People are concerned about the degree to which buildings are constructed from resources that come from renewable resources. They are concerned about how buildings may support development patterns and transportation systems that have low energy requirements and low resource demands. And people are concerned about the amount of toxic materials used in buildings or the manufacture of their components.

The building of “primitive” peoples is generally sustainable, because the resources used are locally available and extracted at rates that do not exceed natural replenishment. In contrast, the building industry today is heavily dependent upon fossil fuels, materials extracted from non-renewable resources, methods of manufacture that cause permanent damage to ecosystems, wasteful land use policy, and so on. Modern buildings are not sustainable because their construction comes at the expense of the environment. The field of sustainable architecture is concerned with how to make modern buildings with a minimum impact upon the environment. This means making buildings that do not rely on fossil fuels and using materials that are entirely renewable and which do not damage the environment either in their construction or in their use. We are a long way from achieving these goals.

Green building is a term used almost interchangeably with sustainable architecture. But the emphasis of the term is more with issues of toxicity in buildings and the use of alternate materials and solar energy. The use of materials that may off-gas and cause sickness of habitants, or have toxic metals or fungicides, is reduced or eliminated in green building. Better indoor air-quality is a significant goal. With green building, alternative or recycled building materials, rainwater harvesting and solar energy almost form ends in themselves.

It is a lot easier to make a house “green” than it is to make is sustainable. With adequate money and time, you can make any structure “green”. But in so doing, have you actually made a difference in the sustainability of the development? It is possible that the additional resources invested to make one house “green” might have been used in some other way to further sustainability. So, one might say that “sustainable” has more to do with policy and “green” has more to do with practice.

How do I build sustainable and green?

The first things I ask people who want have a sustainable and green building are, “Why do you think you need to build?” and, “What do you want to build?” and, “Why do you want to build in this location?”

I had a client who wanted to replace an existing small house with a new house that was more than twice the size of the original one. The lot was large enough that it might have been subdivided to allow the construction of a second house while retaining the old one. The client wanted to the house to be “green” and “sustainable”.

The green part was easy enough. One can make a house green by specifying certain materials, orienting the house for solar gain, and so forth. But from the perspective of sustainability, the development would not earn high marks. It was in an urban location, so that was good. And it was reasonably served by public transit, so that also was good. But, we would have to tear down one house, which really was perfectly adequate shelter, build a new building much larger than truly needed, and miss the opportunity to double the density on the site, which would have made a significant gain towards land-use conservation.

Fact is, no matter how energy efficient a single family detached house is made, it will always be more resource-dependent and therefore less sustainable than a row house or an apartment dwelling. Dramatic gains in resource utilization efficiency are made by grouping dwellings into row houses, and even more dramatic gains by grouping them into moderate scaled apartment buildings. A row house is about twice as resource-efficient as a typical house. And by most measures, an apartment dwelling is four to six times as efficient as a typical house. So, to a great degree, sustainability has to do with lifestyle choices, particularly for buildings serving residential occupancies.

Thus, the most important thing you can do towards sustainability in residence is to find a row house or apartment situation. It may be difficult to find what you want and you might have to build from scratch or remodel an existing building from top to bottom. It also will be a bigger project than just a single family house. You may not be able to afford to do such a project by yourself. If you can find a group of like-minded people, it may be that you could pool your resources to build.

In the end though, it is not realistic for many people, particularly families with children, to live in row houses or apartments. Partly, this is because houses are well adapted to families. But mostly, it is that row houses and apartments are rarely designed with the needs of families in mind, let alone middle-or upper-income families. So, very few row houses or apartments are available that would really serve the needs of a family or even of middle-income adults without children. And most people cannot afford to build a whole row house development or apartment building just so that they can enjoy the efficiencies of the larger scale.

So, most people will find that they have to compromise on sustainability by building a detached house on a typical lot. Even so, one can often include an accessory dwelling unit (such as a “granny flat”) to increase the density a bit. And, one can always make residential buildings much “greener” than standard practice, with minimal cost increase. Initial work in locating a house on its site can protect significant trees and natural resources. Site disturbance during construction can and should be minimized. Houses can and should be built with good solar exposure, high levels of insulation, efficient mechanical equipment and with materials that are long-lasting, durable and with low environmental impact.

With structures with commercial occupancies, there are other considerations. Location is significant. If possible, the building should not require the conversion of farm land or natural land. Buildings with large numbers of employees should be well served by mass transit. Commercial buildings are already large enough to achieve efficiencies of scale; these should be analyzed. Natural lighting should be utilized as much as possible. Passive cooling techniques should be employed. High-efficient lighting and mechanical equipment should be specified. Since very large quantities of materials are used in commercial buildings, materials should be carefully investigated for their environmental impact and life-cycle cost.

Useful Links

* http://www.planning.ci.portland.or.us (The City of Portland Zoning Code and other information).

* http://www.portlandmaps.com (Zoning Maps and other planning maps for the City of Portland).

* http://www.buildinggreen.com (Site associated with the magazine Environmental Building News).

* http://www.sustainableportland.org (City of Portland Office of Sustainable Development).

Standard AIA forms and policies:
(These may be found at your local AIA Chapter or for purchase online at http://www.aia.org/documents/default.asp)

* http://www.AIA.org (The American Institute of Architects).