How to hire a good architect ?

[Sammie Xiao]

Dear BP family, I need some help. Bought a house in Long Beach Want to add 2500 - 2700 sf on top of existing house.

I need to hire an architect to help with the design and apply permit from city.

any suggestions on how to hire the right architect for the job. What questions I should ask when interview them? I found a few companies from Houzz app.

Where do you hire yours?

Thanks!

[Brad Van Rassel]

@Sammie Xiao

Hi Sammie!

I figured I may be able to provide some advice from the other side of the table.

The biggest things I’d say other than networking and asking around as already mentioned, is to have a decent idea of your scope or goals ready to be explained clearly when you talk to a potential architect. It sounds like you already have this down but you’d be surprised how many calls we get from potential clients with little to no idea of what their striving for. While it is our job as designers to help the client reach their goals, in your situation I believe it would be beneficial to have some clear cut desires that you can articulate.

My second piece of advice would be to find an architect that specializes in or has a team that specializes in the type of project you’re seeking, I.e. residential addition.

For example beyond just a residential vs commercial architect, you could have a residential architect that focuses on historic projects or new builds etc.

Hope that helps a bit!

Good luck!