Possibility of preliminary questions to architects

Hello everyone,

I am currently in the final selection phase for my house project. One of the providers has offered to come to the property for a discussion with the architect, without obligation.

I think that's great.

Besides questions about orientation, size, height profile, demolition, details of the offer, and costs – what questions would you ask the architect in such a meeting?

Best regards, Rosmarin

I consider non-functional questions to be important.

[*]How do you ensure that your clients will like living in the house later? (Difficult question - if you can't answer it, you are the wrong person.)
[*]What do you need to know about us and our lifestyle habits in order to design the right house for us? (There should be more than just how many rooms...)
[*]What have your previous clients particularly appreciated in working with you? (If the answer is that you have to ask the clients —> follow up: Who exactly should we ask?)

Basically, if the answers are too short, probe further with "and what else?"

Process questions are also important:

[*]According to what criteria do you recommend the selection of craftsmen?
[*]Which companies do you like to work with?
[*]And why?

It is also important that an architect can listen well. Prepare for the appointment by thinking about how you want to live, not just where. Also, think about how you communicate your aesthetic preferences. Do you have a list of no-gos?

Just to understand correctly: do you want to build with a general contractor and one of them sends you their employed architect? Or are you looking for an independent architect?

hampshire, possibly this is about a general contractor who comes along with his house architect. The awarding of the contract, etc., is then outside the scope of the client. Overall, I would refrain from interview-like questions. What is supposed to come out of it except convoluted marketing blah blah. "Of course, we only work with renowned, regional traditional craftsmanship companies," "We design the house entirely according to your personal wishes, with the principle: nothing is impossible," "We can gladly organize a meeting with the client family xy," obviously, these are not the ones who had problems, etc. a waste of time. You get a free architect site visit, which would otherwise cost a lot of money, so use it wisely: slope of disposal pipes, height classification, exceeding the building boundary conceivable, garage in boundary construction only makes sense there, place ladder-accessible escape route on the side, utility room behind the wall to have the shortest possible supply lines (saves costs), etc. etc. So concrete planning problems that will advance your desired floor plan. Whether it then proceeds competently etc., you will notice alongside on your own.

I also consider the proposed casting to be unrealistic.
It is also not the task of the employed architect Mister Feelgood to do this. The man is a technician.

House orientation, position of the sun, building ground, possible difficulties arising from the layout or the location.
Does the intended building body fit on the plot, how much clearance remains. What will the neighbors probably do (in new development areas), what conclusions can be drawn from this for one’s own design. Visibility, etc.

Is the planning architect also the site manager? How often does he inspect the construction site? How is the client informed about progress and problems?

Thank you for your answers.

I want to build with a general contractor.
I hesitated and had questions about a (good) offer.
Therefore, the general contractor comes to the site with his architect to clarify the questions.

Even though it is important how the architect thinks, can listen, and implement ideas and concepts, I also think that I want to stick to the hard facts for now.