10 Questions to Ask an Architect Before Starting Your Project

Hiring an architect is one of the most important decisions in your project — and the quality of your conversations in the first meeting shapes everything that follows. Ask these ten questions before you sign anything. A confident, experienced firm will answer all of them clearly.

Questions about experience and fit

• 1. Have you designed projects like mine before? Ask for photos, site visits or references for work of a similar type, size and budget.
• 2. Who will actually work on my project? Confirm the lead architect and team, not just the firm’s portfolio.
• 3. Can you coordinate the engineers and other consultants, or must I source them separately?
• 4. How much does a project like mine typically cost to build, per square metre? A good architect knows current market rates.

Questions about process and approvals

• 5. How do you handle county building plan approval? Confirm they prepare, submit and follow up the full package.
• 6. What is the design timeline, and what do you need from me to keep it on track?
• 7. How will revisions work, and how many are included in the fee?
• 8. How do we manage changes during construction — through a formal variation process?

Questions about fees and communication

• 9. How exactly are your fees calculated, what do they include and what are the payment milestones? Get it in writing.
• 10. How often will we meet or get updates, and who is my day-to-day point of contact?

If a firm hesitates, gives vague answers or cannot show you genuine, relevant work, treat that as the signal it is. The right architect — like our team at Octa Architects — welcomes these questions, because an informed client builds better.