trust is built on knowledge
Everyday, people entrust our
Vexiflex team to build their dreams. Building a house or making renovations is no small matter. Apart from the financial investment, there exists a much greater emotional investment and sense of self-worth that is mixed into the plaster and mortar. As we mentioned in our
first article in this series on architectural professionals, it is crucial that your planning stage is done correctly and executed by professionals. Not just those that profess to be professional, but by those that have been accredited by a registered body, and are registered to that body.
When it comes to Architects, anyone claiming to be a professional (AP) should be registered with
SACAP –
The South African Council for the Architectural Profession. We outlined the four main categories of registered professionals
in our previous article.
So, before you meet with your potential architect, be sure to check out
www.sacapsa.com and see if they are indeed registered as an
Architectural Professional (AP). You can further build on your knowledge base by asking the following questions – these were given to us by a registered AP; Craig Canter of
Parallax.
- What experience does your AP have and are they able to handle your project?
There are four different levels of registration and each of these has certain allowances and restrictions as to the types of structures that the AP may design and register. For example, a registered Professional Architect is legally authorised to work on large-scale public project, like airports. However, a registered Professional Senior Architectural Technologist is not permitted to be the lead architect on a project of such public profile, but can work on any size residential structures. This has to do with their experience and their registered category.
- What does the term 'professional' mean?
‘Professional’ refers to an AP that is both qualified and registered to practice. In other words; a university degree does not mean that one can practice straight away, an architect needs to work under the guidance of a mentor for a minimum of two years.
- Is your AP established or fly-by-night?
Don’t be ashamed to revue their portfolio and see their project history and number of completed projects. This may sound silly, but are they working from an office or a garage? Do they have their own equipment to do the job properly; including licensed CAD software, large format printers etc.
This list is by no means absolute, but we really hope that in reading it you will be better equipped to make sound choices in your professional service providers. We believe that constructive relationships are built on trust, and that has its foundations set in transparent communication. If you would like to keep up with the trends and current news in our industry, or perhaps need help in building your home,
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