Julian Owen reveals the red flags to look out for when choosing a professional and advises on how you, the client, can ensure the design process runs smoothly

BRUCE HEMMING

Left and below: After interviewing 10 practices, the owners of this house finally settled on Jim Miller Design to craft the plans for their demolish and rebuild scheme. This striking modern abode is the result of a highly collaborative design process

Miller + Howard Workshop were involved in this extension project from the concept design stage and through planning. The practice helped the homeowners select a contractor and provided assistance when it came to keeping construction on track. Interior design was carried out by Design Decoded and styling by Caroline Davis

EMMA LEWIS

Selecting an architect for your self build, renovation or extension is one of the most crucial decisions you’ll make throughout the project, so it can be daunting if you’ve never employed one before. As with any specialist or trade, there are good and bad examples –a fact I learnt during an eight-year stint investigating professional conduct complaints for the Architect Registration Board (ARB). It’s fair to say that during that period, I came across many examples of customers acting unreasonably, too. The number of designers found to be deliberately dishonest or malicious is very low, with most problems resulting from incompetence or carelessness. It’s worth pointing out that many of the complaints are about individuals who are not registered to use the title ‘architect’, so the ARB is therefore unable to investigate the complaint or discipline them. What follows are a few warning signs to look out for when working with an architect, plus some suggestions of behaviour to avoid if you want to be an ideal client.