A written agreement setting out the services, the cost, the timing and who does what.
There's a PDF in your inbox and you're wondering whether you're meant to read all of it. What's in a client architect agreement is mostly the ordinary business of the job written down: what your project is, which services I'm providing, what they cost, and what happens if either of us needs to stop.
It's the standard client architect agreement most architects use. I didn't draft it to suit myself, so you can read it independently of me and take advice on it from anyone you like.
It is a standard form with defaults, and not all of them are neutral. The scope schedule, copyright, publication and how the work can be brought to an end are the parts I read through with you out loud — and they're worth a conversation with your solicitor before you sign.
You know exactly what you're buying before you pay for any of it.
One written agreement covering your project, the services I'm providing, cost and timing, fees, your specialist consultants, who owns what, the insurances I carry and what each of us is responsible for. Everything that follows sits on top of it.
You know exactly what you're buying before you pay for any of it. Having the agreement read through with you clause by clause turns what may be the largest signature of your life into something calm.
On your own it tends to be a one-page quote, an email chain, or a handshake. That works until something changes, and then there's no agreed scope to point at.
I use the standard client architect agreement rather than something I've written myself. That's deliberate: it's drafted to be fair from both sides, and you can take it away and get your own advice on it. I'll read it through with you clause by clause, and I'll tell you plainly which parts I'd want a solicitor's eye on if it were me. If there's a gap between signing and starting, I stay in touch.
Who the parties are, the site and the project, the services set out item by item, the fee and how it's worked out, who engages and pays each consultant, the insurances the architect carries, and what happens if either of you needs to stop. If the sum makes you want your solicitor to read it too, that's a sensible instinct.
Ask your architect to take you through the scope schedule and say out loud what's in, what's out and what's extra. That's their job, not homework for you. Pay attention to the things you might assume are automatic — measuring the existing house, 3D images, planning negotiation, tender documents, site visits during construction. If one of them matters, say so and I'll price it in.
The architect does, under the standard agreement, and you get a licence to use the design for your project on your site. That's ordinary and it isn't hostile, but it does mean taking the drawings elsewhere isn't the simple move it sounds like. If it matters to you, raise it before you sign.
Under the standard agreement, yes — unless you and your architect agree otherwise, and those last words are the ones to use. If you'd rather your house didn't appear on Instagram or in an awards entry, tell me before you sign and we'll write it in. Most architects will agree. Very few will offer, so ask.
This is rare, and the agreement is written so there's a calm path rather than a falling-out — a conversation first, then an independent person to help if that doesn't settle it. If you want to understand precisely where you'd stand, that's a proper question for your solicitor before you sign.
If you would rather start small, the First Sketch Session is two hours at your place. You keep the sketches, and there is no obligation afterwards.
