Alternate titles:
- Ten Reasons Why You’ll Love Being a Residential Architect
- Residential Architecture: Ten Reasons Why You Should Choose This Profession
- Who Is a Residential Architect, and Ten Reasons Why You Should Be One
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Residential architecture can be a lucrative as well as a rewarding career path. Here are ten reasons why you should be a residential architect.
Residential architecture involves working exclusively on private projects for people and their families. You’ll be working closely with your clients to bring to life the vision they have of their homes. As a residential architect, you may be working under the ‘Sole Practitioner’ title or choose to work for an architecture firm.
Earlier on in your career, it’s a good idea to work for an architecture firm. This can provide you with the relevant experience you need to work as a sole practitioner next. However, it’s also worth considering that if you choose to intern at a smaller firm, you’ll be given more responsibilities earlier on. You’ll also be able to work on more creative projects. Residential projects tend to take less time and require a higher level of creativity compared to commercial projects.
Residential architects get the opportunity to be more creative and experiment with what they create. They can also have profitable careers by developing a high-paying clientele for themselves. Many residential architects are valuable parts of their local community and try to contribute to making their community great.
Who is a residential architect?
A residential architect is a licensed architect who only works on residential projects. This can be a lucrative career path, as you can tailor your career to only work with higher-paying clients. As a residential architect, you can either work alone or hire other architects, as well as interns, to work under you. As you establish your business, you may also need to hire administrative as well as managerial staff. Residential architecture firms don’t usually hire a large number of employees. Many have a few highly creative and highly talented heads working for them.
Being a residential architect can bring you several perks, especially when architects only work on commercial projects. Here are ten reasons why you should be a residential architect:
Work anywhere in the world.
As a residential architect, you aren’t limited to where you work. You can work in any part of the country you like and even travel abroad to work on residential projects there. Residential architects have a lot of freedom to use the knowledge they have gathered to improve their work processes. So you can use materials you’ve learned about anywhere in the world to develop residential projects for clients.
Develop valuable relationships with clients
The level of investment that clients who are paying you to have their dream homes built have is very different from how a developer is invested in their project. You’ll be able to develop valuable relationships with your clients, and they may refer you to people they know as well.
Clients are also more involved throughout the whole process. Residential architects communicate with their clients frequently and provide regular updates on the construction. You’ll also be able to enjoy the reward of a job well done when the job is finally complete, and the clients see their homes.
The same feeling is absent when dealing with commercial architecture projects. This is as the developer isn’t invested in the project the same way new homeowners are.
The architect’s role in the process
Residential architects can employ a higher level of creativity when it comes to their projects. You’ll also be able to discuss your ideas with your clients and take their inputs as well. It would be best if you worked together with your clients to bring their vision of their dream home to life. A successful residential architect involves the client in every step of the design and planning process.
As a residential architect, you’ll also be involved in the whole process. This includes everything from the programming meeting to the design development. You’ll be at the center of it all.
The duration of the projects
Residential projects are, in general, for a shorter duration than commercial projects. The design and development period should take around three months. Then, you enter the construction phase. This can take anywhere from nine to fourteen months.
If you’re a top-level contractor who uses high-level finishes, then you can expect to make around $25,000 a week. When you divide your budget by the estimated value of your finish out, you can figure out how long the construction will take.
On average, residential projects can take anywhere between one and a half to two years to complete. In comparison, commercial projects take longer to complete. The time it takes to get to the construction phase from the design phase is also longer. Finally, construction projects are also privileged to work stoppages as well.
You’ll get to work on projects that both require more creativity and take a shorter time to complete.
You can be a teacher.
Residential architects sometimes go on to teach at universities. You can also find opportunities to teach right in your office. Interns at a residential architect’s firm are given more responsibility and opportunities to learn. This is as residential architects hire fewer people generally. You’ll be able to work with and teach your interns at work.
You can also learn
Residential architects get more opportunities to be creative. This provides more opportunities to learn and experiment as well. Commercial projects don’t offer much leeway, and there are fewer, if any, chances to test.
You decide your hours.
The hours of a residential architect are flexible. You choose when you want to work. You set your own schedules, and as long as you stay organized, you can work at your pleasure. You will have to schedule regular meetings with your clients, however, to give them updates.
You’ll also need to devote time to lead generation so that you can get more clients.
Work in a great environment
Residential architects take care to design their office space to suit their aesthetics. This also serves as a way to show people the kind of work you do. The open space design is trendy among architects, as it allows a lot of natural light to flood into the room.
As a residential architect, you’ll also need to travel to different locations for work. This allows you to step out of your office as well.
Be a part of a community.
Residential architects are often valuable parts of their local community. They contribute rewards, participate in charity events, and try to do what they can for their community. This gives residential architects a lot of respect in their community as well.
Boost your self-confidence
When you finally finish your project, you’ll usually find your clients showering you with praise. Since you have already developed a strong relationship with them, this praise can help build your self-confidence.
And often, the praise you receive for a job well done in earnest. It’s also usually absent when you work on commercial projects. So if you’re looking for a bit of ego boost along with your work, then residential architecture could be for you.
Conclusion
Residential architects have a lot of flexibility when it comes to deciding their schedules. They can work from anywhere they want and have more room to experiment on their projects creatively.
If you become a residential architect, you’ll also find that it’s a very profitable career path. This is as you can choose the clients you work with. And if you decide to work with higher-paying clients, then that will reflect in your take-home salary.
One way you can protect your career as a residential architect is with architect professional liability insurance. If you want to learn more about architect errors and omissions insurance, then click here.
