Communicating design concepts effectively is a key aspect of an architect’s job. Opinder Liddar explores the ways your plans can be presented to help you visualise the living spaces and achieve the house you really want

These images show the progression of a self build scheme by Strom Architects, from initial concept design stage right through to completion. The first drawings were put together by hand. Sketchup was then used to develop the plans for the house in order to present a coherent design strategy to the client. The CGI imagery was outsourced to a specialist

MARTIN GARDNER

If one thing’s certain when it comes to designing your dream home, it’s that you will be investing plenty of time and emotion into the project. Getting the scheme through planning, controlling costs and managing trades on site are just a few of the hurdles that you’ll encounter before completion – so you’d hope that the result will be exactly what you envisioned.

Surprisingly, once finished, many houses differ from the self builder’s original expectations. While any good architect can generate numerous visions of the design possibilities available, it’s vital that they communicate and develop these concepts effectively.

In order to convey their strategy to you, the client, your chosen professional needs to be skilled in terms of how they deliver the initial idea. Whilst doing a lot of talking, creative gesticulating and pointing is great for a first chat, your designer needs to demonstrate what their plans will look like in reality, using a more objective format.

As an architect, it’s my job to find a suitable way to communicate with clients and make sure they understand everything about the design proposal. I use many different tools and media formats to portray my ideas – this article sets out what you should expect from your chosen designer, so you end up with the house you want.