An architect’s fee can be assessed properly only when the brief, scope of services and project risks are clear.
The question “How much does an architect cost?” is justified. However, it cannot be answered using square meters, construction costs or an hourly rate alone. If you give a number too early, it often remains unclear what performance, what responsibility and what project risk it actually means. That is why Marco Gernt Architects do not view fees in isolation, but rather as part of a resilient project structure.
Why the price question is first and foremost a structural question
An architect's fee is not just a price for plans. It is related to the scope of services, coordination, liability risk, need for decision-making and benefits for the project. A seemingly cheap fee can later become expensive if the basics are missing, interfaces are unclear or services are not clearly described.
Especially in complex construction projects, economic value is created not just by individual plans, but by organizing requirements, approval processes, costs, deadlines, specialist planning and decisions. If you would like to first clarify what service is actually required, you can find out more about this at Client advice and project structure.
What is important is not the lowest price, but rather whether the scope of services, responsibility and project risk fit together neatly.
What architect fees depend on
Architects' fees depend in particular on the scope of services, the project complexity, the chargeable costs, the fee zone, the deadline pressure, the liability risk and additional consulting or management services. Project organization is just as important: a clearly described project with reliable foundations, clear interfaces and orderly decisions can be calculated differently than a project with an unclear scope of services, a high need for coordination or a critical deadline.
If costs, deadlines or decisions are already under pressure, the fee should never be viewed in isolation from the project risk. In such cases, a structured review of Cost risks in the construction project can be useful.
Which fee models are possible
In particular, HOAI-oriented fees, flat fees or hourly fees come into consideration. The fee schedule for architects and engineers structures planning services based on service profiles, service phases, fee zones and eligible costs. Since HOAI 2021, fees have been freely agreed upon; However, the HOAI remains an important framework for orientation.
A flat fee can make sense if the scope of services, project goals, interfaces, deadlines and responsibilities are sufficiently clearly described. An hourly fee is particularly suitable for consulting, project reviews, feasibility studies, inventory analyses, variant studies, workshops, special services and project management tasks. For controlling services, the page can also be used AHO project management be helpful.
Guide values for architects’ fees
For complete building planning, architect's fees can roughly be in the range of around 8 to 15 percent of the eligible construction costs. However, the specific value depends heavily on the project size, fee zone, scope of services and risk profile. Construction costs and investment amounts are not automatically identical to the eligible costs according to HOAI.
Chamber recommendations can provide guidance on hourly fees. The North Rhine-Westphalia Chamber of Architects refers to the following net hourly rates from freely available recommendations: Owner or department head EUR 153 per hour, project manager EUR 128 per hour, project engineer EUR 94 per hour and technicians, draftsmen or other employees EUR 66 per hour. Source: North Rhine-Westphalia Chamber of Architects, recommendations for hourly rates, March 28, 2024. These values are guide values and not a binding price quote for a specific project.
Why the lowest price is not important
The lowest hourly rate is not automatically the economically best solution. What is crucial is whether planning, coordination and project structure help to avoid later additional costs, delays, additions and wrong decisions. Just at complex construction projects, a fee should therefore always be viewed in relation to responsibility, scope of services, risk and benefit.
Why Marco Gernt Architects?
You do not commission an anonymous large office, but rather a responsible contact person with experience in architecture, construction management, scheduling, project control and project management. Additional specialist expertise is included on a project-related basis if it is required for the task. Our working method combines personal responsibility with lean, project-specific processing.
This creates a service that is no larger than necessary, but creates enough structure to reliably clarify the scope of services, risks, interfaces and next decisions.
Have the fee assessed
A sensible fee model begins with clarifying the task: Which service phases or consulting services are required? What specialist planning is required? What decisions need to be prepared? What are the risks? What responsibility should be assumed?
If you would like to clarify the scope of services and the appropriate fee model for your project, send us a short project description with the project goal, current status, budget framework, deadlines and desired service. We check which architectural, consulting or project management services make sense for the next step.
Recommended next step: Clarify the task, scope of services and project risk before a binding fee offer is created.