How do architects get paid? - Case Study

You might be wondering how architects are being paid.


There are several methods on how the architects get paid and these are:

1. Percentage basis
2. Fixed fee
3. Fixed fee plus percentage basis

In our attempt to give you the latest and updated information about the methods of compensation, some more additional information is published in our main website at 3dartrender. You can read the whole article that deals with the 6 methods of compensation for architects under the title "How Do Architects Get Paid?"

Below is an example on how the computation of the professional fee is done. The whole amount (100%) of the professional fee is not paid at one time, it is broken down into four (4) phases that fall under the regular services of an architect, these are;

1. Preliminary Design Stage
2. Design Development Stage
3. Contract Document Stage
4. Construction Stage

Upon completion of each stages, the professional fee is paid for with the corresponding percentage of the Professional Fee. See the computation below and the manner of payment for each of the stages;

The commissioning of the architect is the most fulfilling part in the practice of architecture, because this is where he gets his living. 

This is a sample computation

1. Percentage basis - each project has its complexity and building are categorized accordingly. Depending on the complexity of the project, the architect is then paid equivalent to certain percentage of the project. The range is in between 5% to 15% of the project construction cost. The higher the cost of the project, the less percentage it becomes. This method of compensation will lead to the next method which is the fixed fee.

example computation:

project cost:                               $4.5 M
Architect's fee:                         5% - 15%  ($225,000 to $675,000)

The standard percentage fee for residential design is 10%.
Depending on the level of experience of an architect, the professional fee is within the range of 5% - 15%

Case Studies 1

1. The Manner of Payment: for 5% Professional Fee - $ 225,000

1. Preliminary Design Stage      - 20% of Professional Fee  -  $  45,000
2. Design Development Stage   - 40 % of Professional Fee -  $  90,000
3. Contract Document Stage     - 25 % of Professional Fee -  $  56,250
4. Construction Stage                - 15 % of Professional Fee -  $  33,750

* The Professional fee is based on the actual construction of the building, therefore, the fee for the last stage will be adjusted according to the percentage of the actual cost of the project.

Assuming the final construction of the project cost is $5.0 M  as per the previous estimated cost of $4.5M the Professional Fee is adjusted to $250,000 instead of $225,000, therefore the final payment of $ 33,750 upon completion of the project is adjusted adding the remaining balance of $25,000. The total amount then becomes $58,750

Case Studies 2

1. The Manner of Payment: for 15 % Professional Fee - $ 675,000

1. Preliminary Design Stage      - 20% of Professional Fee  -  $  135,000
2. Design Development Stage   - 40 % of Professional Fee -  $  270,000
3. Contract Document Stage     - 25 % of Professional Fee -  $  168,750
4. Construction Stage                - 15 % of Professional Fee -  $  101,250

* The Professional fee is based on the actual construction of the building, therefore, the fee for the last stage will be adjusted according to the percentage of the actual cost of the project.

Assuming the final construction of the project cost is $5.0 M  as per the previous estimated cost of $4.5M the Professional Fee is adjusted to $750,000 instead of $675,000, therefore the final payment of $  101,250 upon completion of the project is adjusted adding the remaining balance of $75,000. The total amount then becomes $176,750

2. Fixed fee - or lump sum fee. The architect can set a fixed amount of fee for the services he rendered. This is done especially with small projects where the computation of a percentage fee cannot sustain the architects cost of production, instead of setting percentage fee, a lump sum amount can be set as a payment for his services.

example computation:

Project cost:                               $4.5 M
Fixed Fee:                                  $400,000

3. Fixed fee plus percentage fee - this method is applicable to large projects. This is normally a combination of a percentage from 3% to 10% plus a fixed amount.

Example computation:
Project cost:                               $166 M
Fixed fee plus percentage:      for the first $100 M fixed fee of $5 M
                                                    plus 3% fee for the balance
                                                    3% of  $66 M is $ 1.98 M

total architect's fee plus :          $ 6.98 M


The Method of compensation for architects are discussed in detail under the architects code and the professional practice. For the public's information, these three are the common method of payment.

Hope this will give a brief overview on the manner by which architect is being paid.

Need to design your house?
See our latest design proposals here

go to student resources here

What will I expect from Architectural course? | Architectural Design

Architectural Design course is a very interesting course. Maybe you will be asking "What will i expect from architectural course?"  well, let me give you a brief overview about architectural course.

This course is a five year curriculum with a required 2 year on-the-job training before you can become an architect. In the five year curriculum, you will be trained to become professional in this field. There major subjects that you need to pass and these major subjects are pre requisites in order for you to step up to the next level.

These subjects are:

Architectural Design and Planning
Visual Arts
Architectural Graphics
Building Technology and Utilities
History of Architecture
Theories of Architectural Design
Professional Practice

All of these subjects are distributed in your five year stay in the college. Architectural Design course is the main subject which is divided into 5 year study course from Architectural Design 1 to Architectural Design 10. 

landscape planning - an aerial view

Planning will be an introductory course on the Comprehensive architectural course that will lead to Urban and Regional Planning, Community Planning and Subdivision Planning.

You can pursue higher studies on these courses offered in Masteral Degree couse.

Visual Arts or Visual Technology is a course that will help you develop your visual presentation skills from the basic freehand drawing to 3dimensional presentation and large scale modeling presentation.

You will start with the basics of free hand drawing from line exercises to shades and shadows. This basic training will lead you to sketch what you see around you. These will challenge you to sketch existing structures so you can improve your visualization techniques from pencil, pen and ink to digital presentations. As shown on the examples below.

The left image is a pencil sketch as an exercise to visualize the architectural design of a house which is the basic designing skills developed in the introduction of the architectural design course.

Another example below is the pen and ink rendering of an existing building. There are Three major course in Visual Technology. 1. The use of pencil in visualization, 2. Is the use of Pen and Ink 3. Color Rendering using different mediums like water color, acrylic, markers and any color tools available in the market which artists use.

This is a water color rendering with pen and ink. This is a multi-media presentation on free hand drawings. 

As compared to the pen and ink rendering of this image below. The Visual Technology course will cover 2 years of study. The First year will be in two terms where you will have the Pencil and the Pen and Ink Presentation techniques.

The Second year will have two terms which are; the Multi-media presentation from Manual rendering to 3d rendering presentations for the first term and the latter will be the Scaled Modeling presentation.

This image is a created in 3d studio max. This is a 3d modeling and rendering presentation. Nowadays, this is the trend in the architectural design presentations.

Free hand sketches are still in the trend in architectural design presentations especially in presenting a schematic design where the architect's design study is on progress where ideas can still be changed. 

The design development stage can be more detailed and the use of 3d modeling using software to coordinate with the cad files of the proposed design is produced.

for larger projects where visualization is used in a more complicated presentations, the Scaled model is another advance feature in the visual technology course. It is a scaled model, where the actual size of the project is reduced its size. 

Here are some examples of scaled model:

Architectural Graphics will give you better understanding about graphic standards, basic drafting work, computer aided design and drafting.







Building Technology and Utilities deals with the Method of Construction, Building materials and specifications including the utilities sytem like the Sanitary systems, Mechanical and Electrical systems.




History of Architecture is the study of the History of Architecture itself from the ancient civilization up to our modern and millennial time. The best architectural design examples are in the past. This will give you an in depth knowledge about the history.





Theories of Architectural Design is also connected with the History. the design theories and principles were taken from the past design influences.





Professional Practice will be your guiding principle in your preparation for the practice of the profession. From the building laws, Fire and safety codes and other relevant laws concerning the construction of any structure in any localities. The laws concerning the practice and the most interesting part of how the architects are paid (method of compensation) and the architect's responsibilities and liabilities.





What is not included in the list but is essential is the Structural design course. This is included in the curriculum for you to understand the Strength of material and the durability of the structure.

Go back to Architectural Design Course here