The Differences between Architect and Interior Designer
The Differences between Architect and Interior Designer
When people are planning to build their new houses or renovating for their spaces, the most frequently asked question of all time is “Should I hire an Architect or Interior Designer?” or “Should I hire both?”. Actually, it is because they share many big things in common. First, they offer you structural design and decoration services. Second, they have expertise in designing houses or any buildings.
However, if you deep down into details, you will find that they completely take care of different parts of the projects, and it can be differentiated into 2 words, “Exterior design” and “Interior design”. Architect works on designing the exterior architecture of the building. While Interior Designer takes care of everything inside your building.
If you are still not sure because you have a long list of elaborate work to do on your projects, let’s take a look in detail at what Architect and Interior Designer do, what their qualifications are, and the sample list of jobs you should hire each of them.
Architect
What does Architects do?
• They design the exterior architecture and deliver the complete buildings
• Architects are responsible for the external aesthetics since they have a creative and artistic bent of minds
• Draw up design plans for various types of spaces and buildings, not only houses
• Build a functional structure considering the building codes and regulations
• Coordinate with construction crew and contractors to ensure they stick to the plan
• Review and oversee the construction of buildings, and also carry out a site consultation
• They visit the construction site to inspect the work-in-progress and in case there is something that needs to be solved
• Architects focus on technical aspects like form, direction, material, climate, lighting, ventilation, and flooring of a building which is mainly consisted in designing architecture
• Work on site plans, building sections, exterior materials, waterproofing details, energy calculations, window & door placements, and exterior elevations
• Their center of attention is function, form, safety, and needs of the future owners
• They need to take care of facade treatment, internal planning, the orientation of the building in relation to seasonal variations and the sun’s path
• Technical drawings of structural and foundation details, brickwork details, position and size of doors and windows, plumbing, and electrical layouts.
• Concern on health, safety, and environmental aspects
What are their qualifications
• Bachelor’s degree in Architecture
• Good analytical and problem-solving skills
• Creative and artistic talents to develop new and original designs
• Build a structure with certain codes, rules, and measurements
• Knowledge of a structural building that meets national, state, and local building codes
• Strong mathematical and logical thinking to ensure a stable structure
• 3D Visualization with technical skills in design technology, Computer-aided Design (CAD)
You should hire an Architect if you need to…
• Construct a building from scratch
• Renovate your spaces with a new structural design
• Design your new garden
• Build a deck and patio
• Structural and system design
• Conceptual design for architecture
• and so on
Interior Designer
What does Interior Designers do?
• They design the indoor space of buildings
• Create an appealing look and function that meets clients’ needs and requirements
• The focal point is a design style, furniture layout and selection, and color scheme
• Work on wall design, flooring, textile, window coverings, drapery, kitchen layout
• Focus more on aspects like human wants and needs, the functionality of the space, and especially aesthetics
• Furnish and decorate furniture, fixtures, and accessories
• Conceptual drawing of materials and various items such as the woodwork, flooring, and ceiling with desired mood and tone
• Interior Designers also offer lighting solutions to suit the use of the room
• Work with carpenters and installers to source all the material for decoration
What are their qualifications?
• Bachelor’s degree in Interior Design
• Profession with creative and technical solutions within a functional and beneficial structure that delivers client the quality of life
• Artistic sense is important to determine how to set up and decorate an interior space
• Technical skills in design technology like Computer-aided Design (CAD)
• Drawing, sketching, space planning, modeling, drafting, and furniture design
• Knowledge of art history to truly understand the design philosophy
• Building codes and regulatory requirements
You should hire an Interior Designer if you need to…
• Decorate an empty room for your new houses or buildings
• Renovating your spaces with a new interior decoration
• Accessorize everything inside your buildings
• Functional and safe indoor structure
• Solution for lighting design
• Conceptual design for indoor spaces
• and so on
Still, Architect and Interior Designer have a lot of things in common. Since they are design experts, they studied and trained the same basic principles. In the architectural and interior design service industry, they also share the same goal which is to design a work that satisfies clients and functional for human occupancy. Here is the similarity of them that you would need to know:
The Similarity of Architect and Interior Designer
• Ability to create an efficient relationship between indoors and outdoor
• Deliver a highly functional space that meets the requirements of owners
• Creative and artistic mind with problem-solving skills to ensure the work is both functional and aesthetical
• Conceptual drawing skills to show the overall concept and mood & tone of the design
• Technical skills in design software, Computer-aided Design (CAD), to generate professional presentation drawing for clients
• They both listen to the clients’ needs, requirements, and especially financial budget to propose a tentative financial solution for them
However, hiring the right persons who are an expert in their area is always the best choice. After going through this topic, we guess you can notice the major difference between Architect and Interior Designer for sure. Whether you should hire depends on what kind of job you are planning to do. If you want your new house, of course, you should hire an Architect since you’re gonna need to construct it from scratch. Even so, in order to complete the interior decorations and create an aesthetically pleasing design inside your spaces, you also should hire an Interior Designer as well.
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Luckily, Leo Design Group offers both Architectural and Interior Design services. You don’t need to be busy finding both architect and interior designer that suit your projects or become worried whether these two will get along well in coordination or not. We, an award-winning design firm with over 50 years of experience and international projects around the world, will support you from the start to the end, including our Pre-construction services.