Frequently Asked Questions
While every project and client is different, there are certain questions that arise at the onset of almost every inquiry. To assist, we have provided answers below for transparency and to ensure expectations are understood.
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We believe in specializing in our craft of residential architecture. We work on projects of varying sizes from custom single family homes to larger multifamily buildings.
See the ABOUT page for more…
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Polyform Architecture Inc. is registered within the Provinces of British Columbia and Alberta to practice Architecture.
Most of our work is within the Lower Mainland and Sea to Sky corridor of Metro Vancouver but we have projects in Calgary and are open and motivated to work throughout BC and Alberta.
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At Polyform Architecture, we love collaborating with clients to bring their vision life. While design is the most visible part of our work, our role as architects extends far beyond that. We’ve distilled our approach into five key principles that reflect what we do, why clients choose to work with us, and what sets us apart.
1. Residential Design Expertise
Polyform specializes in residential architecture, bringing deep knowledge, focus, and passion to every project we design. Our understanding of the intricacies of custom homes, renovations, and multifamily development ensures a refined, efficient and tailored approach from concept to completion.2. Design That Reflects You
We create homes that are deeply personal and rooted in the lives of the people who live in them. Our process emphasizes listening, collaboration, and thoughtful interpretation of your vision, resulting in spaces that are not only beautiful, but truly yours.3. Clear Guidance Through Complexity
From early ideas to city approvals to final construction, we act as a trusted advisor at every step. We simplify the process, manage consultant input, navigate permitting, and advocate for your interests so you don’t have to.We believe that thoughtful planning leads to exceptional results. Our Technical Design documents are highly detailed and comprehensive, ensuring that key decisions are made early and avoiding rushed (and costly) choices during construction. We guide you through each step with clarity, helping to keep the process organized and manageable. Throughout construction, we stay closely involved, conducting site reviews and working alongside the contractor to ensure the build reflects the design intent and meets the highest standards of quality.
4. Balanced, Buildable Solutions
We prioritize design excellence while understanding construction realities. Our projects are creative, practical, and efficient to build which align architectural ambition with project budgets and timelines.Honesty around cost is a core part of how we work. We have a strong understanding of the financial realities of custom residential and multifamily projects, and we collaborate closely with trusted builders and trade partners in an integrated process to track and evaluate costs throughout the design phases. This ensures that your budget and design remain aligned and we continuously move forward. Providing accurate cost guidance early allows the client, architect, and consultant team to make informed decisions that support the viability of the project. We believe in setting realistic expectations, not making promises that can’t be delivered.
5. Boutique Service, Big-Picture Thinking, Experiential Architecture
As a small, focused studio, we offer personalized attention and direct involvement from firm ownership. Yet we think holistically to balance aesthetics, function, sustainability, and long-term value in everything we do.Our work goes beyond designing high-quality contemporary homes. We create meaningful places to live, connect, and grow. Our spaces are designed to support the rhythms of daily life, nurture relationships, and offer moments of joy and calm: Mindful Architecture. With a deep sensitivity to how spaces feel as much as how they function, our architecture offers more than just shelter…
see our PROCESS page for more…
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The short answer…It depends.
For custom homes, from initial consultation to completion can be accomplished in under two years. We usually take 6–9 months to develop the design and produce a building permit submission. Technical design, tendering, and contractor selection typically require another 3-4 months. Construction often takes 12–18 months, depending on the scale and complexity of the build. From the outset, we prepare a detailed project timeline and continue to update it throughout the process to keep everything on track.
For multifamily residential buildings, it can take between 6-10 months from initial concept through to development permit submission, depending on the scale, complexity, site topography and municipal requirements. Technical design, building permit submission and IFT issuance could take 4-8 months after the DP is approved and depending on the same factors. Tendering and construction typically takes 18 - 24 months.
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When choosing an architect, it's important to hire somebody you admire but its also important to look beyond just aesthetics. Here are the key factors that truly matter:
1. Alignment with Your Vision and Values
Your architect should listen well, understand your lifestyle and aspirations, and be able to translate those into a built form. Look for someone who “gets” you and not just someone with nice-looking work.
2. Relevant Experience
Whether it’s a custom home, renovation, laneway house, or multi-family development, choose an architect who has experience with the type of project you’re planning. Familiarity with local building codes, municipal bylaws, climate, and construction methods are also essential.
3. Process and Communication Style
Architecture is a journey. You’ll want someone who is clear, responsive, and collaborative. An advisor who can guide you through design, permits, budgeting, and construction, and make the process feel manageable and enjoyable. There are thousands of decisions that need to be made. Let someone who has made them before guide the way.
4. Problem-Solving Ability
Design is about more than looks. A good architect creates functional, well-planned spaces and solves complex challenges such as working with under valued or constrained sites, strict regulations, or modest budgets and ensure they won’t compromising on quality.
5. Track Record with Municipalities and Consultants
Approvals, permits, and coordination with engineers or builders can be frustrating. An architect who knows how to navigate these efficiently adds significant value and saves time and money throughout the project life cycle.
6. Compatibility and Trust
This is a personal relationship. You’ll be making big decisions together over many months. Choose someone you trust and whose advice you’ll rely on when things get uncertain or complex.
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If you've searched online for the cost of construction in Canada, you've probably come across estimates in the range of $250 to $1,000 per square foot. While these figures can be a starting point, they rarely reflect the reality of building. The inherent discrepancies in values indicate there are many compounding variables impacting the actual build cost. In our experience, delivering high-quality design with thoughtful detailing, durable materials, and tailored solutions requires a more realistic and refined approach to budgeting.
Why Simple Square Footage Rates Are Misleading
Square foot rates are often misunderstood. A simple rectangular volume may come in at a lower cost, but lacks spatial variety and architectural richness. Features such as double-height spaces, covered outdoor rooms, deep overhangs, built-in millwork, and custom staircases all contribute to the quality and character of the spaces. Unfortunately, these elements don’t necessarily show up in the square footage. These elements elevate the architecture without increasing the liveable area, which means the rate per square foot rises even if the overall size does not. This is true for custom homes and for multifamily homes, where each additional element or cost multiplies this impact by the number of units in the development. You can imagine how these costs begin to add up quickly.
Our Approach to Cost Clarity
To make cost conversations more transparent, we encourage our clients to think about breaking the budget into clear categories early in the design process:
Core Build: the enclosure: structure, envelope and systems
Interior Fit-Out: cabinetry, finishes, kitchens, bathrooms, lighting, AV, and more
Site & Landscape: grading, planting, paving, and outdoor features
Additional costs like pools, elevators, garages, or outbuildings are identified separately.
For high-quality construction in the Lower Mainland, our clients typically budget $350 to $500+ per square foot for the Core Build. This includes building systems (plumbing + electrical), durable cladding, high-performance windows, in-floor heating, and often energy-efficient solutions like air or ground-source heat pumps, HRVs, and PV systems.
Fit-Out costs are highly variable depending on preferences but usually represent 10% to 40% of the Core Build, with most clients landing around 25% to 30%. Landscaping adds another 10% to 20%, depending on the site and ambition of the outdoor spaces.
Professional Fees and Value
Although Polyform Architecture bases our fees on a $/square foot, you can expect for custom homes, to factor in 12% to 20% and for multifamily projects, 8% - 12% of construction cost for professional fees, which include (but are not limited to) architectural services, interior design, structural, electrical and mechanical consultants, and permitting support. We like to work in an integrated process and recommend engaging a cost consultant or general contractor early, as they provide detailed insight into real-time construction pricing and help keep the design aligned with your budget from the onset.
Setting Expectations from the Start
We believe in open, honest conversations about cost. It's part of our responsibility as your architect to help you make informed decisions and avoid unexpected surprises down the road. With a clear plan, experienced consultants, and proactive budgeting, we’ll guide you through a smooth process that results in a project that is both thoughtfully designed and financially sound.
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Our design fees are based on a $ per square foot of gross building area. We try our best to fix the fee when we can to allow our clients to budget for the project. If the level of effort is unknown (rezoning or complex development permit requirements), a hybrid model may work best with a portion of the fees being billed hourly when the scope and effort is unknown or uncontrollable. Once the variables can be controlled, we are confident at setting a fixed fee for our scope of work.
Regardless of the unit rate, the assumption is an integrated design process where we work with a preselected contractor from the onset of design to capture the actual project costs and inform the design as it progresses. Our goal throughout this process is to minimize surprises during tendering and construction while reducing risk for the client.
Calculation of the fee unit rate:
Typically, a larger gross buildable area translates into a more complex project and increased effort from the Architect to design, coordinate, and document
Generally, our $/sq.ft. unit rate is between $12 - $20 but there are a number of factors that may influence the agreed upon rate. These factors can include, but are not limited to:
Project type and scale
Project schedule and timeline
Scope and complexity of the brief - how much of the scope (and thus controllable)
Client history and development experience
Site conditions (flat, gentle or extremely sloped topography)
number of buildings
building height and structural system
number of underground parking levels
unit mix: number and standardization of unit types
municipality and permitting process (rezoning, DP or BP, board of variance, etc.)
mixed use occupancy classifications
number of building code alternative solutions required
the type of anticipated construction contract.
Client relationship and circumstance.
In addition, depending on the project and circumstance, we apply hourly rates to certain phases of a project that we are unable to forecast the effort and resources available to deliver that phase successfully. These may include, but are not limited to, Predesign, Tendering and Office construction administration work.
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While we love designing things, design is only one part of what we do on a project. There’s a lot of communication and project administration and its duties are spread across all of the phases of work. These are all elements of the work that is part of the fee structure.
For a project to run smoothly open and clear communication between everyone is extremely important. We pride ourselves on being open communicators and are always responsive to your questions and feedback. These administrative processes are in place to make sure the project runs efficiently, on budget and on schedule.
More information can be found on the PROCESSpage that relates to specific expectations during each phase of a project. Other examples of this project administration are:
Phone, Zoom/Teams + e-mail correspondence
Client meetings + presentations
Design phase schedule, tracking and adjustments
Design + Coordination Meeting agendas + minutes
Coordination of Consultant’s work
Responding to Contractors during tendering and construction (RFIs, SIs, COs, etc.)
Budget and schedule tracking
coordination and communication with municipalities during permitting
Phased Fee Breakdown
Polyform invoices the project on a monthly basis. A typical breakdown of the overall fee is listed below by project phase. The percentages reflect the level of resources needed from Polyform to deliver effectively and professionally. These presented as an example but may vary depending on the project. Atypical processes or complex project types may have alternate percentages applied to each phase depending on the effort and resources needed.
2.5% - Phase 01 - Pre-Design
20% - Phase 02 - Concept Design
20% - Phase 03 - Developed Design
35% - Phase 04 - Technical Design
1.5% - Phase 05 - Procurement/Tendering
20% - Phase 06 - Construction Administration
1% - Phase 07 - Post-Occupancy
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As the client, you have a reciprocal relationship with the architect. Collaboration is critical for the success of the project. There are several ways the client can contribute to controlling costs during the design phases:
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions: The more decisive you can be, the faster we can move. Moving faster (without backtracking) is a direct savings to you (reduced carrying or financing cost, etc.)
Expectations on the number of design iterations: As exciting as it is to explore every possibility; more options can quickly exceed our initial fee estimates.
Be up front with your goals, likes and dislikes. We thrive on critical dialogue so don’t be afraid to be direct and candid. Without an honest, open dialogue the process can take longer to arrive at something you’re happy with. By completing our Custom Home Client Questionnaire or our Developer Inquiry Form, this will assist in clarifying your goals from the initial inquiry stage.
Keeping the project moving forward: provide the architect and consultant team with owner supplied information in a timely manner. In addition, once a design phase has been signed off, circling back to a previous phase will result in additional design fees.
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While we appreciate your enthusiasm and welcome your ideas, it's essential to clarify that we don’t offer drafting-only services. We specialize in providing holistic design solutions that address a broad spectrum of factors, from functionality and aesthetics to sustainability and feasibility. Our expertise lies in crafting comprehensive and tailored designs that not only meet your vision but also optimize the potential of the pro-forma. We’re here to collaborate with you, leveraging our experience and creativity to bring your ideas to life in a way that exceeds your expectations and fulfills your project's unique requirements.
This is what it takes to make great architecture that’s valued by our clients.
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In all the years working on residential projects, this has never happened. The reason is: we’re good listeners and communicators. We understand this is your project and it must reflect your goals and desires. We extensively examine the project requirements during the predesign and concept design phases to ensure the design will meet and exceed your expectations.
That said, if you find that none of the initial design concepts meet your expectations or align with your vision for the project, we will work closely with you to understand your feedback and revisit your stated preferences. Our team will then revise and refine the designs until we achieve a solution that resonates with you.
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The cost of design revisions are considered a natural part of an iterative design process. As such, the fees are incorporated into the fixed fee for each design phase. Part of the reason we have sign off at the end of each phase is to allow the client the opportunity for a final review and agreement as to what they are paying for. If changes are requested after the sign off of each phase, additional fees will apply for any redesign work. If redesign is due to an error or omission on our part, no fees will be due and Polyform will do what is right.
We always work diligently and fairly to address any concerns or preferences you may have within the scope of our agreement. Our goal is to deliver a design that meets your expectations and exceeds your vision for the project, and we are committed to working collaboratively with you to achieve that goal.
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While we strive to adhere to the agreed-upon schedule, unforeseen circumstances may occasionally arise that could impact the timeline. If we encounter delays during the design phases, we will communicate with you promptly and in writing to discuss the situation and explore potential solutions. Our priority is to keep you informed and work together to address any challenges while minimizing disruptions to the project timeline. Rest assured, we are committed to delivering your project with the utmost care and attention to detail, and we will make every effort to mitigate any delays that may arise.
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Polyform Architecture’s business model focuses on a select number of clients each year. This is done intentionally in order to provide the level of service quality needed to deliver the project on schedule and with completeness. Although at times the client may be communicating directly with the project architect or other members of the team, Ben Fisher oversees all projects and works directly with clients throughout the process.
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Ultimately the general contractor is responsible for quality control. Our drawings and specifications will set out a standard that is agreed to prior to the commencement of the build. In reality, quality control is a collaborative effort involving both the construction team and the consultant team. While the construction team is primarily responsible for executing the construction according to and in general conformance with the contract documents, the design team actively monitors progress and reviews the work to ensure it meets our standards of quality and those outlines in the contract documents. Our goal is to work collaboratively to maintain open communication between the teams, anticipate areas of concern and address any issues promptly to ensure the final result meets or exceeds your expectations and the schedule is not impacted.on
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The construction contract will have clear processes and procedures on how to handle disputes. As the prime consultant and contract administrator, our goal is to manage disputes during the construction process through open communication and collaboration between all parties involved. Strong relationships are the key to a successful project. We strive to resolve any issues or disagreements swiftly and amicably, aiming to find mutually satisfactory solutions that align with the project's objectives. In the rare event that disputes cannot be resolved directly, the contract will outline methods of alternative dispute resolution to reach a resolution efficiently and fairly, while maintaining progress on the job site.
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Our goal as the Coordinating Registered Professional is to minimize changes during construction. They can be costly and slow down the critical path progress. The reality is, changes are a natural part of construction and need to be reviewed, tracked and directed in a timely manner to minimize costs and schedule delays. The construction contract will specify the specific documents required to manage changes through construction but typically this is done through a change order. Change orders can affect cost, schedule or both and we’ll review the implications together prior to any work taking place and with your confirmation we will issue necessary revised documents, adjust the schedule and instruct the contractor to move ahead with the work.
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Yes, and no, Client involvement can vary depending on the relationship you have with the general contractor and the type of construction contract.
As architects, we welcome you to visit the site regularly to view progress and understand what is happening on the site (The construction team will have safety protocols in accordance with the local health authority to follow for everyone on-site). While most major decisions will have been made before the construction stage begins, there are times when items relating to cost and schedule will come up during construction that will require direction from the owner. In addition, typically owners are present at all regular site progress meetings to ensure information can flow and decisions can be made efficiently.