Chapter 15 Buy a design and get a decoration for free

Unlike a decade or so later, when clients generally recognized the value of design, many clients of this era were unprofessional. Some, even those with engineering backgrounds, considered design fees too high. They thought those drawings were useless; they wouldn't even look at them when the house was being built. They were just there to meet inspections and regulations, and they weren't worth the money.

Decades later, the design fee is still the same. Compared to the actual purchasing power of one dollar back then, it's indeed high. Over such a long period of time, housing prices have increased dozens of times, while design fees have remained flat and have actually dropped significantly. An architect who designed a house could never afford to buy the house he designed. Thinking of these strange phenomena, Lin Ruoyan couldn't help but sigh.

In fact, a truly ingenious design can save the owner money, and if the owner is a little more ambitious, the finished building may even go down in history.

Lin Ruoyan waited until the group disappeared and Professor Qiao calmed down before she took the initiative to say, "Professor Qiao, I'm Lin Ruoyan. My assistant and you have an appointment to discuss a project at four o'clock. I'm early. If you have time, how about we discuss it earlier?"

Professor Qiao glanced at the young woman in designer clothes and said unhappily, "My design fees are relatively high. Even for small areas, there's a minimum design fee. We've been busy with projects lately, so I only do projects over 300,000 yuan. If your project doesn't have that budget, then forget it."

When Lin Ruoyan heard that the project only required a starting price of 300,000 yuan, she wondered why the master was asking so cheaply. She hesitated. Should she go to a foreign firm with a higher fee? No, foreigners didn't understand Siheyuan. She should talk to Master Qiao first.

Lin Ruoyan remembered what the original book said, that Professor Qiao would win an international human settlement design award in the next two years, and many well-known architectural schools invited him to be a visiting professor. At that time, even if a large amount of money was spent to ask Professor Qiao to do the design, he might not have the time to do it himself.

The design fee now starts at 300,000, so she wouldn't quote too much. So she smiled and nodded, "Don't worry, my design fee for this project is at least 500,000, no upper limit."

Professor Qiao still didn't look happy. After all, the size of the project had not yet been announced. If it was a plan of tens of thousands of square meters, or a residential community with more than a dozen buildings, it would definitely not be possible to do it with 500,000 yuan.

Professor Qiao hadn't considered at that moment how this Miss Lin, whom he was about to meet, would shake up his design career. If he had known, he wouldn't have been so sullen.

Lin Ruoyan is actually an insider in the industry and knows that the design fee is based on a unit price, especially since renovation and decoration are more troublesome than new construction. The unit price of design fee generally starts at one or two hundred yuan per square meter, and the cost of the plan and construction drawings must be distinguished here.

The cost of only making plans without making construction drawings is almost half the price, but the final results are difficult to control. Therefore, generally, ambitious architects, especially those involved in interior design, will make both plans and construction drawings, and keep an eye on the on-site construction, and are eager to help the owner choose soft furnishings. In this way, the design fee of several hundred or several thousand yuan per square meter is not excessive.

Lin Ruoyan's two courtyard houses cover a total area of ​​more than 2,000 square meters, which can be used to build a house of nearly 1,500 square meters. Perhaps the old houses need to be demolished and rebuilt. Not only the architectural appearance should be retro, but the interior decoration should also have traditional charm and adapt to the fashion of modern life. In addition, water, heating, electricity, and air-conditioning equipment are all needed. In the future, Beijing's alleys will replace coal with electricity, and gas access, etc. must all be retained, and soft and hard furnishings are also indispensable.

If the unit price is negotiated at 500 yuan per square meter, a total design fee of 700,000 to 800,000 yuan is normal to achieve the finished product effect that Lin Ruoyan wants.

Of course, when dealing with someone like Professor Qiao who loves to challenge difficult projects, it would be vulgar to just talk about money.

Lin Ruoyan adjusted her expression and said with a bit of embarrassment, "Professor Qiao, I bought a courtyard house in West D. The front and back units are connected, forming a neat four-story layout. It covers an area of ​​over 2,000 square meters. It must be a century old and very run-down. I'm thinking of moving in with my son in the future, and a regular renovation company wouldn't be able to do it, so I asked for a professional designer."

Upon hearing about the renovation of an old courtyard house in Beijing, Professor Qiao piqued his interest. The location was especially close to his studio near the Second Ring Road, making it convenient for him to monitor the project. However, that was only if the design fee was reasonable. If the client simply wanted to buy a few blueprints cheaply and have the construction team copy them, he wouldn't fall for it and let someone else steal his design.

"I asked a few people who claimed to be high-end residential designers, but they all declined. It wasn't about the money, but they didn't understand Siheyuan (a courtyard house) and were afraid that their designs would be awkward and embarrassing." Lin Ruoyan said seriously, "Then I heard that you have made great contributions to traditional folk houses and even feng shui research, so I took the liberty to come and ask you. But this project is too small, and my budget..."

Professor Qiao is planning to conduct some research and experiments on the adaptability of traditional dwellings to modern living. If he really takes on such a project, even if the design fee is cheaper, at least it is close to home. He can lead a few students to work on the topic, and the cost can be controlled. He may even be able to get research subsidies, and the results can be featured in international awards.

Then he adjusted the expected design fee to around 300,000 yuan, but in fact it could be done with 200,000 yuan.

Unexpectedly, after a pause, Lin Ruoyan continued, "Look, the design fee for the building, including the interior and exterior landscaping, soft and hard decoration, is one million enough? After all, my yard is not that big."

"You mean the design fee?" Professor Qiao was stunned. These days, it's rare to find someone willing to pay such a high price for a private home renovation. That amount would be more than enough to build a large villa in the countryside. Even better, find a reputable construction team who will provide the design drawings and help with all the paperwork before you start working.

To put it bluntly, if a little bit of the one million yuan cost is saved, it would be enough to renovate and remodel a courtyard house of more than one thousand square meters.

"Isn't it a bit too little? How about a design fee of 1.5 million?" Lin Ruoyan was very humble. In fact, she started by suppressing and then praising, and she had a firm grasp of Professor Qiao's mentality.

Professor Qiao had finally found such a generous client. Fearing that he would leave if he hesitated, he immediately agreed without blinking, "Okay, it's a deal. Buy my design and I'll do the construction."

What? Buy a design and get the construction done for free? Is this still possible these days?

"No, please don't be polite with me. We need to find a professional construction team. We will pay the price. We can't take your design fee."

Professor Qiao explained, "It's like this. My cousin's ancestors specialized in renovating temples and old houses. They have a renovation team, and the workers are all veteran craftsmen from the same village. The economy has been booming in recent years, and everyone is working in construction and renovation. They also want to make more money in Beijing. But they've never done renovation work in the city, so they asked me several times, and I said they wanted to open up the market first at a lower price. Their skills are all put to use when renovating old houses like courtyard houses. They can do old-style woodwork and even stone carvings authentically, but they don't understand Western-style decoration."

Lin Ruoyan was tempted by this. She didn't want her sophisticated design to be compromised by shoddy construction. Building a courtyard house would definitely require skilled craftsmanship, and since she didn't know any other construction teams and had to find one on the spot, she might as well listen to Professor Qiao and reluctantly accept the offer.