We had no interior views and never thought we needed them. Not all architects have the software and/or training to do accurate interior views. We did request exterior 3D color renderings to submit to our HOA. Our architect sub-contracted that out to a company that specializes in digital renderings. He said it was cheaper to have a specialized person/company do that part of the design. If I remember correctly it was around $800 and we paid the sub-contractor directly.

Commercial Inter Elevations, all the time - every job. In my 20 plus years of residential, maybe once or twice did I ever see Interior Elevations.

You are asking for things that are the province of your interior designer, not your architect. The floor plans should give you a very good start as to the spaces and volumes.

Are you looking for something beyond walls, windows and doors? Those can be determined by looking at the floor plan and exterior elevations. A section or two may also be helpful.

He expects you to receive the final plans at the same time they are submitted for permitting? Uh, no. You need to sign off on the plans BEFORE submission. The plans should, at the very least, have 2D interior elevations for the kitchen and bathrooms. Most architects will not provide interior elevations or 3D renderings for the other rooms unless specifically requested and paid for. And even then, those interior elevations will likely not be very detailed, unless he is also specifying interior finishes and equipment, which it doesn't sound like he is.

Read your contract again and look for the deliverables section of the document. If he promised interior 3D views, then he needs to deliver them. If not, then don't expect them.

And yes, @User is correct. Normally interior views are the purview of the interior designer.

Most of the architects I work with do not provide 3D interior views. Many interior designers do, but I do not. If my client feels they need something like this, then we would outsource it and they would pay an additional fee, but in 20 years, I have never had someone move forward with this. A good interior designer can help to walk you through a plan so you do not necessarily need to see a 3D model to understand or visualize it.

You should be seeing anything in the permit package long before it’s submitted in case changes are needed. We saw several exterior iterations of the home, at least 13 different floor plans based on where we started and ended up and only a rendering of exterior. Inside we had an interior designer do all the layout things like window trim, location of mill work etc. that was all 2D but we saw all of this well in advance of anything going to permits.

Here are some screen shots of the type of interior stuff we got. I didn’t expect anything more and this was from ID not architect. We also got comprehensive floor plans for lighting, electrical, floor layouts etc from her.

I normally provide interior elevations of cabinetry or anything that is special or out of the ordinary in the construction drawings. I also review the construction drawings with my client and receive approval before submitting them to anyone.

Sabrina is right. Most residential architects will show kitchen and bath elevations, but not much else unless there is special cabinetry involved. BUT, the idea of only showing you the completed design package when it is submitted for permits is a huge red flag. Do not pay them another dime until you have approved the drawings for permit.

Partner and I built more than two dozen homes. Never received or asked for interior renderings. But we always reviewed the final submission to the building authorities.

Please do not let your architect design your klitchen , in my experience they are usually really not good at any interior design. So get an ID if you are lucky maybe you can find one who also has experience with kitchen design. Architects are not IDs .

Thank you for all this great feedback, it is very helpful. Sounds like I watched too many Grand Designs episodes and expected to see something similar in our process. Good to know that this is the norm rather than the exception.

We'll see how much detail they provide in the permit set, and then decide if we need to hire an Interior Designer to flesh out the details, or if the builder will be able to take over. This is all new to us, so it's hard to know what to expect and how things are supposed to be done. Thanks for providing some guidance!

That makes sense @User. This architect/builder team has built a number of houses together, and they often reuse the same "package" of finishes and interior features, but we'll ask them if they can recommend an interior designer for us. If not, we'll go looking for our own.

One very important thing that others mentioned is that your architect or builder should not be submitting anything for permitting until you have reviewed and approved it.  This includes not only the floor plan,  but the elevations,  electrical,  framing plan,  etc.

Agree with Mark. If you do look for a kitchen and/or interior designer, find one that can spell correctly...

so....

I think "it depends".

It depends on how full service your architect / program is. Mine provided interior renderings and exterior renderings (5 views) in really nice detail. The intern did them.

Forum pics · More Info

When we were trying to decide if we wanted a partial ceiling to extend over a tub, I got a few views in Sketch-up without the detail of renderings - but helped us make a decision. (I got 6 screenshots like the below)

I also got an animated flyover sketchup that flew through the property to get a feel for how it would be when the buildings were in and the height of the retaining walls.

(can't attach - but it's sketchup level detail)

The latter 2 were done by an architect in training.

It wasn't specifically called out in my contract - but for 6 figures it seems reasonable. There's a wide variation no what level of architectural services are out there - so YMMV.

I've never had interior 3d view for any project that I've ever worked on, but I guess that if I thought I really needed them I'd hope my architect could get them done. I'd also expect the upcharge for the extra work to be substantial.

You want a "package" interior? Why on earth ? You want an interior designer dedicated to YOU, your home, your style, and yes the things you own and plan to keep.

Get one on board now. He/she in a perfect world? Is on board from the get go.

As to interior elevations? No. Don't ask anyone but the ID, and plenty of fabulous spaces are and always WERE, created without any. Believe it or not. In thirty years, I have gone that far for no more than a half dozen clients. By hand, and more suggestive,,, ( love it, better than the total realism of the computer ). I also love the colored pencil.

The brain is a powerful thing - unleash your imagination. Touch, feel.....look.

Hire someone you trust, and then TRUST them.

Forget "packages"

“I watched too many Grand Designs episodes.”

Another illustration of television promoting a fantasy world. Or, as my DH would say, foo-foo dust.

I think some of this might also vary be region and location. I recently moved to Manhattan and am shocked that many architects here provide the same services as an ID and vice versa. I also anticipated that architects may know more about code than IDs and that has also not been my experience in interviewing both. But, it is very possible that Manhattan is its own universe and totally different than anywhere else when it comes to the role of architects and IDs.

The first architect team we used for this project was one of those "full service" firms that also took on all the ID work (with the accordingly higher cost), and they gave us lots of renderings and interior views. So I probably projected that onto the current team, which is half the cost.

The new team is planning to provide us with a full set of interior elevation drawings as part of the permit set (like the first one did) - maybe that's a requirement for submittals in OR? Regardless, based on the comments here, I won't expect to see many different views in it, so I'll use my home design software to look at different sightlines in the house.

Maybe I need to rephrase "package" interiors - it's not that they use the same exact interior for all homes, like a tract builder - it's more like they have their preferred combos, and they suggest them as a starting point - but everything is customizable. Nevertheless, I've become a convert that we should get an ID onto the team, so we're off to look for one.

You should check what you’ve signed up for. It kind of sounds like you are getting a bit of a package deal and they are used to doing things a certain way.

The big thing is you need to see all before it goes to permits. It’s unacceptable that you would not see your home before it got submitted.

Beware of blanket statements. Many architects provide excellent planning, architectural and interior design services. And they do a wonderful job in all three spheres. It just depends on how their practice may be organized and their experience. FWIW, being an ID is no guarantee of being able to design a kitchen! :-)

And I agree about seeing and approving the project documents before being submitted for building approval.

Sometimes architects will release drawing in "packages", such as 'Owner review package', 'permit package', 'design development package', etc.

There were times when I worked for a major hospital during the design process I would receive "Owner review packages" from the architectural firm in Minnesota that consisted of about 35 to 100 36"x 42" sheets of drawings (architectural, electrical, HVAC, and sometimes equipment) that I would have to review and review with the different departments under my responsibility. They were alway heck of a 'package'.

I also think that you maybe confusing elevations with renderings. An elevation is a line drawing of a wall or other flat plane. A perspective is a point of view basic drawing. Think of a V shaped viewpoint. IE, it can include more than 1 wall, or include a view from a different height, such as the exterior viewed from a person's height, rather than the flat façade. A rendering can be a rudimentary 3D to a very detailed 3D perspective.

Its more. Every "snap shot" is time IF the architects software is set up already but to get a pro level presentation takes a lot more time. I've got several (6+) plan sets recently but only two had renderings.... that's one of three for architects and one of three for non architects.... and the services that provided renderings were more.

If your time is free & your $50 software can to this why not DIY the renderings?

You're already completed design IF its heading to permit submittals. From here its all billable changes.

I think some of it also comes down to when your architect and/or designer was trained. When I went to school, we didn't do a lot of 3D and the technology wasn't used as often as it is now. Younger architects and designers may have learned the newer techology in school and use it in their practice. So on the one hand, you may have a pro with years of experience but who doesn't use newer technology or you might have a pro with less experience and that uses rendering software in their daily practice.

Speaking for myself, at this point I'm not interested/too busy to learn a new software and I think I can do my job very effectively without it. And there are plenty of talented pros out there who I can outsource it to if I need to. So it's not necessarily that design shows are deceiving you, it just comes down to the pro you are working with.

Exactly, Kristin. And if you do need perspective renderings, computer modeled or not, there are plenty of mock-up artists who specialize in this work who can do it far faster and less expensively for the client than I can. The larger architecture and design firms have junior people on staff who do this; small companies like mine often outsource that work. It works just fine.

Our architect had a line item in our contract -- for $3200 they could provide 3D renders. Instead I taught myself Sketchup and HomeStyler and created my own. I even photoshopped in our exact view so we would know how the windows would look. Check your contract.

I can create a pretty reasonable representation of the house with my software package, so I don't really need the architects to do it. I just wanted to see what was "normal" in others' experiences. My time is free, so I'm happy to put my money there :).

And we just moved in. I can't begin to tell you how immensely satisfying it is to sit in the real house and see how it came out exactly like our renders!