UK architect?

[wowsers]

Can any senior member suggest a way forward with this problem? My partner owns a dilapidated house on a very attractive plot in Canada. The house is past the stage of simple improvement. It needs demolishing and rebuilding. I would dearly love to appoint an architect from the UK, whose work we both admire, to design the new house for us. Whether we will be able to afford that extra expense I do not at present know but whilst waiting for a decision from the London VO I would like to look into it. What immigration difficulties would I encounter? Norman Foster and Richard Rogers must do it all the time so there must be some way of fulfilling my more modest dream? The architect would I assume have to visit Canada to examine and measure the plot, discuss demolition and planning permission with the local authority, and then I assume would return to the UK to draw his plans and send me his invoices. Does it fall into a similar category as teleworking, of which I have read a little on this forum?

 

[zardoz]

While this is certainly an interesting idea, I doubt that a UK architect would be fully aware of Canadian building codes.

 

[wowsers]

There are lots of ways of overcoming that problem including arranging for the UK architect to work with a Canadian architect who knows his way around the regulations. A Canadian architect would in any case be required at the final (certification) stage to avoid a transatlantic air fare for every certificate. My problem is with immigration regulations if they prevent an UK architect from working in Canada. I would not want to transgress in that area immediately after becoming a PR.

 

[zardoz]

The architect would probably be OK as long as they are employed as a normal employee of a non-Canadian company. If self-employed, I could see a big problem with taking a commission from a Canadian job of work. In one case you are buying a service from a foreign supplier but in the other, the architect would be directly competing against the Canadian labour market. This might be something that CIC would have to rule on.

 

[wowsers]

Thank you for your observations. I suppose I could always write to Rogers or Foster and ask them how they go about it! Incidentally how do you manage to reply so quickly to my posts? Dont you ever sleep?

 

[zardoz]

Well, I work at home for much of the time, so have the PC running.
Plus, still being in the UK (for now) gives me a 5 hour advantage ;D

 

[wowsers]

Plus, still being in the UK (for now) gives me a 5 hour advantage ;D

That is cheating! You have given everyone the impression that you are in Canada!

 

[zardoz]

That is cheating! You have given everyone the impression that you are in Canada!

As soon as we can sell this house, we'll be on the next plane...

 

[taffy7]

The best thing for you to do is find the survey/plan for the existing house and land . They will be able to help you design a house from that , however when it comes to building each county/city province has there own by laws. Be aware that building codes change every few months . A Canadian builder will be able to pull the permits for you and get what ever planning permission to re-build the house . The law also states that you have to have so much green space, this depends on where e.g town etc you are going to re-build .

Your architect can do a rough drawing of what you are trying to accomplish in your design and style . the the builder or contractor can determining, what changes needs to be done . Good luck .

 

[taffy7]

I should have also said he can not come over here to re-draw your plans without a work permit even if you wasn't paying him ,it classes as taking the job away from a Canadian . If he does come and says he just coming for a visit and they pull him over with any documents that suggest he is going to do any work he will be denied access for a year , and will be ordered to fly back home.

 

[zardoz]

As soon as we can sell this house, we'll be on the next plane...

I gave my intended timetable here - > http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/february-2013-outland-only-applications-here-is-your-thread-t133667.0.html;msg2711098#msg2711098
We have been delayed by human and canine illness. Back on track again now, with an intended "settlement" in April/May.

 

[wowsers]

Thank you Taffy 7 for your reply. However you appear to have a rather narrow view of the process of commissioning a new building. Canada has numerous buildings designed by foreign architects. Mies van der Rohe (an American) for example designed the Toronto Dominion Centre and the Corot Building in Montreal, Frank Lloyd Wright (another American and a Taffy by descent) designed several buildings in Canada, all of them bar one (a cottage in Sapper Island Ontario) now unfortunately demolished; and so on and so forth. My aims as a tiro property developer are more modest, but similar to others who in the past have commissioned buildings by foreign architects. I have already had a survey done. Because of the profile of the plot the next step is commissioning a geo-technical survey. That needs to be done before the design work starts. None of the design work will be done by me: I would not dream of attempting to design a house and then instruct an architect to re-design it. I am not an architect. Nor is designing a building the function of a builder, though I know some builders attempt it. I intend to buy in the best professional services I can afford even if that means commissioning a foreign architect as others have done on many many occasions. I simply do not believe that Canada has such restrictive practices that a property developer cannot commission a design from a foreign architect as has been the practice in the past. I am absolutely sure that that is going to be possible though finding out how it is done (and how much it costs) looks like being a tougher job than I thought!

 

[taffy7]

Thank you Taffy 7 for your reply. However you appear to have a rather narrow view of the process of commissioning a new building. Canada has numerous buildings designed by foreign architects. Mies van der Rohe (an American) for example designed the Toronto Dominion Centre and the Corot Building in Montreal, Frank Lloyd Wright (another American and a Taffy by descent) designed several buildings in Canada, all of them bar one (a cottage in Sapper Island Ontario) now unfortunately demolished; and so on and so forth. My aims as a tiro property developer are more modest, but similar to others who in the past have commissioned buildings by foreign architects. I have already had a survey done. Because of the profile of the plot the next step is commissioning a geo-technical survey. That needs to be done before the design work starts. None of the design work will be done by me: I would not dream of attempting to design a house and then instruct an architect to re-design it. I am not an architect. Nor is designing a building the function of a builder, though I know some builders attempt it. I intend to buy in the best professional



services I can afford even if that means commissioning a foreign architect as others have done on many many occasions. I simply do not believe that Canada has such restrictive practices that a property developer cannot commission a design from a foreign architect as has been the practice in the past. I am absolutely sure that that is going to be possible though finding out how it is done (and how much it costs) looks like being a tougher job than I thought!

I am sure it is possible nearly anything is possible when you have lots of money ,but i was talking about building a house . These buildings you are talking about are multi million dollar buildings and companies that have that kind of money .I was talking about the average person ,building a home ,not a huge company .Not narrow view a realistic one for the average home builder .Of course you may not be the average person building a home , how silly of me to assume , you could be a multi millionaire it was general advice . I miss understood your post ii thought you wanted to demolish a house and rebuild one on the same piece of land and have liked many homes in the U.k and wanted one similar .I was just pointing out some of the things you generally need to know when building a home here .I am in Ontario and wanted you to know building codes are different every where . I am also sure that when i say a builder i don't mean a builder like in the U.k.it is a different term than from home lol sorry about that .

 

[wowsers]

Thank you Taffy 7 for your post and please do not be offended. Offence was not intended. I am not a multi millionaire but wish I was! We (my sponsor and I) intend to build a small house to retire to, on the plot she owns, in Canada. The existing house is ripe for demolition after providing many years of good service. The problem is that living still in the UK I have not as yet found a Canadian architect whose work I like, but I may well persevere. In the town where we propose to settle the preferred style for new domestic architecture seems to involve covering every feature with its own little roof, a style which I refer to as the multiple gable style. In my opinion, ugly and often very ugly. So my idea was to commission British architects whose work I know and admire. I referred to the four world-famous non-Canadian architects I mentioned simply to show that Canada does allow foreign architects to design buildings in Canada; How they go about it so as not to offend Canada's rules on immigration is something I shall have to discover if I do not find a Canadian architect whose work I admire as much. Since you have conections with Wales, have a look at the website of Hyde and Hyde architects in Swansea to discover what I mean!

 

[HoneyEllis]

Can any senior member suggest a way forward with this problem? My partner owns a dilapidated house on a very attractive plot in Canada. The house is past the stage of simple improvement. It needs demolishing and rebuilding. I would dearly love to appoint an architect from the UK, whose work we both admire, to design the new house for us. Whether we will be able to afford that extra expense I do not at present know but whilst waiting for a decision from the London VO I would like to look into it. What immigration difficulties would I encounter? Norman Foster and Richard Rogers must do it all the time so there must be some way of fulfilling my more modest dream? The architect would I assume have to visit Canada to examine and measure the plot, discuss demolition and planning permission with the local authority, and then I assume would return to the UK to draw his plans and send me his invoices. Does it fall into a similar category as teleworking, of which I have read a little on this forum?

Oh wowsers - that sounds great. Why don't you contact the team at 'Grand Designs' - it would be an amazing episode - all the tension and drama of a UK architect trying to get approvals in Canada ... I can picture it already
Plus, I'm totally missing Kevin McCloud !!!