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" For many interior design projects, including an architect in the process is simply a requirement. &amp;quot;Whenever you&amp;#039;re doing any kind of plumbing, or moving walls, it&amp;#039;s essential,&amp;quot; says New York designer Amy Lau, who frequently collaborates with architects to bring her design concepts to life. But while both professionals bring different skill sets to the table, there is also the potential for overlap and competing design ideas\u2014which can lead to conflict.   To help smooth such relationships, we asked Lau, architect Brendan Guerin of Guerin Glass Architects (a frequent Lau collaborator), and Gregory Dufner and Daniel Heighes Wismer of the full-service architecture and interior design firm Dufner Heighes for tips and advice.   Be clear about who&amp;#039;s responsible for what   &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s essential to get the division of work clear from the outset,&amp;quot; says Guerin. &amp;quot;Otherwise, it can lead to power struggles.&amp;quot; Dufner agrees, advising that both architects and designers &amp;quot;clearly define their roles early on and what each will be delivering.&amp;quot;   Lau is also mindful of starting the conversation early. &amp;quot;We usually do one meeting with the client to discuss everything that&amp;#039;s needed. Then, we sit with the architect to define the spaces and try to figure out an overall look. For me, it&amp;#039;s very simple\u2014anything from the walls in is mine.&amp;quot;   Play nice   &amp;quot;When working with architects or contractors, it&amp;#039;s important to check your ego at the front door,&amp;quot; says Lau. &amp;quot;We&amp;#039;re all going to have opinions, but we&amp;#039;re all working together to achieve one goal, and no one&amp;#039;s work is more important than the other. Problems happen; it&amp;#039;s the way in which you deal with them that makes the difference.&amp;quot;   &amp;quot;Fundamentally, you want to be sure that you like the people you&amp;#039;re working with\u2014and their work,&amp;quot; says Guerin. &amp;quot;That way you&amp;#039;ll avoid most of the problems right off the bat. If it&amp;#039;s a forced marriage, more problems will come up.&amp;quot;   &amp;quot;Be gentle,&amp;quot; says Wismer. &amp;quot;A lot of architects have fragile egos. Start slowly with practical considerations. I think architects are natural collaborators if the relationship is right and there is mutual respect.&amp;quot;   Try to work simultaneously   &amp;quot;Normally, we work on an overall design scheme together. I do the materials, and then we collaborate on built-ins, things like that,&amp;quot; says Lau. &amp;quot;I can also put everything in the floor plan to make sure the room sizes are adequate. Sometimes when an architect has already designed something, there&amp;#039;s no room for side tables in the bedroom, or no pantry in the kitchen, things like that.&amp;quot;   &amp;quot;For us,&amp;quot; says Guerin, &amp;quot;one of the challenges is that interior designers often focus on things later than the architect does. The design for interiors can sometimes happen too late for us to react on the architectural side. We often need the designers to work a little faster, or to establish concepts and define goals earlier.&amp;quot;   &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s so important to design the interior simultaneously with the architecture,&amp;quot; says Dufner. &amp;quot;Otherwise, you end up with beautiful spaces, and no place to put the TV. Or, when an architect doesn&amp;#039;t consider furnishings in their plans you often end up with rooms that don&amp;#039;t function.&amp;quot;   &amp;quot;Window treatments, lighting control, AV, and outlet locations all need to be anticipated,&amp;quot; adds Wismer. &amp;quot;If these things are considered in advance, it makes for smoother implementation. No one on the project team\u2014architects, interior designers, contractors, and least of all clients\u2014wants to redo work. The sooner the collaboration starts, the better.&amp;quot;   Communication is key   &amp;quot;The architect and I should both be copied on everything so there are no misses,&amp;quot; says Lau. &amp;quot;The biggest mistakes happen when plans are changed, but the designer isn&amp;#039;t told about them. You can have huge issues with rugs that come in the wrong size\u2014this has happened numerous times\u2014or a sectional sofa that all of a sudden doesn&amp;#039;t fit.&amp;quot;   &amp;quot;Having an architect in our company definitely streamlines projects,&amp;quot; says Wismer. &amp;quot;For example, when reviewing the structural drawings, we can carefully consider how the steel framing in the ceiling might impact a drapery pocket. With this level of consideration, at multiple scales, we can make sure there aren&amp;#039;t any conflicts later in the project, when it&amp;#039;s too late or too expensive to resolve.&amp;quot; "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elledecor.com/design-decorate/a3701/working-architects-a-72897/>