Compare These Top Vendors for Architecture

Architects these days don't have it so easy. Not only do architecture design services have to create inspiring, unique designs to please their residential and commercial clients, but there is also more pressure to create energy-efficient homes, use renewable materials and reduce the impact on the environment. They also have to pay attention to ever-changing building codes, as well as keeping in mind the customer's budget. For these reasons, architecture remains one of the most respected fields.

Building firms are available in abundance, but not all are created equal. Depending on your company needs, you may need a simple or elaborate plan for your proposed building project or addition. A good architect can help you get there.

1. Learn as much as you can about the type of architecture that you want so you can communicate clearly with the architect.

2. Ask to see examples of the architectural designs in your city, if possible, so you can check out the building yourself.

3. Ask for references, and then call them. Architectural design services should be happy to supply them.

Learn what's new in building design by viewing the award-winners

Architecture design can take us places that we never even dreamed, creating the possible out of the impossible. By examining what a creative mind has dared to dream up, put on paper, create into a model and give life to in the form of bricks, glass or even straw, we expand the possibilities for our own project.

Choose a building design that is also environmentally responsible

Architects must factor in the effect their designs may have on the environment. Architects face the challenge of satisfying their customers' needs for more usable space while managing the concern of environmental impacts. It makes sense, then, that architectural firms that respect the environment and seek to improve current building practices often are award-winners for design and environmental responsibility.

Innovative architectural plans are reshaping our city downtown areas

Some American cities are getting a facelift, and architecture firms are doing the delicate work of adding the new while still preserving the old. As more people return to America's cities for work, they are helping to redefine the city landscape.

Find an architecture firm near you

Professional organizations, design and construction magazines and other trade sources of information about commercial architecture have listings of architecture design services.

• Architectural designs can last for a hundred or more years, so make sure you choose a plan that will still look good 50 years from now.