How much a 400–500 m² house costs to design.

Complete design documentation for a house of 400–500 m² costs between PLN 110,000 and 200,000. The spread comes from complexity: a house on a flat plot covered by a local zoning plan sits at the lower end; a house on a slope, with a pool, and needing a planning decision sits at the upper one.

What the fee covers

Everything needed to build the house from start to finish:

• Concept: massing, plans, site layout, visualisations. This is where everything that is hard to change later gets decided.
• Building permit design: site development plan, architectural design, statutory approvals and the permit application itself.
• Technical design: structure and services: electrical, plumbing, ventilation, heating.
• Detailed drawings: what the contractor actually builds from.

What it does not cover

Costs the client pays directly, which are not an architect's fee:

• surveyor's map for design purposes
• geotechnical ground investigation
• utility connection conditions and connection designs
• administrative and official fees
• specialist reports: water law, acoustic, arboricultural, where the site needs them

Together that is usually several thousand to a low five figures in złoty. We say so at the first meeting, so the budget does not grow on the way.

What moves the price

The site. A slope, a high water table, protected trees or a listed neighbour can add a whole stage of work before the first plan exists.

The legal basis for building. A local zoning plan states plainly what is allowed. A planning decision (warunki zabudowy) requires an analysis of the neighbourhood and is often a negotiation, a different amount of work.

Scope. Site supervision and interior design are quoted separately, because not every client wants them. On a house this size, both are usually worth it.

How far the detail goes. A house where every detail is drawn: the stair, the fireplace, the joinery, the lighting, means more drawings and more hours. It also means fewer surprises on site.

How it is paid

Stage by stage, each on completion. We do not take the whole fee up front, and you never pay for something you have not seen.

Is that a lot

Against the build budget for a house this size, the design is a few per cent of the total. It is also the only moment when a change costs a few hours of drawing rather than weeks of stopped work and demolishing what already stands.

The design is the only stage where a change costs a few hours of drawing. After that it costs weeks of standstill and demolishing what already stands.

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