A lot of people approaching an architect for the first time assume they are buying drawings. That is understandable — drawings are the most visible output of the architectural process. But what a good architect actually does goes considerably further, and understanding it helps you get more from the relationship and make a more informed decision about whether to engage one.

Before a single line is drawn, a good architect spends time understanding your brief. This means asking careful questions about how you live, what isn't working about your current home, what you want the extension to achieve, and what your budget is. It also means visiting the site, understanding its orientation, its relationship to neighbouring properties, its planning constraints, and its physical characteristics.

This stage is not a formality. The quality of the design that follows depends entirely on the quality of the understanding that precedes it. Architects who rush this stage and go straight to drawing produce designs that solve the wrong problem.

The design stage involves developing a spatial response to your brief — exploring how the extension can be arranged to best serve your needs, how it relates to the existing building, how it sits on the site, and what it will look and feel like from inside and outside. This is the genuinely creative part of the process, and it is where the value of architectural thinking is most visible.

A good architect will typically develop more than one approach at the early stages, testing different ideas before settling on the direction that best serves the brief. They will produce drawings and sketches that allow you to understand and comment on the design before it is developed further.

For most extensions, the design will need planning permission. The architect prepares the planning application — drawings, Design and Access Statement, and any supporting documents — and submits it to the Planning and Building Control Directorate. They manage correspondence with the planning officer, respond to any queries, and deal with any issues that arise during the determination period.

Once planning permission is granted, the architect prepares detailed construction drawings that provide builders with the complete technical information they need to build the project accurately. This includes structural details, specification of materials and finishes, details of junctions between new and existing construction, and coordination with structural engineers and other consultants.

The quality of these drawings directly affects the quality and cost of the construction — accurate, complete information produces accurate, competitive tender prices and reduces the risk of disputes and variations during the build.

During construction, the architect carries out regular site inspections to check that work is progressing in accordance with the design and specification. They certify payments to the contractor, manage any design changes that arise, and act as the client's representative in dealings with the builder. Having an architect on site throughout construction is one of the most effective protections a client has against poor workmanship or unauthorised variations.

What connects all of these stages is advocacy for the client. An architect's job is to understand what you want, translate it into built form, guide it through the planning process, and ensure it is built to the standard it was designed to. Done well, the experience should feel supported, informed, and — within the inevitable stresses of a building project — enjoyable.