What is Architecture, and what does it include?

When a client hires an architect, they are not buying a set of drawings. They are hiring someone to translate their requirements into a buildable design, navigate county approvals, coordinate engineers and consultants, document the project for construction, and administer the contract on site. The drawings are a product of that process, not the process itself.

In Kenya, the architectural service spans the full development lifecycle: from a blank plot or an existing building, through design, planning approval at the county level, structural and services coordination, tender preparation, and construction administration until practical completion. Each stage has distinct deliverables, decision points, and fees.

For clients who have not worked with an architect before, the most common confusion is about scope. Some assume the fee covers everything; others assume they need to manage engineers separately; others are unsure when to engage at all. This article explains what the service includes, stage by stage.

The BORAQS (Board of Registration of Architects and Quantity Surveyors) framework and international RIBA conventions divide architectural services into six main work stages. Each has a clear purpose and a set of deliverables.

Stage A is Inception. The architect meets the client, visits the site, reviews the brief, identifies any site constraints, and confirms whether the project is feasible in outline. At the end of Stage A, the client has a clear picture of what is possible on the site and what will be needed to proceed.

Stage B is Feasibility. The architect prepares outline proposals — rough massing, floor area estimates, approximate cost projections — so the client can decide whether to commit to a full design. For many clients, a feasibility check comes even before Stage A: this is what the project check tool supports.

Stages C and D are Outline Proposals and Scheme Design. The architect develops the concept into a workable scheme: floor plans, elevations, sections, and a defined structural and services strategy. This is typically what goes to planning for approval. In Mombasa, this means a county planning certificate application, fire clearance, NEMA certificate, and any special statutory consents.

Stage E and F cover Production Information and Bills of Quantities. This is the working-drawing stage: detailed construction drawings, room data sheets, specification, and the documents that allow a contractor to price and build the project. The QS prepares the Bill of Quantities from this information. This stage is what contractors tender against.

Stage G is Tender Action and H is Contract Administration. The architect issues tender documents, receives and evaluates contractor bids, advises on award, and then administers the contract on site: issuing instructions, certifying payments, managing variations, and issuing the practical completion certificate at the end.

Architecture is rarely a solo service. On any project of meaningful size, the lead architect coordinates a team of specialist consultants. The structural engineer designs the foundation, columns, beams, and slabs. The MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) engineer designs drainage, water supply, electrical distribution, air conditioning, and fire systems. The quantity surveyor prepares the cost plan, bill of quantities, and tender analysis.

In Kenya, the NCA (National Construction Authority) requires all registered contractors to work with registered professionals. The architect is typically the lead consultant: they call the design team meetings, coordinate the technical drawings, and are the main point of contact with the contractor during construction.

On smaller residential projects, a client may appoint the architect only and ask them to subcontract or recommend the structural and MEP engineers. On larger developments — commercial buildings, apartment blocks, institutional buildings — the client usually appoints each consultant directly under a joint venture or consortium arrangement.

Architect Darani works on both models: direct appointment and consortium. The project brief stage determines which structure is most appropriate for the project size and complexity.

Every building project in Kenya requires statutory approval before construction begins. The specific approvals depend on the location, project type, and building size, but the core ones are: county council building plan approval, NCA contractor registration and project registration, NEMA environmental clearance for projects above a set threshold, fire clearance from the county fire department, and, in coastal areas, NEMA coastal management requirements.

In Mombasa, the county has moved toward an e-permitting system — e-DAMS — which allows online submission of planning and building applications. The architect prepares and uploads the drawings, fills in statutory forms, and tracks the approval through the system. Clients who attempt to manage approvals without a registered architect typically face rejections, delays, and rework.

The cost of approvals varies by project value and floor area. Statutory fees include council approval fees, fire department fees, NEMA fees, and NCA project levy. A QS can estimate these as part of the early feasibility. Knowing the likely approval cost before committing to a design avoids surprises at the application stage.

The most expensive mistakes in construction happen before the first drawing is produced. Buying land without checking whether the intended use is permitted, starting a design without verifying site setbacks and plot ratios, briefing an architect without a realistic budget — these errors are cheap to catch early and expensive to fix late.

Architect Darani recommends a project check before any professional fees are committed. The project check confirms: what the site allows (zone, plot ratio, setbacks), what the budget implies for buildable area, whether the intended development type is financially viable, and what approvals path to expect. Only after those answers are clear does the formal design appointment make sense.

The formal appointment typically begins at Stage A or B, after the basic feasibility is confirmed. In practice, many clients engage Architect Darani at the project check stage — before any fees are paid — and move into formal appointment only after they are satisfied with the outline.

BORAQS sets minimum fee scales for architectural services in Kenya. The architect's fee is expressed as a percentage of the construction cost, scaled by project type and complexity. A QS can prepare a fee estimate alongside the early cost plan. Clients who compare architectural fees only on percentage without understanding scope often end up with gaps in service coverage — work that was assumed to be included but was not contracted.

Architect Darani Limited delivers turnkey construction and development management across residential, commercial, mixed-use, and institutional projects on the Kenyan coast and beyond. Statutory submissions use registered architects, engineers and quantity surveyors appointed on each project, with lead architectural direction from a BORAQS-registered architect. County eDAMS and planning frameworks guide approvals and documentation.

What differentiates the practice is the use of REDM — a digital project management system that connects the site context, feasibility model, design documents, approval workflow, cost plan, construction records, and client communications in one place. This means the client always has a clear view of project status, and the design team always works from the same information rather than parallel spreadsheets and email threads.

For clients who are at the earliest stage — buying land, considering a plot, thinking about development — the project check is the right starting point. It does not require a formal appointment, and it gives the client the information they need to decide whether to proceed and on what terms.