Research has shown that viewing architecture as an art, a culture of allegiance and indoctrination, disassociation from clients and end users, neglecting moral and ethical responsibilities, and outdated models of education and practice have all led to the marginalisation of practising architects, consequently increasing the stress levels of academics and heightening the concerns of emerging architects. VR and AR are increasingly popular for communicating design intentions and visualising spaces before they are constructed; this helps in feeding-forward in a design process. However, these tools or workflows or not well integrated or available to clients or architects which can facilitate onsite supervision and feed back into the design process or to communicate effectively with other project participants.

Journey to advancing in architecture profession is long and arduous one, where rapport building with peers and clients is key to success, both professionally and emotionally. ArchiPal aims to build a community of built-environment professionals that recognizes the specific needs of its members and who are available to offer helping hand at affordable prices. While sign-up to ArchiPal will be through a professional social media account (e.g. LinkedIn, Academia), to be listed in a category, members will require registration/endorsement from a professional body, university or architectural school, verifiable ID and two references (similar to those for job applications). Once a member’s subscription is verified in any category, a special invitation is sent to their referee to join the ArchiPal community as a Mentor/Guru, explaining the benefits and rewards on offer. Every member will be verified through a system of reviews, likes, completed project values and star badges that they will earn through their journey as members (like focused LinkedIn or Stack overflow.com for built environment professionals). This will be a reciprocal arrangement for each professional category, which will increase the visibility of the ArchiPal community and make its business model viable.

Our vetted ArchiPals produce world-class Designs. As such, they earn 80% of all connection fees at minimum; sometimes they earn more, depending on other factors. It’s our mission to match talented ArchiPals to Clients who understand the importance of quality design. That’s why at ArchiPal we believe in fair pricing and empowerment of the both Clients and ArchiPals.

The remaining 20% pays for the labor of vetting our ArchiPals, facilitating projects and reviewing design content for quality assurance. It also pays for the software platform, including our online subscriptions and regulatory compliances.

We are so confident that unless it is a very specialised job, your local ArchiPals are guaranteed to have the expertise and talent required to be able to do it. Our ArchiPal’s vision is guided by the requirements of their client and executed by various consultants, engineers and skilled workers. They are all ArchiPals Family.

Typically, home improvement companies, building product suppliers and tradesmen are not always experts in visualising complete picture at the outset. This results in unpredictable outcomes, additional expenses and delays. ArchiPals are aptly trained to encapsulate all aspects, provide comprehensive vision and add value to the projects.

We vet our ArchiPals with a series of tests to ensure they meet our standards. We only accept the ArchiPals who provide a valid professional qualification and current registration with appropriate regulatory body. Alongside, we also seek two references from their Mentors or peers of ArchiPals who apply. ArchiChamps are verified through their institutional credentials.

ArchiPals are then subject to ongoing evaluations based on your feedback and randomised checks. We make no compromises when it comes to service quality.

We offer a variety of project health-check services. You can select from one or many of our services. Should you want a second opinion on what your ArchiPal delivers. You can have your project evaluated by a neutral 3rd party (ArchiMentor/ ArchiGuru) who have at least 15 years of experience. They can quickly generate a swot analysis report based on your brief and what your ArchiPal deliverd.

If you’re not happy with your ArchiPal or our services, please contact us. We offer customer service during normal business hours via phone and 24X7 Live-Chat. We’ll evaluate the situation, make any necessary fixes, and ensure that we’re achieving our standards. 

Our clients also have an option to nomination an ArchiGuru from our members while placing the order or at any stage before the accepting final delivery of content.

Clients will visit the ArchiPal’s site because listed services will be of the highest quality, professionally certified, less expensive and readily available for purchase. Owners of small to medium types of residential projects with modest budgets are often influenced and overwhelmed with suggestions from contractors and advertisers. Likewise, product suppliers marketing schemes and offers on building-related products motivate clients into deliberations and encourage them to indulge in impulsive buying. Small project clients, for whom mainstream architecture practices do not prefer to work, generally demand products and services which provide them with use-value. ArchiPals’ can provide overall vision, innovative designs, and cost-saving tips, which reflect value-addition in the aesthetics, functionality, project cost and execution of building works. Using ArchiPal, a client will be able to distinguish between competing product and service providers and add value to their project for a small hourly fee.

Positively! ArchiPal’s professional model is not a threat to traditional architectural practices; rather, it complements existing building construction related businesses. Archipal is platform through which affordable architecural services could be rendered to clients without compromising the quality of their designs. Alongside, experiential learning will also be facilitated for emerging architects to gain real-world client experience to enhance their interpersonal and business skills. While it maps with RIBA criteria for qualifications in architecture, ArchiChamps and young ArchiPals will, in a way, work as goodwill ambassadors for the profession, increasing awareness about the role of architects in society and the value they bring to projects within their local communities.

Architects can easily become involved with day-to-day issues on site, extend their role and control projects efficiently. Through the ArchiPal app, vitrual connectivity with the site will also enable architects to take pictures remotely, add consultants as participants and provide instant solutions. This app can also be used to appraise the prospects of a site, make reasonable assessment of site conditions, and define the scope of work before the first meeting, thereby reducing time, effort and cost for preliminary analysis and project feasibility studies. This will increase collaboration among stakeholders, contractors and architects, and most importantly will empower clients and improve architect-client relationships.

Aside from ensuring our ArchiPals are flexible, fast, can provide expert advice and can work on short deadlines, we will take the following steps to support ArchiPal customers:

Maintain only certified Architects, technicians, and consultants verified through professional institutions.

Ensure ArchiPal members use our proprietary planning and reporting process to stay in touch with customers and keep them updated on projects.

Provide client interaction and management training for all ArchiPal members.

Develop close relationships with subcontractors who can support us in areas such as graphic design, to ensure materials and presentations are always clear and maintain a consistent brand.