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Here you can find the questions we frequently get asked. If you have a question that hasn’t been answered please get in touch: info@askanarchitect-ni.com
It’s very simple…
Thanks to the generosity of ‘ask an architect’ donors and sponsors, 100% of funds raised will go to The Jill Todd Trust. In addressing one of the registered objectives of the Trust, funds raised will go to assist research, conducted in the Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology at Belfast City Hospital, into finding a cure for cancer – via its affiliated charity – Friends of the Cancer Centre.
Architects bring value to projects large and small and the RSUA website has more information, but as a starter your architect can:
At your consultation, the architect can advise on any size of building project from a loft conversion to a new build (domestic, commercial or civic). Some things you might discuss:
Architect Aisling Shannon Rusk wrote a blog post for us, explaining the kinds of things she discusses in consultations with clients.
ask an architect is an annual Northern Ireland-wide charity fundraising event. Professional chartered architects in every corner of Northern Ireland volunteer their time and expertise allowing you to book a consultation with an architect of your choice, in your locality, all while raising funds for the Jill Todd Trust. 100% of funds raised will go to assist research into finding a cure for cancer, conducted in the Cancer Centre of excellence at Belfast City Hospital via its affiliated charity the Friends of the Cancer Centre.
Friends of the Cancer Centre has a long and proud history of helping local cancer patients across Northern Ireland over the last 30 years. Based at the heart of the Cancer Centre at Belfast City Hospital, the charity funds life-saving and life-changing projects that make a real and lasting difference to the lives of thousands of local people affected by cancer and in the last year alone, Friends of the Cancer Centre has invested nearly £1.2 million into local cancer services.
The Jill Todd Trust was established in commemoration of Jill Todd’s personable, active and talented life which was taken after a short but aggressive cancer-related illness. Jill was only 23 and the daughter of local architect Barrie Todd. The Jill Todd Trust is a charity registered with the Northern Ireland Charity Commission No: NIC102553
£50 is the minimum donation but you are welcome to donate more!
The architect you book with will contact you to agree when and where your consultation will take place. Your architect will let you know if it would be beneficial to bring anything along. Here are some examples of things that your architect might talk to you about:
Relax – your architect will be in touch to arrange a date and time for your consultation within two business days, but please make an allowance for public holidays, including St Patrick’s Day, Easter and the May Day Bank Holiday. If you haven’t yet heard from your architect, just get in touch by e-mailing julia@rsua.org.uk.
Ask an Architect opens for bookings between April and September each year. Bookings are now closed for 2023 but will reopen in April 2024.
The Jill Todd Trust, The Royal Society of Ulster Architects and Friends of the Cancer Centre.
If your question hasn’t been answered here, please contact RSUA:
When we went to see Patrick we had planning in place. I wanted to get his opinion on what we were building and if he saw any major mistakes. He highlighted a few areas which we have taken on board. In order to keep our planning we proceeded by starting with our garage whilst re-examining the items he mentioned.
First of all the scheme is fantastic. And the cause is even better!
We had just moved into a new house that had been extended and needed some clarity on how best to use the house as a whole and also in some specific spaces. Although we didn’t plan on doing any immediate work we did need to think about the long term vision and where best to spend our money and energy going forwards. We engaged Micah, who was brilliant. He came to our house and spent just over an hour with us. He gave us a topline plan, some very rough figures of what we could expect to pay and some lovely ideas we would never have thought of ourselves. We could see the value an architect could bring to even the smallest areas. The consultation is brilliant for anybody in our situation and it also helps make the process of employing an architect seem a bit less daunting. I keep telling everyone about the scheme.
The whole scheme is a fabulous initiative. It allowed us to have access to an incredible wealth of knowledge from an architect, whose expertise we would normally be unable to afford! All this and being able to donate to such an important and worthy cause was total bonus. I would encourage anyone doing home renovation, an extension or full refurb to use the service.