Engage a designer or architect with Portland addition experience

Architect vs. residential designer

For most Portland additions, you have a real choice:

• Licensed architect (Oregon Board of Architect Examiners). Required for projects above certain occupancy thresholds; rarely required for single-family additions, but many architects work in this segment. Higher fee, broader scope, fuller construction administration.
• Residential designer. Not licensed as architects but typically CCB-registered as residential design contractors. Most Portland addition projects use this path. Lower fee, narrower scope. Best ones have produced dozens of permitted additions and know PP&D reviewers by name.

For a project in a Historic District or Conservation District, lean toward an architect with HD/CD experience — the design-review process rewards experienced submitters.

What you're hiring

A designer's scope on a Portland addition typically covers:

1. Schematic design — preliminary plans, elevations, massing.
2. Design development — refined plans, sections, exterior materials, basic specifications.
3. Construction documents — the full permit-set drawings.
4. PP&D submittal — application, response to corrections.
5. Construction administration (optional) — periodic site visits, response to GC questions, change-order review.

Pick the scope. Construction administration is worth it on additions; cutting it to save 10% on design fees is a false economy when the GC has a question every other week.

Fee structures

Three common structures:

• Percentage of construction cost — 10–15% for design only, 12–18% with construction administration. Aligns the designer's incentive with the project budget.
• Fixed fee — a single number tied to a defined scope. Good if the scope is well-bounded.
• Hourly with cap — for early phases when scope is uncertain.

Fixed fee with a clearly-defined scope works best if you know what you want. Percentage works best if scope is still moving.

How to find a good one

1. Use the Portland Maps permit history tool to find addition permits in your neighborhood; the designer of record is on each permit.
2. Ask the GCs from the feasibility walk-through who they like to work with.
3. Look at finished work in person, not just online.

Three meetings, three proposals, one hire. Pick the designer who asked the best questions about your house and your budget — not the one with the most polished portfolio.