yoga 3
Architects
Before searching for your location you need to first find an architect. Obviously, if you are looking at an office space, architects are not necessary. I found this out the hard way as I started looking at locations first, then realized they wouldn’t work for what I needed. I was looking for office space on the first floor. (Note: if you are over a certain amount of square metres, it will need to have two exits; also you cannot get a license if the space is in a building without an elevator.)
Architects can help you deal with all the details you find really annoying like obtaining permits from the Town Hall, the Licencia de Actividad; they can offer help finding your contractors, suppliers, engineers etc. They are able to get better prices from suppliers than you would as a retail buyer plus they normally deal with suppliers and people they have worked with before. When you want the job done in five months it will take five months and the contractors will not stop in the middle and leave you in a pickle.
Finding the correct architect for your project can take some time. At first, I asked a family friend of my husband's to help me look at a space when I found something I liked. Then I sent an email out to a contact that I had from a friend to get a quote on the project. They wanted to charge me for the quote if I did not use them, which is ridiculous.
Then I spent some time online looking to see if anyone else was looking for an architect that could do a hot yoga studio at 40ºC and I looked at approximate prices. I came across a website where people write about the construction project they want completed, where architects can respond. Luckily, I saw a post that was very similar to what I was looking for, so I read all the quotes (there were about 10) and picked a Barcelona-based architect that gave the best description of the project with a price point that seemed reasonable.
I sent 08023·Architecture+Design+Ideas an email and from there they spent almost two years of their time without being paid, helping me when I thought I found the right location. In the end, the karma of the endless support of my architects is what made me decide who should take on the project. Plus, they were able to find a contractor that could work within my budget.
www.08023.es – Architect
http://www.pidepresupuesto.com/proyectos.phtml - Design, construction project with quotes website forum
Click here for information about Heather's hot yoga studio in Barcelona called Yogalinda.