Which design professionals does your València renovation need?

“We handle the renovation” should come with an explanation of who handles each part. Choosing tiles, calculating an opening in a structural wall and signing a technical project are different responsibilities. A coordinated project brings them together without confusing them.

Start with the scope, then identify the required appointments

Not every change to a home needs the same technical project. LOE article 2 requires a project for existing-building works that alter architectural configuration, including specified substantial changes to exterior composition, volume or the overall structural system, and changes of characteristic use. It also covers interventions affecting protected elements of listed buildings; not every interior refit meets these tests.^[1] The requirement follows the actual intervention and applicable rules, not simply whether the work is called a reforma integral.

Before finalising the price, set out what the proposal changes: layout, structure, envelope, building services or use. Check the municipal procedure and protection status. An interior arrangement that appears straightforward can depend on an external vent, common riser or protected window, so those questions should be resolved as part of the design brief.

Architectural design

Architectural work connects the brief with the building, its context and the applicable requirements. Depending on the appointment, it can include surveying, feasibility options, proposed layouts, the required project documentation and coordination of specialist input. For residential building work within the LOE’s project requirements, the law assigns the architectural project and works direction to an architect, and material execution direction to a technical architect. Specialist designers and other technicians act within their legal competence and the agreed project team.^[1]

Ask for the deliverables to be named. Are you receiving an options sketch, drawings for a submission, a detailed construction specification or technical direction during construction? These stages should not be treated as if one drawing covers all of them. The professional appointment identifies what is included and who signs the relevant documents.

Interior design

Interior design addresses how you use the rooms: furniture, circulation, storage, lighting, finishes and the relationship between spaces. It can help compare a closed kitchen, an open arrangement or a layout with a sliding partition. It can also coordinate material samples so a kitchen, bathroom and living area feel coherent.

Design choices must remain consistent with technical constraints. A flush shower is a drainage and floor-build-up question as well as an aesthetic preference; a new cooker position affects services and extraction. An interiors appointment does not replace a required statutory project or structural design.

Structural assessment and design

Where the proposal affects load-bearing construction, the competent professional investigates the existing arrangement and designs the intervention within their legal competence. Do not judge a wall’s role from thickness or a neighbour’s alteration alone.

The structural brief should address the permanent work and the construction method, including temporary support and the sequence of operations. In a residential building, the professional team must also respect the qualifications required by the LOE for the overall project. ^[1] Our wall-opening guide explains the questions to settle before demolition.

Technical direction and specialist installers

The LOE distinguishes project design, direction of the work and direction of its execution. ^[1] Which appointments are required is established for the project; a general project-management role does not automatically fulfil them.

Electrical, thermal and other specialist installations can require authorised installers and their own technical documentation. Ask who will carry out the work, what will be tested and what documents will be provided. A finish inspection cannot demonstrate that a concealed installation has been designed and tested appropriately.

Safety coordination

Construction-site safety has its own responsibilities. The promoter must appoint a safety and health coordinator during construction when more than one company, a company with self-employed workers, or several self-employed workers take part. Appointing a coordinator does not remove the promoter’s own responsibilities.^[3] The appropriate appointments and documents should be established before the work starts. They are not replaced by a site being tidy or by a contractor describing the job as small.

A house occupied during refurbishment also needs practical arrangements for access, separation and service interruptions. These should fit the construction plan and the needs of the occupants. Where continued occupation is unsuitable, the programme must reflect that before dates are agreed.

How our coordinated service works

We provide a single point of coordination for the agreed refurbishment, working with independent architects, designers, engineers and specialist installers where the scope requires them. Before appointment, we identify the professional, their role, the deliverables, the fee arrangement and the decisions that need your approval.

The agreed scope can cover design development, the appropriate submissions, procurement, trade coordination, construction information and handover. The Código Técnico de la Edificación applies to existing-building interventions within its scope, with compliance justified in the project or technical report. Where full application is not feasible for specified technical, economic, planning or heritage reasons, the competent designer must justify the achievable solution and its limitations.^[2] Approval by the Ajuntament, a heritage authority or a community of owners remains that body’s decision. Coordination means managing the process clearly; it does not mean promising permission or bypassing a required specialist.

What to ask at the first meeting

• Who assesses whether a technical project is required?
• Who signs the architectural and structural documents, where needed?
• Does the appointment include construction-stage technical direction?
• How will interior choices be checked against services and regulatory requirements?
• Which installer certificates and handover documents are included?
• How are design changes, cost changes and owner approvals recorded?

Bring these questions to the free-estimate conversation. We can then propose a team and a scope that match your home, rather than using the same appointment for every job.