Commissioning a house with Balzar Architects begins with a conversation about the site and the life the house has to hold, and ends with the studio directing construction on site. The same architectural intelligence carries the project through every stage. Nothing is designed and handed on.
How the process starts
The first step is a meeting, in Valencia or on site, to understand three things: the plot, the brief and the timeline. From that conversation the studio prepares a written proposal describing the scope of work, the phases, the team assigned and the schedule. Clients know from the first document who will work on their house and what each phase delivers.
The phases, briefly
A private house moves through four phases. Concept Design establishes the position of the house on its site, the section, the light and the material logic. Design Development turns that position into a fully resolved building, tested against structure, services and budget. Construction Documents produce the drawings and specifications a contractor prices and builds from. Construction Supervision keeps the studio on site until the house is delivered as it was conceived. Interior and landscape design run inside the same process rather than being added at the end — the houses are conceived as complete environments.
A fuller description of each phase is published at “What each phase of a project includes”.
How long it takes
Design and permitting for a private house in Spain typically take between twelve and eighteen months depending on the municipality, followed by eighteen to thirty months of construction depending on size and site. The studio gives a project-specific schedule in the proposal and updates it at every phase gate. Licence timelines vary widely between municipalities — the studio manages the application and builds realistic margins into the plan rather than optimistic ones.
What the studio expects from a client
Decisions at the right moments. The process concentrates client decisions at the end of each phase, so the project advances without demanding constant attention. Between those gates the studio works, documents and presents. Changes are absorbed best in Concept and Design Development — the process is structured so that everything important is decided before construction prices are fixed.
Where the studio builds
Balzar Architects is based in Valencia and builds across Spain — including Madrid, the Balearic Islands, Alicante and Murcia — and internationally in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, China and Bali. Current work includes houses in La Moraleja (Madrid), Dénia, El Campello and Cala Tarida (Ibiza), residences in Kuwait, and a large private house in Saudi Arabia.
To start a conversation about a house, write to info@balzararquitectos.com.
