Structural Fee for Auditorium Design
Structural Fee for Auditorium Design
(OP)
Hi Everyone,
I am trying to find a fair fee for structural design and CAD for a stand-along auditorium project with a construction value of $6,000,000. The Architect told me the total design fee he is charging the client.
With this particular Architect I have been working mostly on schools, and this is our first auditorium. If this project were a school I would be charging 0.67% of total construction cost for structural design.
Per RS Means, structural fee should be at 1.75% of construction cost specifically for auditoriums.
The two percentages are further apart then I visualize the difference in design time.
Does anyone here have experience in structural fees for auditorium design?
Thanks!
I am trying to find a fair fee for structural design and CAD for a stand-along auditorium project with a construction value of $6,000,000. The Architect told me the total design fee he is charging the client.
With this particular Architect I have been working mostly on schools, and this is our first auditorium. If this project were a school I would be charging 0.67% of total construction cost for structural design.
Per RS Means, structural fee should be at 1.75% of construction cost specifically for auditoriums.
The two percentages are further apart then I visualize the difference in design time.
Does anyone here have experience in structural fees for auditorium design?
Thanks!
Eric McDonald, PE
McDonald Structural Engineering, PLLC






RE: Structural Fee for Auditorium Design
Generally, I would say 1% low and 2.5% high end... with drafting and calculations.
Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
RE: Structural Fee for Auditorium Design
RE: Structural Fee for Auditorium Design
Cheers
Greg Locock
New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
RE: Structural Fee for Auditorium Design
Honestly 1% - 2.5% is quite low considering the amount of scientific knowledge, years of experience, and liability that the consultant have to bear. Then again, going against the tide in terms of fees wont get you a handful of clients, specially if there is so much competition around you.
RE: Structural Fee for Auditorium Design
RE: Structural Fee for Auditorium Design
Acoustic performance was mentioned above. It has nothing to do with the structural engineer, yet his fee is partially based on the cost of labor and materials required to achieve some standard of acoustic performance. What could be more ridiculous than that?
BA
RE: Structural Fee for Auditorium Design
Unfortunately ours is a profession based on capitalism without true regard for the quality of the work product. I have always felt that we are hurt because most people don't really understand what we do and our design is covered with some type of finish material when the project is completed.
And the realtors get 6% of the sell price. They have managed to fix their fees.This is called collusion when the engineers have tried to do that in the past.
RE: Structural Fee for Auditorium Design
RE: Structural Fee for Auditorium Design
RE: Structural Fee for Auditorium Design
Dik
RE: Structural Fee for Auditorium Design
Licensed Structural Engineer and Licensed Professional Engineer (Illinois)
RE: Structural Fee for Auditorium Design
RE: Structural Fee for Auditorium Design
The architects generally work on a "whatever it takes" contract including revisions and modifications as part of the deisgn development process. The engineers are just supposed to go with the flow because the architects fee is fixed. They hold our contract - despite the conflict of interest. It's an odd system in many ways and it's a wonder it works out as well as it does as often as it does.
I have done well on < .50 % projects and I have lost my shirt on projects > 0.50 %. There is no cookie cutter formula. You can spend 75% of your fee on some crazy entry pavilion which is just 10% of the square footage and cost. Or the architect can do you a favor and design an artfully simple building with a straightforward structural system.
When I was complaining about the vagaries of the engineering which goes with commercial work, I had an architect tell me that commercial work is just plain difficult. It has its rewards and you make the business decision to get into that type of work and just take your lumps when they come.
RE: Structural Fee for Auditorium Design
Your responses have helped me to see a common thread.
Eric McDonald, PE
McDonald Structural Engineering, PLLC
RE: Structural Fee for Auditorium Design
Please do not undersell yourself. The economy is picking and an attitude of having to eat whatever is given to you hurts the rest of us.
RE: Structural Fee for Auditorium Design
VoD