Architect vs interior designer: what’s the difference, and when do you need both?
Two professions working on the same home from different angles. Who is responsible for the building, who shapes the life inside it, and how to know whom to call first.
In short: an architect designs the building itself: the envelope, the façades, the structure (with an engineer), and its fit with the zoning plan and the law. In Israel, the title “architect” is reserved by law for people listed in the Engineers and Architects Register. An interior designer plans the space from the inside: how it is divided, what it is made of, how it is lit, what joinery is built into it and how it will be lived in. In a renovation of an existing apartment, with no structural change and no addition, the interior designer usually leads. When the work needs a building permit, or includes a change to a load-bearing wall, an addition or a change to the façade, you need a registered professional, usually an architect or engineer. In many projects, especially new builds, the right answer is to work with both, and as early as possible.
This guide is here to make that clear. It is general and is not legal advice. Before any work begins, check with your local planning and building committee and with a registered professional.
The architect: a regulated title and responsibility for the structure
Israel’s Engineers and Architects Law, 1958, says that no one may carry the title “architect” unless they are listed in the Engineers and Architects Register. Registration rests on a recognized academic degree in architecture. Beyond registration there is also the “licensed architect”, a further level that depends, among other things, on professional experience. The law also allows certain acts to be reserved, by regulation, for license holders only, so who may sign a permit application depends on the type of registration and the scale of the building.
In practice, an architect is responsible for what holds the house up and for what the municipality sees:
- designing the building and its envelope: floors, façades, openings, height and volume;
- compliance with the local zoning plan (TABA), building rights and regulations;
- preparing and submitting the building-permit application, together with the structural engineer and other consultants;
- coordinating the building’s major systems.
Want to check that the person in front of you is really registered? The Registrar of Engineers and Architects offers a public search on gov.il.
The interior designer: how the space lives on the inside
“Interior designer” is not a protected title the way “architect” is, so training in the field varies widely, from a four-year academic degree in interior design to short courses. That is a good reason to check education and portfolio, and to come to the first meeting with questions. We wrote about that in what to check when choosing an interior designer.
A professional interior designer leads everything that happens inside the envelope:
- Space planning: the position of non-load-bearing interior walls, the furniture layout, the flow between rooms and storage.
- Materials and finishes: flooring, cladding, stone for worktops, wood for joinery, plaster and textiles, chosen for use and upkeep.
- Lighting and electrical: the points plan, layers of light, color temperature, and lighting built into joinery and niches.
- Joinery and details: kitchens, wardrobes, shelving and TV walls, in detailed drawings a joiner can build from.
- Furniture and styling: what goes into the space, at what size and in what material.
This is also where the Hebrew term “adrichalut pnim” (interior architecture) comes in. It names a field of work: planning the interior space, its sections, details and dimensions. It is not a title and does not replace registration. At the studio this is the part we call space planning and interior architecture.
When do you need a registered architect or engineer?
Israel’s Planning and Building Law requires a permit for building work. Interior work in an apartment, such as new flooring, a new kitchen or moving a plasterboard wall, usually does not need one. That changes when the work touches the structure, the façade or other people’s property. These are the common cases where a renovation usually needs a building permit, or at least a registered architect or engineer:
- Structural change: an opening in a load-bearing wall, removing a column, changes to a ceiling slab or floor. This needs a structural engineer, and usually a permit.
- An addition: an extra room, a story, an extension, enclosing a balcony.
- A change to the façade: a new window or door in an exterior wall, enlarging an existing opening, or changing the façade material.
- A change of use, or splitting or joining apartments.
- The safe room (mamad): its walls, openings and systems must not be touched without Home Front Command approval.
- A new build: a private house from the ground up is designed by a registered professional and submitted for a permit.
Two more things worth knowing. First, the permit-exemption regulations (2014) list small works that need no permit, and some of them must be reported to the local authority before they are carried out. Second, in a shared building, a change that touches common property usually needs the other owners’ consent, which is a legal question separate from the permit. If you are unsure, ask before anything is taken apart. Fixing it afterwards always costs more.
What an interior designer actually leads: a living room and a kitchen
In most renovations of existing apartments, most of the decisions that set how the home looks and feels are interior-planning decisions. Take the living room: a plaster wall with a precise recess for the TV, full-height oak shelving and a stone plinth running the length of the wall. None of it needs a permit. It is dozens of decisions about size, material, light and detail, and they are what create the feeling of the room.
The kitchen is the same. The position of the island, the worktop height, a stone niche with concealed lighting and cabinetry up to the ceiling are all interior planning. But even in a kitchen there are points that need another professional to check them: moving a gas line, which is done by a licensed gas installer; a vent opening in an exterior wall, which touches the façade; or moving water and drainage points, whose pipes run through the floor and sometimes through the ceiling of the apartment below. A good interior designer knows how to spot those moments and stop in time.
Comparison table: registered architect and interior designer
| Topic | Registered architect | Interior designer |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Protected by law; requires listing in the Engineers and Architects Register | Not protected; training varies |
| Typical education | Academic degree in architecture | Academic degree in interior design, or professional studies |
| Building permit | Prepares and submits permit applications | Does not submit permit applications |
| Structure | Coordinates with the structural engineer | Does not design structure; recognizes when an engineer is needed |
| Envelope and façades | Their responsibility | Takes them into account but does not change them |
| Interior space planning | As part of designing the building | Plans in detail, inside the existing envelope |
| Lighting and electrical | Base points in the building design | A detailed lighting and points plan for every room |
| Materials and finishes | Façade and structural materials | Flooring, cladding, stone, wood, plaster and textiles |
| Joinery and details | Depends on the scope of the engagement | Kitchens, wardrobes, shelving, walls, junction details |
| Furniture and styling | Usually not | A central part of the work |
| When they join | At the start of the building design | Renovation: from the start. New build: before the permit is submitted |
How an architect and an interior designer work together
In a new build, or a renovation with structural change, the question is not “architect or interior designer” but when each one comes in and how they talk to each other. A common mistake is to bring an interior designer in after the permit has already been submitted. That is when it turns out a window landed exactly where a wardrobe should have been, there is no service shaft in the right place, or the ceiling height leaves no room for concealed lighting and air conditioning.
A sequence that usually works:
- A shared first meeting: the owners, the architect and the interior designer define the needs, the budget and the character together.
- Designing the building: the architect leads, and the interior designer reviews the plan from the inside: layout, openings, water points and systems.
- Permit and structure: the architect and engineer submit and design. The interior designer changes nothing that touches the structure without their approval.
- Detailed interior design: the interior designer leads materials, lighting, joinery and details, based on the approved building plans.
- Construction: one coordinated set of drawings, and a clear address for every question from site.
It is worth putting in writing, in advance, who is responsible for what. That avoids the familiar situation where each person assumes the other one checked.
Architect or interior designer? How to decide
- An apartment renovation with no structural change and no addition: an interior designer can lead the whole project. If a question about a wall comes up, an engineer is brought in to check that point.
- A renovation that opens a load-bearing wall, encloses a balcony or changes the façade: an interior designer for the interior, and a registered engineer or architect for the structural part and the permit.
- A new house or an addition: a registered architect designs the building, and an interior designer joins early, before the permit is submitted.
If you are comparing costs too, we wrote about how interior design work is priced and what shapes a proposal.
Where SELÈ STUDIO fits
SELÈ STUDIO is a boutique architecture and interior design studio led by Shoham Sela, an interior designer who graduated from Shenkar with honors. For us, “interior architecture” is the field of work, not a title. Shoham is not a registered architect, and the studio does not submit permit applications or design structure. When a project needs that, the role belongs to a registered architect or engineer, and our interior design is coordinated with them.
Our field is what happens inside the walls: space planning, material selection, lighting design, detailed joinery, styling, and renders that show the home before it is built. You can see it in the stone-island kitchen with oak joinery and the living room with oak shelving and a plaster wall.
Frequently asked questions
Can an interior designer call themselves an architect in Israel?
No. Under the Engineers and Architects Law, the title “architect” is reserved for people listed in the Engineers and Architects Register. An interior designer who is not registered may not present themselves as an architect. The term “interior architecture” describes a field of work, planning the interior space, and is not a professional title.
Does removing a wall in an apartment need a building permit?
Interior work that does not touch the structure, such as moving a plasterboard wall, usually needs no permit. A load-bearing wall is different: opening it is a structural change that requires an engineer, and usually a permit. Safe-room walls must not be altered without Home Front Command approval. Before a wall comes down, an engineer should check what it carries.
Do I need an architect to renovate an apartment?
Not always. An interior renovation with no structural change, no addition and no change to the façade usually needs no permit, and an interior designer can lead the design. When you are opening a load-bearing wall, enclosing a balcony, adding space or changing the façade, you need a registered architect or engineer.
When should an interior designer join a building project?
As early as possible, ideally before the permit is submitted. At that stage a window can still move, a service shaft can be added, or a ceiling height adjusted for lighting and air conditioning. Once the permit is approved and the frame is built, every change like that is more expensive and more complicated.
Who designs the kitchen, the architect or the interior designer?
Usually the interior designer: the island position, the worktops, the joinery, the lighting and the electrical and water points. In a new build the architect sets the envelope: walls, windows and shafts. That is why both should agree on the kitchen’s location while the building is still being designed.
Planning a renovation or a new home?
Tell us what the project includes and what stage it is at. In a first meeting we’ll go through what the interior design involves, and the points where a registered architect or engineer should be brought in.