€50 will buy you a session with a top architect in aid of the Simon Community. Emma Cullinan talks to three top architects who gave their time to the Simon Open Door day last year about their experiences

"A €100,000 extension, that includes a kitchen with nice handles and smooth drawers will make no difference to your home if you don't get the basics right," says John Graby, director of the RIAI (Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland).

He's talking about the sort of pragmatic information that people will be able to get from architects during Simon Open Door day on Saturday May 27th, which will help them to maximise the potential of their homes and sites.

The Simon Community approached the RIAI nearly two years ago to ask whether architects would give free advice to the general public, for charity, and last year more than 100 architectural practices took part and raised more than €25,000.

While the money for charity is the main goal, Kathryn Meghen, assistant director of the RIAI, says it also benefits the Institute because it shows people the value of using professional architects.

"There is a perception that architects are unapproachable and people think they won't do smaller domestic projects. This scheme helps to break down those barriers," she says. To take part, choose an architect (see below), pay €50 to the Simon Community and either visit the architect in their office or at the Institute offices in Merrion Square (they don't visit clients in their own homes). People can bring pictures, plans and OS maps along to the meeting. "The more preparation you make the more you will get out of it," says Meghen. And then you have an hour with an architect.

"People often sit in their houses wondering what they can do with them: this helps them look at buildings in a new way," says Meghen.

RONAN ROSE-ROBERTS, Ronan Rose-Roberts Architects, Dublin

"People wanted to know how to make the maximum use of their homes. One couple had just bought a former Corporation house which had been built in the 1950s and wanted to know what its potential was.

"It had a great aspect with a lovely side garden. Using sunpath diagrams we looked at the orientation and what rooms were sunny at different times of day. We discussed where an extension might go and what it would block out.

"Another couple were concerned about new apartment blocks which would overlook their house.

"We looked at reorientating their home so that the main rooms would be away from the new apartments and would look towards trees.

"Other people who consulted me had just bought a narrow, three-storey house and didn't like the layout. We looked at how to best use the rooms and how to create an extension without taking light away from the rest of the house.

One woman had been living in her house for years and years and thought that the Open Day would give her the opportunity to see whether she could do anything to improve it.

"She had €20,000 to spend and we considered various options including how best to capture the sun and open up the living spaces.

"Other issues concerned heating and insulation in older houses but I'm sure there will be far more questions about that this year. People will be more receptive about super-insulation and looking at alternative sources of energy.

"I saw five people in all and they were all really receptive to ideas and were very imaginative.

"There is a perception that the Irish are not visual but are instead talkers and into literature, yet people were really open to ideas and were able to visualise them from drawings.

"Two of the people from that day became clients of mine but I often wonder if the others did anything with their homes afterwards."

ANNE HARPUR, Anne Harpur Architects, Waterford

"It's great that people are advised to take photos of their homes and surrounding areas and bring OS maps in to the consultation because it makes them look objectively at the project so when they come in I can hit the ground running. Very often people come to me with a preconceived notion of what they want and haven't looked at the building in its overall context. By considering the surrounding neighbourhood we can look at the potential of the site or the building and bounce ideas around.

"I saw five people, some homeowners and some farmers, who wanted planning advice or to look at a site's potential. I would show them how to make the most of a wonderful view or how to nestle a building into a sloping site.

"I explained vernacular history: about why small cottages nestle into the side of a hill and how trees shelter a building from the prevailing wind. Without looking at the sensitivity of a site people don't know where to locate a building. If you respect the landscape and contours of a site you can look at a project from a broader view.

"A lot of people were about to spend a great deal of money without having looked at the overall potential and how the money would be best spent. For instance, energy-saving elements should be included at an early stage. This includes restricting windows on the north side and maximising passive solar energy. By doing these they will spend the same amount of money but make enormous long-term savings.

"Light was a big issue. One woman lived in a huge heirloom of a house with windows facing north. The house had been designed backwards and the orientation was so bad I said it would make people suffer from depression, and she said: 'I do.'

We looked at how to replan the interior and completely open up rooms to the south-west light and views. I did this with a client five years ago and she's told me that her mood has changed completely.

FINOLA REILLY, senior architect, Cox Power Architects, Mayo

"There are probably two groups of people out there who would really benefit from this day. The first are those who are seriously intending to change their home or are buying a property or site. The Open Day gives them a great excuse to come and discuss ideas as an initial interaction.

"The second group involves those who have a dream of a future home and who are interested in architecture. They can come in and talk about this and make the most of an opportunity to make to money for a great cause. A person I met last year had a site and was wondering whether she should extend the existing property or build a new dwelling. I gave her practical advice about drainage on a rural site and discussed the importance of having an initial talk with the local authority.

"You don't want to go down the route of building a new house if they are not going to be in favour of it. We also looked at materials and sustainability issues. We discussed design through the use of images that ranged from pictures of traditional architecture to crisp, clean state-of-the-art buildings. She was particularly taken by an organic timber building I showed her. I spoke to her recently and asked her how she found our discussion. She said it was great to have the freedom to go off on tangents and the freedom to discuss issues without the obligation of building a house at the end of it."