We live in an experimental passive solar house from the early 80s. We're considering a renovation, and I've studied various websites that advise on choosing an architect. So I know about looking at past jobs, checking refs, asking about liability insurance and fee schedule, etc.

Probably 3 different architects would propose 3 solutions for our house, so ideally I'd like to get at least a general sense of what they'd each propose before we're fully committed to a project.

As an analogy, you might get a second opinion on a medical condition. You'd pay both doctors for an initial consultation, but choose the one whose treatment seemed best to you. Is there something similar in architecture?