Your friend throughout the design process.
What we do
We provide full services turn the initial sketch into your home.
We work closely with you to shape your project, balancing design intent with brief, budget, and practical delivery.
We guide the process from design through to construction, coordinating regulatory approvals, consultant input, and documentation.
We work with your builder on site to ensure the best result. Because teamwork makes the dream work.
How we do it
We work in stages with clearly defined deliverables and outcomes.
We review budgets early and frequently. We use early costing tools such as Pro Calc and bring in builders as soon as it is practical.
We keep the process structured, collaborative and transparent so you always know what comes next.
For information on each stage, read the architectural services description below.
Let’s get started
To begin, you can give us a call or introduce yourself through our New Project Enquiry Form.
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We will contact you within 3 working days of receiving your form via phone or email. This introduction is to say a warm hello and have a quick chat about what you would like to do.
We will then will book a first meeting either at our office or online, where we can go over your brief and the process. Please send us some information about the site (eg, real estate listings or photos if available).
This meeting allows us to get to know each other, understand your project, and how we can best be of service. Ask as many questions as you need, we are more than happy to help.
If we both feel we are a good fit for one another, we will provide a fee proposal tailored to your individual project and needs.
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Some projects may require an on-site visit to thoroughly review the property and provide an accurate assessment of what is needed.
This may include tricky topography, strict heritage controls, complex planning requirements, or rural sites.
If a site visit is required on top of your first meeting, we charge a small fee for our time and advice.
Core services
These make up the process to take a project from start to finish. Most architectural projects requiring full services will go through these stages.
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All projects start here.
In the initial PRE-DESIGN stage, we get to know you and your project. This is the time where we assess your site to understand its full potential. We investigate regulations and site controls to ensure that the design will be well considered to site and context.
CONCEPT DESIGN is about testing ideas. We analyse your needs, your budget, and how can we interpret your brief into something tangible. As well as imagining the possibilities and putting pen to paper, we review costs early to help minimise budget blowout and ensure the project is aligned on all fronts.
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Once we have a concept we are happy with, we flesh out the initial design. In DESIGN DEVELOPMENT, we examine materials, refine the planning, and massage the design into something real. This includes both exterior and the interior design.
We also start to welcome other experts into the process - these are the engineers and specialist consultants you might require for your project.
To help visualise the space, we use sketches, plans, and perspectives to tell the story.
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CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTATION is about turning the developed design into a package of technical drawings, schedules, and specifications for a builder to price and build. This forms the bulk of our work.
These documents allow for more accurate costing and also help to ensure that you get the quality of finish that you desire.
We also co-ordinate all consultants at this stage and make sure that everything is in alignment.
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This is an exciting stage for all everyone as we see ideas become reality on site.
In CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION, we manage the contract between you and your builder. We will look after the project on your behalf - conducting quality checks, authorising payments, regularly visiting your site, responding to questions, and checking shop drawings from contractors.
This helps minimise risk and ensures that your project is delivered to specification and to the highest quality.
Additional services
Many projects will need these services, but not all. They are also variable in their scope and nature, and are additional to Core Services.
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Not all projects require Town Planning Approval, but if yours does, this is an additional step where we work to obtain the permits you need.
Scenarios where you will need a Town Planning permit include:
If your site has any overlays such as Heritage Overlay or Flood/ Special Building Overlay
If you are subdividing
If your block is under 300m2.
We prepare drawings to submit to council, as well as a written assessment against the relevant planning policies.
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This stage will get your project costed by your selected builder.
We normally bring in a builder early in the design process as a part of the project team, and liaise with them for early and detailed costing. This is our preferred method of costing and quoting.
If you decide to go to a competitive tender, we will obtain quotes from two or three builders on your behalf. We will establish the method of tendering most suitable for you, meet with builders, and review and assess their tenders.
Other Services
We can also assist with other aspects of your project. These smaller services are designed to help you in earlier parts of your project, where you need architectural advice but not quite ready to engage in full services. We are creative problem solvers and we are more than happy to discuss your needs.
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A Feasibility Study provides an informed starting point for your project. We assess your site, planning requirements and project goals to identify opportunities, constraints and potential design directions, helping you understand what is achievable before undertaking the design process.
This standalone service is equivalent to the PRE-DESIGN portion in the first stage of our Core Services .
Deliverables typically include:
Site and planning assessment
Opportunities and constraints analysis
Preliminary design investigations
Recommendations for project scope and next steps
Please note that we do not produce detailed plans in this service, rather it is to determine what can be possible on your site.
If you would like to explore design options after undertaking a Feasibility Study, we can progress to Concept Design.
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Our Pre‑Purchase Consultation service is designed for anyone looking to buy a property with the intention to build or renovate. We provide early insight into whether the purchase and your proposed brief are viable, helping you make informed decisions before moving forward.
This services looks specifically at a property you wish to buy. In a similar way to how you might hire a building inspector to check the condition of your future home, we will investigate the challenges and opportunities of the property from a design perspective.
We will review things such as orientation, planning overlays, restrictions, and how the block is sited. We will analyse these aspects in relation to your brief so that you can better understand if the prospective site will be suitable for your needs.
While we cannot give you a quote for the build (this can only be done by a builder when there are detailed plans in place), we can give you an idea of whether your budget is feasible, and what you will need to consider to be able to work within it.
Fee Overview
Architects’ fees vary depending on the size and complexity of each project.
As a guide total architectural fees for Core Services typically sit between 10-16% of the Cost of Works depending on the complexity of the project. Additional services will vary from project to project.
The Cost of Works is the construction contract price to build your project, excluding professional fees and authority charges.
Architects typically charge using 3 methods:
Percentage Fee - this is calculated as an agreed % of the Cost of Works
Fixed Fees - this is based on an internal estimate of the time it will take to complete the work
Hourly Rates - used for out-of-scope work, small projects, partial services, or stages that are very variable in nature
Small projects typically attract a higher overall percentage as the baseline to see a design through is similar across scales. Renovations often require more investigation and co-ordination than new builds and also have a higher overall fee.
Our fee structure
Our fee is based on a hybrid structure where we fix fees for early design stages, and move to a percentage fee to deliver the project. This gives you certainly in the initial stages, but provides flexibility for the project to evolve.
This also means that you do not have to decide on your exact scope at the beginning of the project. The earlier stages will solidify this.
Additional services such as Town Planning and Costing & Quoting are at an hourly rate due to their variable nature.
Because each project is different, we tailor every fee proposal to your specific requirements. We do this from our introductory meeting, and assessment of your brief, site, and budget.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Most of our projects are in metropolitan Melbourne, however we are able to take on projects all across Victoria. We welcome enquiries from across the state.
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Yes. We don’t separate ‘interiors’ and ‘exteriors’ as the design is conceived as a whole. Because of this, we also don’t typically work with separate interior designers as we do it as a part of our services and it is included in our fee.
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If you have a set plan worked out, or already drawn by someone else, we may not be the best fit for your project. In this case, a skilled draftsperson will suit your needs better.
The early stages of devising a plan specific to our client’s brief is crucial to our design process and we prefer to take a project from start to finish.
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We meet regularly, especially in the early stages of the project. This might be around 3 times per stage during Concept Design and Design Development. This is to ensure we are on track and everyone is on the same page.
During Construction Documentation, we will call you in for critical points that may vary in frequency.
Scheduled meetings are at our office at Footscray, but we are always available on phone, Teams, or email for in-between conversations that need to happen.
During construction we meet regularly on site with the builder.
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Typically we start to engage builders during Design Development once the plan is set and there is some detail in the project. We introduce you to a few of our builders who we think will fit (think of it as client/ builder matchmaking) and you can see who you resonate with.
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In our experience on residential projects we have achieved a much better relationship and outcome working with a builder from early on. We have found the pricing to be more transparent and our builders are able to work you to achieve your budget goals before they become a problem.
However if you would prefer to do a competitive tender, we can still facilitate this.
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Secondary consultant fees are outside of our fee structure. We can arrange a quote from the consultants in our network and their fee will be paid by you.
“Every step of the path leading up to and through the renovation was listed and clearly described and explained in terms of what was involved and, importantly, time and cost. In particular, they were genuinely very interested in our ideas and desires and feelings about the space we wanted to live in.”