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Architect services: Working with your architect

WORKING WITH YOUR ARCHITECT
WORKING WITH YOUR ARCHITECT

Architect services: Working with your architect

WORKING WITH YOUR ARCHITECT

The Hidden Value of Good Design

In a previous column piece, I mentioned the idea of a design dividend when using architects (architect services). They have 6-7 years design training architects receive which primarily teaches them how to think rather than how to draw. If the design is documented sufficiently the project can be exposed to market competition in a tendering process. My own brief survey of projects that have been priced in a competitive process revealed a range of a whopping 25% between the top and the bottom on average, this is a distinct under-estimated dividend.

Most people have never used an Architect before and probably will only do it once in a lifetime and only have a vague notion of what they do. Here is a quick summary of the key services Architects (architect services) typically provide.

What Architects Actually Do

First, there is an initial meeting talk about how the architectural process works, fees, the specific project brief, timelines and budget. This meeting is often free. Architects will discuss preliminary costing and should have a process built on experience or tools to reconcile your brief and budget. It is important to have an upfront discussion costs at the outset.

The architect will help you develop your detailed brief by combining your aspirations and their experience of design.  A site review will be necessary to site to analyse your block’s opportunities and constraints. The architect will also importantly the carry our background work and review the specific planning regulations for your block and engage any other necessary consultants.

The design work will start with preliminary sketches where the architect will work on concept designs as to realise your aspirations. These may just be hand sketches or massing studies done in a computer program. The best outcome at this stage is a comment like ‘it is not what I thought, but I love it’.  Design development follows, a stage where the architect will work with you to refine your design through a series of iterations.

During this process a feasibility check of the budget is necessary.  This is a critical process in your project.  The architect can organise real market cost advice about the design and inclusions.

Development (DA) and Building Approval (BA) follow. They are statutory steps permitting you to build your project. Building sustainability is an important and often mandatory aspect of design. The architect will organise and advise on the energy rating of your project works. During the approval process the architect will engage Consultants to assist in delivering your project, these typically would include structural engineers, landscape architects or an arborist amongst others.

Architects as Project Partners

Once the plans have been approved the Architect would usually be keen to be engaged to design the Interior Design components of the project. This is a value add service and allows you to tender these parts of the project too.

The approved drawings do not contain fine grained construction information. The detailed design stage is often where the ‘Architecture’ happens. It is an underappreciated component of the project and not a service typically provided by draftspersons. This is when Architects work through the individuality of the project – the devil is in the detail.

The architect will work with with you to determine the appropriate building contract to suit your project. The institute of Architects has contracts more slanted to owner’s interests than those of the builders. If you use one of these, you can involve the Architect in contract administration. This is an opportunity for the architect to act as your agent during the construction process and to maintain design integrity.  In this process the Architect will be on site regularly reviewing the builders progress claims, variations and program.

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Will driverless cars kill light rail?

WILL DRIVERLESS CARS KILL LIGHT RAIL?
WILL DRIVERLESS CARS KILL LIGHT RAIL?

WILL DRIVERLESS CARS KILL LIGHT RAIL?

WILL DRIVERLESS CARS KILL LIGHT RAIL?

2013 was the 100th anniversary of the competition that gave Canberra its clothes. When comparing the current state of play with the boldness of those that gave birth to the idea of our capital one is inclined to weep. Some say “you can have old planners and you can have bold planners, but that that you cannot have old and bold planners”. I’m inclined to disagree: old and bold is good! I think the time is right for some, as yet unidentified champion to step forward to tilt at windmills. Unfortunately this role appears as a poisoned chalice from which decision makers rarely drink.

A few years ago Elizabeth Farrelly wrote in the Sydney morning Herald that “Canberra the city is much less charming, partly because the intellectual content has been strained out of it by successive amendments, like flavour out of an old teabag”. The planning document she refers to and that encapsulates Canberra’s ambition seems have fallen from its zenith. The peak encapsulated high minded and ‘performance based ideals’. One view is that we need to continue to recalibrate and articulate the ‘big picture’ view and enable Canberra to flesh out the fabulous bones it has been bequeathed.

The National Capital has the opportunity to recalibrate its big picture and avoid being a Liquorice Allsorts of competing imperatives. Splendid though it is it still needs to be braided together on the thread of a truly liveable city. We need to maintain the energy that will make Civic an appropriate hub of our nation not just a large country town.

Imagining new futures could provide a bold blueprint for a city for coming generations. Although Bill Clinton failed miserably with Middle East peace plan I loved his concept of a ‘roadmap for change’. So let’s have a real and active one of those.

In the Canberra Times in August 2013 David Ellery used the pejorative term, Canberra’s ‘rolled gold road network’. Largely because the city was founded after the invention of the motor car it has a road network second to none. The city’s amazing roads put every other Australian capital to shame.  Our so-called peak hours are really just peak minutes.

A quick look at the statistics indicates that we have 2,869km of sealed roads to service a population of nearly 400,000. This bitumen glut translates to over 7000 m² of black top for each and every one of us. For those of us who suffer from number numbness that translates into an area of 7 large residential blocks or enough space to park 189 Priuses each. Adding up the cost of the new Majura and Gungahlin Parkways, the proposed Capital Metro it comes to a capital investment proposition of over $2 billion.  The prime notion of this is getting people from A to B a few minutes quicker. For some this might be akin to living in a government flat and buying a Ferrari.

It has been suggested that that some of this transport money might be better concentrated on cardiac surgery to revive the faint heartbeat of our city centre?

Although a high priority of light rail is obviously improved connectivity, with significant investment directed at stimulating regeneration of key city locations, will such innovations as driverless cars however render light rail an anachronism of the 20th century as canals were superseded by trains in the 19th.

There is an election in the headlights. Focusing the choices we make as a community by spending large portions of our stretched bank balance on transport could perhaps be exposed to broader forensic examination?  Just a thought!

 

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Block of land orientation: Canberra Suburbs Face The Wrong Way

CANBERRA SUBURBS FACE THE WRONG WAY
CANBERRA SUBURBS FACE THE WRONG WAY

Block of land orientation: Canberra Suburbs Face The Wrong Way

CANBERRA SUBURBS FACE THE WRONG WAY

The law of unintended consequences

The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene asserted that in India 46,000 people are dying from snakebites annually.  Back in the days of the Raj the British government sought to address the problem and offered a bounty on cobra skins. Initially and for obvious reasons in a poor country this was a wildly successful scheme. However enterprising Indians began to breed cobras for the income but when this was realized the reward program was quickly dropped. The now worthless Cobras were set free in great numbers and their population increased to even larger numbers than before. This is the law of untended consequences

As a practicing architect I am often asked to advise about selecting a block of land on which to build a house. Most primary school children and even blind Freddy himself would understand that building a north facing house in this climate makes sense. To meet this need would suggest that blocks of land with the long sides pointing towards the winter sun should be ubiquitous. One would imagine that the experts who carve up virgin land to produce our new suburbs would be many steps ahead of Freddie…apparently not! 

For example even the most cursory review of the new suburbs of Lawson and Moncrieff reveal a staggeringly high proportion of blocks facing the wrong way.  Most owners will be denied that halcyon patch of winter sun in which to lie and read the Sunday Canberra Times and in the off-season they will be blowtorched by the dreaded late summer sun. How can this be so?

With the best of intentions, but poor outcome predicting skills, the new ‘solar fence’ legislation has been introduced in recent times. Although the ACT planning pantheon already had some of the most stringent solar controls in the nation, it was thought necessary to extend these controls further. A shadow cast by anything higher than ones normal paling fence is now seen to be a serious infringement to a neighbour’s amenity.

There has been much wailing and gnashing of teeth from those charged to deliver the built outcomes to comply with these well intended rules. The front page of the Canberra Times recently showcased hobbit-like examples of houses that have become subterranean when responding to the now required standards.  Rows of houses have appeared where all have been mandated to surrender much of their northern yards to comply with the dictates of the solar fence. What I find most disturbing however is the big picture subdivision pattern.  Whole suburbs will be populated with houses which are quite simply pointing in the wrong direction. Counterintuitively poor block layouts are now being araldited into history.

The subdivision designers complain that they are forced into these illogical layouts in order to comply with ratios, quotas and complex compliance tables. Both the Land Development Agency and ACTPLA who have carriage of the rules recognise this as an issue but say it is driven by policy imperatives. Their political masters openly say that it was never their intention to have these outcomes, so please don’t blame them for implementation; and the band is still playing on the Titanic.

For what they thought were good motives, America armed Islamic insurgents in Afghanistan to fight the Soviet occupiers and I think we all know how that turned out. My fear is that the law of unintended consequences is now being writ large and indelibly across all new Canberra suburbs. Poor Freddie; not just blind but both miserably hot and cold too.

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‘Splurination’ explained

‘Splurination’ explained
‘Splurination’ explained

‘Splurination’ explained.

‘Splurination’ explained

‘Splurination’ explained.

This article is a sordid journey through a bloke’s book group, a designing for collateral damage in the WC and Shakespeare.

Bill Bryson put us straight and apparently contrary to widespread misconceptions, Crapper did not invent the flush toilet. He did, however, do much to increase the popularity of the toilet, and developed some important related inventions, such as the ballcock. In The Mother Tongue Bryson spends a few pages on Shakespeare and the 1700 or so commonplace words he simply made up such as: hot blooded, moonbeam, barefaced, gloomy, undress and salad days.  He also had his less marketable efforts; ‘kickie-wickie’ as an affectionate (?) term for a wife, and boggler for one who hesitates.

My bloke’s ‘sort of’ book club is one without the books. Over 10 years we have discussed topics including Meyers Briggs, cooking, poetry and the movie Bon Bon. Recently a session on language encouraged parties to bring along a ‘made up word’ and promote its worth. The winning word was to be promulgated by usage. We thought we could ‘do a Shakespeare’ and the test would be if the word bounced back, road tested into our laps. The new minted word was ‘Splurine’ which purports to describe the oft spotted nuisance splatter surrounding many a domestic pan. Our word donor had previously had higher ambition. He had vaingloriously hoped that one day to unravel a medical mystery or have a syndrome named in his honour. Sadly it looks as if he is stuck with ‘splurine’ instead.

This is a column about design and the theme is why has no one come up with an anti splurine device; a work-a-day domestic urinal. In November 2013 the BBC reported on a group of physicists from the American Physical Society who fired coloured water at various target wc pans at the normal velocities. Micturition still a messy business the y said. The physicists, led by Prof Truscott at “Splash Lab” summed up their conclusions by “The closer you are the better”. Following on from this dictum if a wall hung porcelain bowl is deemed appropriate for a Michelin Star restaurant why not use one at home. It could be as small as a compact basin, adjustable, combined by design with your current sleek back-to-wall or merely a carefully crafted slot to allow for the vertically challenged. As the Prof says proximity is the key.  The curse of splurination can be cured, the house mop-person and women’s slippers spared into the bargain. We don’t really need our men folk to become German ‘sitzpinklers’ ie men who sit down to pee. This is a plea for the ‘whizz kids’ from Villeroy and Boch or Caroma to design a purely domestic device. If they would like to drop by for a coffee and a chat I have some thoughts.

The real subplot however of this article is to introduce the reader to the word splurine. For my part I have dutifully right-clicked and added splurine to my own Word dictionary, please do the same.  Good luck little word.

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Avoid Pitfalls When Selecting a Block of Land

Avoid-pitfalls-when-sekecting-a-block-of-land
Avoid-pitfalls-when-sekecting-a-block-of-land

AVOID PITFALLS WHEN SELECTING A BLOCK OF LAND

Avoid-pitfalls-when-sekecting-a-block-of-land

Recently I dipped my toe into the controversial pond containing the often competing imperatives of Canberra’s garden city character and people’s right to do whatever they want on their aspirational quarter acre … or in modern parlance 0.6177 hectares. I mentioned the difficulties in dealing with regulated trees which are certainly wild cards and potential black holes the normal punter should watch out for when approaching development possibilities. I recently designed a house for a senior public servant who had bought a plot of land with seven regulated trees on it. It took many months resolve whether they preferred design would be achievable or not. Caveat emptor!

Other than the issue of regulated trees what other ‘tricks for new players’ should one seek to avoid when ‘eeny minny mo’…ing blocks for potential development?  Probably the first and most important one is what is the orientation? The most suitable blocks to redevelop to ensure a sustainable outcome are ones in a landscape format, those whose long axis faces north. Look for a shape akin to the shape of a single bed in plan form. It is not vital to have the block facing precisely true North, anything in the ‘solar slot’ is acceptable. The ‘slot’ is any situation where the long side of the block address any angle between 20° west of North and 30° east of it.  A rectangular house facing following the geometry of the block can be simple in plan form and easily take advantage of just  about all of the available winter sun.

Canberra is a heating rather that a cooling dominated climate by a factor of about 8. By this I mean that if you were to heat and cool house to normal temperatures throughout the year one would use eight times as much on your heating as your cooling. If you’re going to utilise the free energy from the sun getting the simple orientation equation right is a vital first step. Selecting the correctly block makes all the subsequent design decisions snap into place like lids on a biro. This is level 101 of lessons for passive solar design in our climate.  Perhaps ignoring this simple principle was excusable in a less energy conscious age but it seems unforgivable to see how the precious ball continues to be dropped.

With a good block selected in considering the first decision in deciding to lay out the house was block for your correctly oriented block is to it means getting the key living areas area facing north and relating well to private outdoor spaces and for the building not to overshadow itself.  I also think a good principle is to try to achieve a one-room thick allowing you to have alternative outdoor spaces both winter and summer. Windows on the north side only often cause glare. Small well insulated openings in the south can promote good cross ventilation and an improved feeling of connectedness to key outdoor areas.

Combine these simple principles with good levels of insulation in wall and and ceiling, high-performance Windows and you have a simple starting recipe for good sustainable design. It is important to remember that a house is more than a machine for collecting heat it needs to be home too. I haven’t touched on the mysterious matter of thermal mass in this short piece but will return to it later. The subject is slightly less complicated than dark matter or dark energy but often equally misunderstood.

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Of Poms and Pavilionisation

Of Poms and Pavilionisation
Of Poms and Pavilionisation

Of Poms and Pavilionisation

Of Poms and Pavilionisation

I have been in Australia for over half my life thus by pure maths I am now more Australian than English yet still get sledged as a whingeing Pom. I’ve heard various origins of the POM word; one being that it stands for Prisoner Of her Majesty and was an epitaph given to the very earliest arrivals. Version two is that it is the condensed form of pomegranate and refers to the ruddy complexion of early disembarking, pale-faced early boat-people. I read somewhere that a Brisbane based Pom took a newspaper to the Human Rights Commission bleating that the use of the word pom was an act of racial vilification. I embrace the term however and as a token of the close relationships of the two countries. 

One of my more persistent whingeing rants deals with the appalling lack of attention given to the way housing blocks are laid out in suburban subdivisions. There has been a huge ‘ball-drop’ regarding basic solar principles, a classic case of the law of unintended consequences resulting in a “duh?” moment now writ large. It is almost inconceivable to me how such a high a proportion of blocks facing completely and utterly the wrong way continue to be rolled out. With a long axis going north-west it is almost impossible to get good orientation to living areas without significant architectural gymnastics.

This leads me onto the topic of the week which is how to deal with such blocks. I have often found that the idea of the ‘pavilionisation’ of the house is something to place into the design thought bubble. With a series of carefully conceived rectangular parallel pavilions arranged on an East-West grid (ie long side facing North) and connected by understated links some surprising results can be achieved despite the adverse starting conditions.

In the suburban situation for new houses not only does the pavilionisation method solve the solar issue it allows for human scaled courtyard spaces to emerge from the gaps between the built elements. These spaces effectively become outdoor rooms allowing for the, loved by all, inside-outside connections to arise naturally. They also offer options for a variety of seasonal conditions and can also become a strong aesthetic component of the overall composition.

The idea of pavilionisation also is a left-field way of dealing with steeply sloping sites where the different building elements, being relatively modest in scale allow the overall building to be stepped up or down the contours.  This minimises the cut and fill necessary and the associated costs. Monolithic buildings often incur significant expense in just getting out of the ground and to the observer appear to fight the slope rather than embrace it.

For extensions and alterations pavilionisation can be a simple way of adding area. I often like to think that the extension component should contain the most important aspects of the house which nearly always is the family/meals/kitchen area. In my view the starting point for any design should always be to ‘get the best stuff in the right place’. If an extension is ‘pavilionised’ it affords itself the opportunity of an individual and separate architectural expression, even something quite different from the original. The big mistake is often to carbuncle the new lump onto the old. In the pavilion model the existing house can remain largely as it is and be seen effectively as the annex to the new rather than the other way around.

In the rural situation the idea of pavilionisation often comes into its own. It is a not only a method of addressing the solar issues but of producing discrete pockets permitting the building to protect itself from the wind. Often driving along highways in the country one sees a McMansion sitting lost in the landscape like a pea on a drum. Conversely the look of old homesteads that have an organic appearance suggestive of individual elements created over time are more pleasing to my eye. This historical reference can also be a model for the new where a cluster of appropriately scaled elements congregate to give the appearance of a settlement rather than a formal structure in the landscape. They sit in the landscape rather than on it.

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Critical thinking is more important than literacy or numeracy

Interview with Architect, industrial designer, solar consultant, Derek F. Wrigley, OAM
Interview with Architect, industrial designer, solar consultant, Derek F. Wrigley, OAM

Critical thinking is more important than literacy or numeracy

Interview with Architect, industrial designer, solar consultant, Derek F. Wrigley, OAM

Design thinking, including architectural design, is more important than just literacy or numeracy because it helps us make thoughtful, balanced decisions. It blends function and feeling, shaping how we live. Schools should integrate design across subjects to develop critical, environmentally aware thinkers—not just future designers, but responsible consumers.

Below is an interview with architect, industrial designer, and solar consultant Derek F. Wrigley, OAM.

Critical thinking is more important than literacy or numeracy.

 TT: Why do you think that design is more important than literacy or numeracy?

DW: To my way of thinking, literacy and numeracy are really tools to be applied to make our thoughts coherent, understandable and precisely transferrable between two people. Design, however, is a fundamental way of thinking, integrating many widely disparate concepts from the functional (usually quantifiable) to the beautiful (usually unquantifiable feelings), sorting the good from the bad to find an acceptable solution from an incoherent mass of facts, circumstances and value statements. The process of designing is a highly complex balancing act involving feelings. It may or may not use and words or numbers. Design thinking by consumers requires us to compare and evaluate facts with feelings, science with art, accepting or rejecting alternatives throughout our conscious lives and indeed our subconscious mind often works well during our sleeping hours. Design is a powerful conceptual filter that has been grossly misunderstood by educators for far too long – but it does not supplant literacy and numeracy, they all co-exist for our benefit.

TT: What do you mean when you say that design is a verb as well as a noun?

DW: Noun; our education system tends to imply ART as a finished product or even as the icing on the cake. Verb – the process of designing as mentioned above. It is the primary thinking about the making of the cake.

TT: Can you expand on the notion that architecture is ‘no use without furniture’?

DW: Imagine your house as a bare shell without any fittings or furniture. Even if the house structure provided a perfectly controlled internal environment it would still be physically uncomfortable, acoustically unacceptable and there would be no softness to ensure livability, cushioning the human frame from the literal hardness of the practical house structure (architecture)

TT: You say the general public has no design lexicon and that design should be woven into the school curriculum. How?

DW: This is where design as a verb comes into play. Life is a constant balancing act (see above) – “do I do this or that?” and the questions that require evaluation are relative to age and interests, getting more complex with gained knowledge. Personal value systems need to be developed, especially in relation to how our environment is being degraded because of population growth, large scale migration, resource depletion and pollution of the environment – and the urgent need for encouraging renewable energies. Some of this is being done in schools but I am not sure how it is being integrated throughout the curriculum.

The rapid growth of technology increasingly requires all consumers to be critically aware of our needs and wants in relation to their consequences on our planet. This awareness comes from many sources, but critical thinking and doing remain better embedded in the human brain compared to teacher delivered knowledge.

The top-down secondary school curriculum should be turned on its head – teachers should become “thinking facilitators” using design thinking as a core discipline which is a critical concept for the wellbeing of our world and should be integral to every ‘subject’ area. I should stress that the aim is not to produce future designers – we urgently need aware consumers in society who can recognise good from bad.

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Building costs for Dummies (2025)

Building cost for dummies (image)
Building cost for dummies (image)

Building costs for Dummies (2025)

Building cost for dummies (image)

Building costs for new homes can vary dramatically — from under $2,000/m² to over $5,000/m² — depending on three key factors: size, complexity, and inclusions. Simpler, standard project homes on flat sites are the most affordable, while architecturally designed homes with custom details, sloped sites, and premium finishes significantly increase costs. Every element, from flooring to windows, contributes to the final price, much like choosing between budget and luxury cars. A simple cost calculator is available on the TT Architecture website to help prospective homeowners better understand and estimate their build.

How Much Does It Really Cost to Build a New Home?

Q: I have just bought an expensive Fluffy block, am thinking of building a new home and have been getting wildly differing advice on the cost of building houses

TT: Just a quick dip into the internet by anyone shows a range of figures from less than $2000/m2 to over $5,000/ m2 which are bewildering to anyone, particularly if they haven’t built before.

What Determines the Cost of Building a Home?

Q: So what are the factors that produce such a large range of cost?

TT: It isn’t really rocket science. The reasons can neatly be put into three categories which all are, once you think about it, just basic common sense. There is correlation between size, complexity, inclusions and the overall cost of buildings.

Size: The Bigger the Build, the Bigger the Budget

Q: OK, the first seems fairly straightforward.

TT: Yep, blind Freddy can work that one out, the bigger it is the more it will probably cost.

Complexity: Design Matters More Than You Think

Q: Complexity; that seems like a broad church?

TT: There is huge range of style of building styles.  At the bottom, with little in the design that deviates from simple standard basic brick veneer construction, on a flat site many project home builders are producing Mc Mansions at under $3000/m2. These types of houses dominate the suburbs and are fine… if this is your cup of tea.

Everything about these sorts of homes is generally ‘bog standard’ and requires no specific detailing. These homes can usually be put up by reasonably competent builders and tradesmen with little supervision, they sort of build themselves.

What Is Non-Standard Construction?

Q: So what is ‘non-standard’ construction?

TT: Every part of a house from the footings to the roof can be designed in a more expensive way. If you are looking at construction methods and aesthetic styles that deviate from that of the brick venereal disease you should be thinking of allowing at least $4,000/2 – $6,000/m2 or more. The over 5000/m² category is magazine fodder. Suspended concrete slabs, steep site slopes, articulated building form, cantilevered elements, soaring or complex roofs, exotic cladding materials and custom detailing all contribute to this increased cost but hopefully in a resultant design dividend.

Inclusions: The Real Cost of Fixtures and Finishes

Q: What sort of effect can different inclusions have?

TT: With Project homes it is generally a race to the bottom in regard to the allowances for tiles, taps, windows etc. Good examples of the range in cost of different elements are for example; that you can get a reasonably workable plastic cistern toilet for $450 but a fancy wall hug pan might cost $2,000 ie,  many times as much. Carpet may cost as little as $70/m2 but a polished hardwood floor would be four times as much at $300/m2. A set of windows in a project home may be as little as $40,000 whereas a reasonably well performing double glazed window would cost more like $70,000 and high-performance thermally-improved windows can be $140,000 or more. Often they would represent 10% of the project cost.

If you think of the relative level of inclusions being like buying different quality cars from say a Kia to a Honda and then up to say a Beemer you’ll get the idea. You get what you pay for.

A Simple Tool to Estimate Your Building Costs

Q: Are there any tools to help make sense of this?

TT: I have developed a very simple spreadsheet calculator that is available on the TT Architecture website. You can use our New Home Building Calculator or the Home Extension Cost Calculator.

Tony Trobe is director of the local practice TT Architecture. Is there a planning or design issue in Canberra you’d like to discuss? Email tonytrobe@ttarchitecture.com.au.

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Home Architect Fees: The Design Dividend (the Ghost in the Machine)

Architect fees The Design Dividend
Architect fees The Design Dividend

Home Architect Fees: The Design Dividend (the Ghost in the Machine)​

Architect fees The Design Dividend

Explore the concept of the “Design Dividend” in architecture, discussing architect fees and why hiring an architect can offer not just creativity but also financial savings. Learn about the value of architectural design, competitive tendering, and how architects contribute more than just a building plan.

The Design Dividend: Can a Building Have a Soul?


The philosopher Arthur Koestler wrote a book called The Ghost in the Machine in 1967 which conjures up the notion that the mind is more than a cleverly arranged jumble of neurons. It may be a bit of a stretch but the supplementary question is can a building also have a soul or a spirit? “Good design is a language, not a style”, it is the ghost in the machine. Goethe the German Shakespeare referred to architecture as ‘frozen music’, if this sounds like a load of toss do not pass Go, please move directly to the sports pages.

 

The Cost of Architects: Why Not a Draughtsman?


A client recently relayed a comment from their bank manager “why would you engage an architect they are expensive, why not go to a draughtsman instead?” This is a reasonable question. So what do architects typically charge, do they deliver this ‘ghost in the machine’ and why would you bother engaging one?

Architect Fees: Understanding the Breakdown


Architects used to have a recommended fee scale but this was given the coup de grace by the ACCC. That fee scale used to put an architect’s fees for residential work somewhere between say 10-15% of the project value. Very roughly this fee split down into three semi-equal parts. 1; develop a design suitable to be approved. 2; the fine detail of the design, structural coordination, building code issues, interior design etc. 3; covers the construction phase. In no.3 the architect ‘wears their client’s hat’ through the rough and tumble of the building contract.

 

The Design Dividend: Why Architects Think Differently


I mentioned the idea of a design dividend when using architects. The first part of this relates to the 6-7 years design training architects receive which primarily teaches them how to think rather than how to draw. I recall a contributor to this column who proposed that design skills should be taught in school as a core subject as they were actually more important than either literacy or numeracy. Translating this dividend into the design of a home my expectation is that the client should be able to say about the outcome; “it’s not what I thought I was getting but I like it”.

The Financial Dividend: Competitive Tendering and Cost Savings

Another dividend is a financial one. If the design is documented sufficiently (ie in stage 2 above) the project can be exposed to market competition in a tendering process. Builder’s overheads and profit would typically range widely between 12-25% and if you just throw your lot in with a single builder you are unlikely to take advantage of the market as you are not able to shop the design around. My own brief survey of projects that have been priced in a competitive process revealed a range of a whopping 25% between the top and the bottom on average.

The Ghost in the Machine and Hard Dollar Savings


I would like to finish was a slightly tongue in cheek thought experiment to emphasize the point about the design dividend. I suspect most architects, me included, would be happy to not receive any formal fee at all but the nearly paid the equivalent to 50% of the difference between the top and bottom price in a competitive tendering process. So by exposing your project to the scrutiny of the capitalist system you get not just the Ghost in the Machine but some hard dollar savings too. Just a thought!

Conclusion: Contact for Design and Planning Assistance


Tony Trobe is the director of the local practice TT Architecture. Is there a planning or design issue in Canberra you’d like to discuss? Email tonytrobe@ttarchitecture.com.au.

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Building Costs in Canberra: the Real Cost of Building a Home

Building Costs in Canberra
Building Costs in Canberra

Understanding the Factors Affecting Building Costs in Canberra

Building Costs in Canberra

Building a house in Canberra? Home construction costs range from $3,000/m² to over $6,000/m²—but why such a big difference? What affects building costs in Canberra? This guide explains key pricing factors and how to budget for your dream home.

Understanding the Factors Affecting Building Costs in Canberra

Q: I have just bought an expensive dual occupancy block in Canberra, am thinking of building a new home, and have been getting wildly differing advice on the cost of building houses.

TT:
Just a quick dip into the internet by anyone shows a range of figures from less than $3,000/m² to over $6,000/m², which can be bewildering, especially if you haven’t built before.

Q: So what are the factors that produce such a large range of costs?

TT:
It isn’t rocket science. The reasons for such a range can neatly be put into three categories, all of which make basic common sense. There is a correlation between size, complexity, inclusions, and the overall cost of buildings.

How Inclusions Affect Building Costs

Q: OK, the first seems fairly straightforward.

TT:
Yep, blind Freddy can work that one out—the bigger it is, the more it will probably cost.

Q: Complexity; that seems like a broad church?

TT:
Yes, it’s a broad topic. There is a huge range of building styles. At the bottom, where the design is simple and doesn’t deviate from basic brick veneer construction, on a flat site, many project home builders are producing “McMansions” at under $3,000/m². These homes dominate the suburbs and are fine—if this is your cup of tea. Everything about these homes is generally ‘bog standard’ and doesn’t require specific detailing. They are typically built by reasonably competent builders and tradesmen with minimal supervision—they sort of build themselves.

Understanding ‘Non-standard’ construction

Q: So what is ‘non-standard’ construction?

TT:
Non-standard construction refers to any design that deviates from the basic, cost-effective style. Every part of a house, from the footings to the roof, can be designed in a more expensive way. If you’re considering construction methods and aesthetic styles that are different from the traditional brick veneer, you should budget at least $3,000–$3,500/m². The over $4,500/m² category is usually reserved for high-end, magazine-worthy homes. Factors like suspended concrete slabs, steep slopes, articulated building forms, cantilevered elements, soaring or complex roofs, exotic cladding materials, and custom detailing all contribute to the increased cost, but hopefully, with a resulting design dividend.

Relationship between Inclusions and Building Costs

Q: What sort of effect can different inclusions have on building costs?

TT:
With project homes, there’s often a race to the bottom in terms of allowances for things like tiles, taps, and windows. Here are some examples of how inclusions can drastically affect cost:

  • You can get a reasonably workable plastic cistern toilet for around $300, but a fancy wall-hug pan could cost $2,000—seven times as much.
  • Carpet may cost as little as $70/m², but a polished hardwood floor could set you back $300/m²—nearly four times as much.
  • A basic set of windows in a project home might cost around $35,000, but double-glazed windows will cost closer to $60,000. High-performance, thermally-improved windows could cost $100,000 or more.

If you think of the quality of these inclusions as buying different types of cars—from a Kia to a Honda to a BMW—you’ll understand the idea. You get what you pay for.

Tools to Help You Make Sense of Building Costs

Q: Are there any tools to help make sense of these varying costs?

TT:
Yes! I’ve developed a very simple spreadsheet calculator that I would be happy to make available for free to any readers. If you’re interested, just contact me via email.

Get Expert Advice for Your Canberra Building Project

Tony Trobe is the Director of TT Architecture, a local architectural practice in Canberra. If you have any planning or design questions for your building project, feel free to reach out to Tony directly.

Contact Tony Trobe:
Email: tonytrobe@ttarchitecture.com.au

Final Thoughts

Understanding the factors that contribute to building costs in Canberra can help you make informed decisions for your home construction project. Whether you’re aiming for a cost-effective design or a high-end custom home, knowing how size, complexity, and inclusions affect the price is crucial. For more detailed advice or personalized help, reach out to Tony Trobe today!

mail@ttarchitecture.com.au | (02) 6232 6311

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