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Latest News

AccuRATE V1.1.3.0

The latest version of 2nd Gen BTP Assessment tools has been released.

DoP agree to a new Pilot to commence early February 2007.

BASIX (DIY) Review

ABSA instrumental in securing DoP DIY Sustainability Tool - DoP Review...not independent but a starting point 

Visit the ABSA Site for further details.

DIY found to lower the standard of Residential Building BTP in NSW - varies between 200% to 400% below Simulation Method when compared with NatHERS and far more variation expected to AccuRATE.

 

 

 

Client Information

Many people may not know what an architect does nor what a client achieves with an architect, or how much it costs.
This page tries to give some insight into some of the many questions that we are asked at time by prospective clients.

What an architect doesn't do

An architect is not a building designer, or a draughtsperson. The architect's purpose is not to draw plans or detail construction of buildings to the builder's ease convention or his normal habits.

Instead

The architect's aim is to provide the technical expertise to give a physical form to the client's aspirations, hopes, ambitions and dreams.
From this website you will already have gathered that this architectural practice focuses on many aspects of architecture including the environmental responsibilities of the buildings the practice is responsible for designing. This practice (as are most architectural practices) is most applicable to clients who value fulfilling their social responsibilities within their own local habitat.

Clients to this practice chiefly are looking to:-

  • minimise their use of non renewable resources in their development
  • minimise the impact of their development on the surrounding environment
  • minimise allergy reactions from components used in the development
  • retrofit existing developments to improve their performance
  • maximise the use of on-site and natural resources and so on.
As an aside, such projects are also often cheaper to develop than conventional buildings, and always operate at a fraction of the recurrent costs of conventional buildings.
Thus these developments have very attractive payback financial aspects which save the capital cost of their investors and environmentally many times over in the life cycle of the building.

Other pages in this website describe the design philosophies, technologies and some of the completed projects of this practice.

Best practice

As a result the architect's work may result in a building which does things differently to usual and conventional builder practice, with particular gains for the client in mind.

Process

To achieve this the architect:-
  • reviews the client's hopes and dreams, the site, the development regulations, and other issues to validate the practicability of the client's ambitions
  • sketches a possible physical form for the client's brief as a basis of understanding by the client
  • continues to develop more and more detailed sketches during which time the client's brief, understanding, priorities may evolve and adjust as well the proposed physical scheme evolves, until a firm proposal is decided upon with the client
  • documents the scheme so that regulatory acceptability can be tested
  • advocate and champion the scheme where regulatory opposition occurs
  • document the scheme to define the budget and regulatory compliance in structural, health, fire and equivalent areas
  • provide support in development procurement, be that by builder, owner - builder or mix of owner control and specialist trade contractors involvement.

Clients invariably choose to buy the expertise of the architect in areas where they have little or none themselves.

Paying the architect

The foregoing demonstrates why the architect is not paid in relation to the quantity of drawings produced or his hours of work. What is being bought by the client are the architect's intellectual property and experience (his training, skills and detailed knowledge, particularly where building  best practice matters are involved).

In effect, the client pays for the architect's time and expertise so that he can concentrate on the client's particular projects issues and priorities. In this way solutions embodying the features of value to the client and society within the project can be determined and achieved on the clients behalf by the architect.

For example, in the sketch phase, there are the widely divergent inputs of client brief, site practicalities, construction practicalities, regulatory requirements and environmental issues and technologies to bring together. That is not a technical task, it involves intuitive leaps and insight together with experience to achieve an acceptable result.

Thus an assessment of the complexity of each client's project is made at the beginning of the project and this forms the basis of architects fee submissions.

No two projects are identical and the conventional 'project home' as a consequence cannot meet the 'best fit' for each client or site nor for the environment. Mass production is just that something which at best is a poor compromise for a range of variables defining the clients brief and environmental requirements.

Draftspersons and Building Designers

No project which has been 'drawn' or which is a 'project solution' can hope to answer the many environmental nor sociological requirements of family living  requirements in today's complex world.

Yet that is what 'mass production and project home builders' have determined as correct and right for most of the 'drawn' buildings produced one after another in suburbia. Draftspersons, Builders and none architecturally qualified Designers are in the main responsible for ongoing environmental damage which if it continues will reach a stage of becoming irreversible.

 

 

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Last Modified: Sunday, 21 January 2007 10:57:36 AM