Client Advice

1 ARCHITECTS – DO YOU NEED ONE? Is your project suitable?

Residential Architects.  Do you need one?   Is your project suitable?

If you are considering renovating or building a new home in Sydney, there are generally three options:

1. 1. knock down and rebuild by a project home company

0. 2. an addition to an existing home by a design and construct company  or

0. 3. an individual one-off approach, such as a residential architect, building designer or draftsperson

These options provide services to different segments of the residential building market.

Their offers are different in terms of cost, design, quality, involvement of the client/owner and the method of project delivery.

The differences are significant and relate to project budget, the quality and complexity of design, approvals, construction, the client/owner’s involvement, the control of the project and the level of personal and individualised service.

At the start of a project, consider what you need and what you are hoping for, to start off on the right track.

So, what do you need in terms of design and service?

1. 1. pre designed and off-the-shelf: project home, fixed design, fixed price, fixed process

0. 2. custom designed with some pre-designed choices for selection, fixed delivery process: design and construct, most often for specific situations like upper floor additions

0. 3. individually tailored solutions and service: an architect, a building designer or draftsperson

The following resources are ways to find out more about the options available on the northern beaches and north shore of Sydney:

• Knock Down, Rebuild – Project Homes: ie Metricon, Lawson, GJ Gardiner etc

• Design and Construct: ie Add Style for Upper floor additions

• Individual Tailored Solutions and Services:

• • Undercover Architect: www.undercoverarchitect.com/architect-vs-draftsperson-vs-buildingdesigner 
  • Australian Institute of Architects: www.findanarchitect.com.au
  • Building Designers Association of Australia: www.bdaa.com
  • Drafter:  ie Rapid Plans www.rapidplans.com.au
  • google search “what’s the difference between an architect and a building designer?

If you are seeking an individually tailored solution and service, how do you decide if you need an architect?

Consider the following questions for discussion with your family, to prepare yourself at the outset to make the right choice:

• What is the value of your site?
• What is the value of your existing home?
• Is a knock down and re-build process permitted on your site?
• Is your existing home and site simple and straight forward, or complex? ie: existing special site conditions or zonings, steep topography, bushfire, environmental living area, foreshore area, heritage conservation, flood zone?
• Is your existing home a robust and special asset, worthy of adapting to suit your ongoing needs?
• What will you spend on your project, all up?
• What will the dollar value of your asset – house and site –  be upon completion?
• How important is the home to you as a financial asset?
• How important is the home/site to you, personally?
• How long after the project is complete will you be living in the home?
• How much dedicated time and personal resources do you have to undertake and contribute to the project over the next two years?
• How much experience do you have in residential renovating and building?
• Who will be responsible for the day to day carriage of the project?

If you home and site are of significant value to your and your family, if it is the most important financial asset, and the renovation/rebuild is going to be the largest financial commitment you have undertaken other than the original asset purchase, then getting sound professional guidance is prudent.

Residential architects are trained and qualified to provide design, advice and management services throughout all stages of pre design, design, approvals, documentation, tendering, building contracts and construction.

Residential architects:

• act as your independent designer and advisor throughout the project
• provide a personal, individualised and comprehensive service, from beginning to end
• can sometimes provide planning, heritage, landscape and detailed interior design services, as well as the co-ordination of all other consultants (ie: structural, certifiers etc)
• are paid directly by their clients for their time and expertise (they do make money from the building process)
• generally undertake a limited number of projects a year, providing dedicated resources to their select clients 

If you think the value, significance and complexity of your project warrants the best advice possible, then continue to read MWa’s  client advice articles, to find out more about architects, the ins and out of the process, how to prepare and how to find the right architect to suit you.

Read on…click below on MWa’s  client advice articles:

1 Architects – Do you need one? Is your project suitable?

2 Your Brief: Wish List, Shopping List & Priorities List: Decide what you need, what you want and what you can spend – before finding your architect.

3 Your Architect – A Good Match: How to find the right architect.

4 Process: Strategy, Vision, Compliance, Detail & Delivery: How it all works 

5 Costs & Cashflow – Case Study: A recent renovation case study which shows you where the money goes and the cashflow from start to finish.

6 Time – How long will it take?: How to cut six months off a renovation time frame.

7 Fees – Myth vs Reality

8 Manage Costs, Save Money: 10 Ways to Manage Costs, 10 Ways to Save Money

2 YOUR BRIEF – Wish List, Shopping List & Priorities List

YOUR BRIEF – Wish List, Shopping List & Priorities List:  

Decide what you need, what you want and what you can spend – before finding your architect.

Your initial brief is the first set of instructions to your architect.  It’s the starting point for your project.

It will be a WISH LIST of your wants, needs and intangible hopes, often with meaning and significance beyond bricks and mortar.

It should also be a SHOPPING LIST as all the items on the list will have a cost.

And if you are serious about your project, you also need a PRIORITIES LIST.  When the going gets tough, a simple reminder of your priorities will give you the clarity to make good decisions.

In our experience, renovating for ourselves and working with clients over the past ten years, the hardest part about being a client is knowing your wants, needs, the emotional value you place on aspects of your project, and your financial capacity to pay for it.

So it’s useful to recognise this before you start to put together your initial brief.

Commit your initial brief to paper and ensure that you and your family are in agreement, as much as possible, before engaging an architect and starting the process.

There are a variety of ways to consider and communicate your brief including:

• The bigger picture “why” of the project
• The accommodation schedule of your functional requirements
• The character and feel of the home
• Any other circumstances particular to our situation – may relate to timing, history of the site / approvals
• Your hopes and expectations throughout the project
• Your concerns and any problems or uncertainties

and the final two essential ingredients to a successful brief

• The overall total project spend that you can afford
• Your priorities list

Read on for more detail about each part of a brief.

1  The bigger picture “why” of the project

Start with the questions to ask yourself at the beginning of your project, outlined in 1: Do You Need An Architect (repeated below).

These are the bigger picture questions which frame your initial brief.

It may be that working with your architect will assist in answering some of these questions through the pre-design and sketch design process.

The questions get to the “why” driving your project, its feasibility,  your preparedness to undertake the project and the type of service you will need from your architect.

• What is the value of your site?
• What is the value of your existing home?
• Is a knock down and re-build process permitted on your site?
• Is your existing home and site simple and straight forward, or complex? ie: existing special site conditions or zonings, steep topography, bushfire, environmental living area, foreshore area, heritage conservation, flood zone?
• Is your existing home a robust and special asset, worthy of adapting to suit your ongoing needs?
• What will you spend on your project, all up?
• What will the $ value of your asset – house and site be, upon completion
• How important is the home to you as a financial asset?
• How important is the home/site to you, personally?
• How long after the project is complete will you be living in the home?
• How much dedicated time and personal resources do you have to undertake and contribute to the project over the next two years?
• How much experience do you have in residential renovating and building?
• Who will be responsible for the day to day carriage of the project?

2  The accommodation schedule of your functional requirements

The more functional description of the brief a the list of requirements that clients usually have no trouble with.  Consider this as a numeric list of functions. 

It does not need to be a list of instructions on HOW and WHERE these items are to go, unless you have a fixed idea that is driving the project.

An accommodation schedule approach to a brief is useful and clear to understand.  For example:

• main bedroom suite with WIR and ensuite with bath
• three kids bedrooms with robes and desks
• one family bathroom
• one additional bedroom to use as a home office and occasional guest room
• new kitchen
• new laundry
• new open planned living/dining
• covered outdoor entertaining area with bbq
• double garage
• etc…

3  The character and feel of the home

Don’t be shy here, your architect needs to know what you like and what you don’t.

Photos are great ways explore and communicate character and feel, so a collection of images from HOUZZ or PINTEREST or a magazine is useful, as a mood board, rather than literal design instructions.

If you are doing an alteration and addition to an existing home, its also useful to consider that its going to be more realistic to work with the best features of your existing home than aspire to a vision of something so completely different, its going to be best to start building from new.

4  Any other circumstances particular to your site or situation

May relate to timing, history of the site / approvals

5  Your hopes and expectations throughout the project

This will be based on your personal expectations and past experiences

6   Your concerns,  problems or uncertainties

Again based on your personal approach

The final two parts of a successful brief to start of a successful project are:

7  The overall total project spend that you can afford (this will be your reality check)

If you can’t be honest or clear about this at the beginning of your project, with yourselves and your architect, then your project won’t progress smoothly.  

Clients are often reluctant to declare a figure to their architect and confess they don’t know what their “budget” is.  Fair enough.  

As an architect at the start of a job, we also don’t know how what the project budget should or will be either.  

There are so many variables to residential work that it’s impossible to estimate straight off.  Whatever the budget guesstimate at the engagement of the project, its not going to be accurate.

What is more useful is to start the other way around and consider how much you can spend on the renovations?

Most clients have a measure of their financial capacity – be it savings, cashing in an investment, re-draw or refinancing a mortgage or a construction loan.

Stating a dollar figure crystallises your thoughts and guides your decisions.  

Cut your coat (renovations) to suit your cloth (budget).

“Unless commitment is made, there are only promised and hopes…”

8  Your priorities list

Your PRIORITIES LIST  is one of the secrets to a successful project.

It should be short.  One, two or three items or reasons why you are renovating/building.   Know this and again, your decisions will be easier and your project will run more smoothly.

As an example, for a particular renovation, the priorities were:

• one more bedroom – so the oldest son going into high school didn’t have to share a room with his brother
• a new kitchen
• to complete an outdoor space around the existing pool which was safe (and a great place to be), so we could have friends over (without the kids falling off 1.4m off the pool apron)

The above was not a complete brief, but it was the absolute essential, and everything else was secondary.

If you consider all the above aspects of your brief, then your project will have good foundations.

Armed with the above self knowledge, next step is to find the your architect.

Read on…click below on MWa’s client advice articles:

1 Architects – Do you need one? Is your project suitable?

2 Your Brief: Wish List, Shopping List & Priorities List: Decide what you need, what you want and what you can spend – before finding your architect.

3 Your Architect – A Good Match: How to find the right architect.

4 Process: Strategy, Vision, Compliance, Detail & Delivery: How it all works 

5 Costs & Cashflow – Case Study: A recent renovation case study which shows you where the money goes and the cashflow from start to finish.

6 Time – How long will it take?: How to cut six months off a renovation time frame.

7 Fees – Myth vs Reality

8 Manage Costs, Save Money: 10 Ways to Manage Costs, 10 Ways to Save Money

3 YOUR ARCHITECT – A GOOD MATCH. How to find the right architect?

3  YOUR ARCHITECT – A GOOD MATCH. How to find the right architect?

Your Architect – A good match:  How do you find the right architect, one who is a good match for you and your project?

Finding the right architect is essential for a successful project.

All registered architects have:

• years of university education (generally 2 degrees over 6 years)
• practical industry experience (2 years minimum experience to attain competency in each category of professional service)
• past written and interview exams by the NSW Board of Architects Registration to become registered
• undertaken 20 hours of mandatory Continuing Professional Education annually to  maintain their registration and
• hold Professional Indemnity Insurance

However, not all architects will be the right fit for your personally, nor suit your type residential project.

For a residential renovation or a new home,  find a registered architect with residential experience, a good track record and a personal approach that you feel comfortable with.

An architect who does commercial or industrial or retail work, for example, will not have the experience to deliver a residential project, which is subject to a different set of statutory and regulatory codes relating to residential building and building contracts.

Residential work is rated as the most complex type of work by the Australian Institute of Architects, and often requires detailed involvement in a project to guide typical residential clients and work with an existing dwelling.

Residential design, local planning, construction, building services, regulations and building contracts are specific and specialised fields of knowledge.

So, there are four steps to finding a good match architect:

1. Research 
2. Initial suitability
3. Selection criteria
4. Making the final choice

1  RESEARCH

Some resources for finding architects in your local area are:

• AIA (Australian Institute of Architects): www.findanarchitect.com.au
• NSW Board of Architects: www.architects.nsw.gov.au
• NSW Office of Environment & Heritage (heritage advisory listings, if relevant)
• HOUZZ online photo and listing site with local design practices
• GOOGLE search “architect northern beaches” or “architect northshore” etc
• HOUSES magazine – Australia’s leading architectural magazine dedicated to residential work
• asking friends, relatives and other local professionals for referrals

2  INITIAL SUITABILITY

Before you talk to an architect, consider the following criteria to establish their suitability:

• Have they been recommended by a past client, friend, colleague or building professional?
• Do you like what you see on their website – in terms of their message, information, past projects on their portfolio?
• Do they specialise in the type of projects that match yours ie: alteration & additions, heritage conservation areas, sustainability, outdoor living, interiors?
• Do they work in your area?
• Have you seen some of their built work or seen their projects under construction in your area?
• Do they offer any pre-design consultancy services? ie: client information, initial consultation?
• Are they registered with the NSW Board of Architects?
• Can you find them on social media, to find out more about them? ie: instagram / facebook / HOUZZ?

3  SELECTION CRITERIA 

Gather basic information about any prospective architect at a face to face meeting, so you can cover your bases and compare apples with apples when considering your best fit.

Its surprising how many prospective clients we meet who do not ask any questions about our practice or experience, at an initial consultation.

Consider your first meeting like a job interview, and ask these questions to see how well your architect communicates with you and provides you with information on the questions below:

• How long have you been in practice?
• What is the size of the practice and the level of experience?
• What is your ideal client and ideal project type / size (to see if you are a good fit)?
• What are your similar residential projects (similar in type, location, size and budget)?
• Can you show us a portfolio of similar residential projects: ie images, drawings, case studies, site visits?
• Can you provide previous clients references or testimonials?
• Have you worked with our council before? what are their requirements?
• What is your process to guide us through a renovation?
• What scope of services do you offer?
• How do you approach building cost management?
• What consultants do you use?
• What builders do you work with?
• How do you tender?
• How do you charge your fees and what does your architect & client agreement like?
• How do we engage your services and get started?

4  MAKING THE FINAL CHOICE

You will be working with your architect for about two years.  

You will be dealing with large amounts of money,  and there will be problems along the way to resolve together. 

So its important to engage someone you like and trust.  

If the architects you have met meet the above criteria and answers the above questions in a way that gives you confidence, then go with your instinct by considering these final simple, but revealing, questions:

1. How do you feel about them?
2. Who do you like the most?
3. Who will do the best job?
4. Who wants the job the most?
5. There in lies your answer.

One final piece of advice.

Question: How to find the right architect?

Answer: It’s not by asking about the fees first.

Read on…click below on MWa’s STRAIGHT TALKING client advice articles:

1 Architects – Do you need one? Is your project suitable?

2 Your Brief: Wish List, Shopping List & Priorities List: Decide what you need, what you want and what you can spend – before finding your architect.

3 Your Architect – A Good Match: How to find the right architect.

4 Process: Strategy, Vision, Compliance, Detail & Delivery: How it all works 

5 Costs & Cashflow – Case Study: A recent renovation case study which shows you where the money goes and the cashflow from start to finish.

6 Time – How long will it take?: How to cut six months off a renovation time frame.

7 Fees – Myth vs Reality

8 Manage Costs, Save Money: 10 Ways to Manage Costs, 10 Ways to Save Money

5 RESIDENTIAL BUILDING COST & CASH FLOW: CASE STUDY which shows you where the money goes and the cashflow from start to finish.

5: Residential building cost and cash flow: A CASE STUDY which shows you where the money goes and the cashflow from start to finish.

Read on…click below on MWa’s client advice articles:

1 Architects – Do you need one? Is your project suitable?

2 Your Brief: Wish List, Shopping List & Priorities List: Decide what you need, what you want and what you can spend – before finding your architect.

3 Your Architect – A Good Match: How to find the right architect.

4 Process: Strategy, Vision, Compliance, Detail & Delivery: How it all works 

5 Costs & Cashflow – 2018 Case Study: A recent renovation case study which shows you where the money goes and the cashflow from start to finish.

6 Time – How long will it take?: How to cut six months off a renovation time frame.

7 Fees – Myth vs Reality

8 Manage Costs, Save Money: 10 Ways to Manage Costs, 10 Ways to Save Money

6 RESIDENTIAL RENOVATION TIME – How long will it take? And how to cut six months off a renovation.

6 Residential Renovation Time – How long will it take? And how to cut six months off a renovation.

Most prospective clients are interested in how long will their residential renovation will take.  (residential renovation time how long will it take?)

In Sydney, with our current planning framework, and for a reasonable size renovation which requires DA approval with Council, the short answer is about two years from start to finish, from an initial consultation with an architect to completion on-site and move in.

This is not what most prospective clients want to hear.

What takes so long?

Regardless of client pressure and expectations on time frame, most projects have to step through the process of feasibility and initial design, approvals, documentation, tendering, appointing a builder, construction approvals and then the construction on-site.

It’s complex and requires a team of people working together in sequence, each contributing what’s necessary at the right time, to keep the project on track.

Generally, preparing to get onto the building site will take longer than the construction on-site.

The cliche “Rome wasn’t built in a day” still rings true.

However, there are 5 factors which can significantly impact a project timeline.

If TIME is important to you, knowing the following can save you at least 6 months of time, depending on your circumstances:

1  Get your finances in order, and match your spend with your project budget.

Regardless of following any of the other factors included in this article, the single reason why project timelines extend on residential projects is the client decision making process around money.  This takes up the most amount of time throughout the entire process.  Projects which run smoothly and swiftly have decisive clients, where finances are aligned with the project scope.

2  Follow MWa’s advice and and prepare well.

Know your brief, engage the right architect, step through the sketch design process to set the strategy and vision.  This is common sense.  Starting your project off on the right track will save you time with a more efficient process.  Successful projects move along consistently at each step of the process.  There are no delays and hand-wringing over decisions.  Your decisions are easy when your vision is clear. 

3   Avoid a DA approval completely.  

If your site is eligible, consider tailoring your project to suit an approval via the NSW General Housing Code for Exempt and Complying Development.  In most cases, this will save at least six months off your renovation time frame, if not more.  It will save time in preparing documents for the DA submission (which are not needed for a CDC application), and then the time Council takes to consider the DA (often between three and six months).  A CDC application may also save you money, with less fees and less time.  See more on this in 8. Manage Costs, Save Money.

4   If you have to do a DA, then there are a couple suggestions to reduce the DA time:

Progress the DA process smoothly and efficiently with a well run application lead by a good architect.  Factors such as submitting a robust design and a thorough DA submission (maybe even a Pre DA session with Council), as well as maintaining good neighbourly relations, can also save time through the DA process.

Don’t wait for your DA to be approved to commence detailed documentation for tender and construction.  Liaise with your architect to assess the risk of moving on to the next stage of work, before the DA approval is final.  Commence documentation for tender/construction/construction certificate as soon as the indicators are positive that the DA submitted design is to be approved.  Some councils take weeks to process the final DA release.

5  Don’t do a competitive tender.  

Select your preferred builder early on, for example Sketch Design stage, and enjoy the benefits that come with working with a trusted builder involved in the process.

No matter what the anticipated time program, or the benefits of a competitive tender are, it takes TIME.

In 2018,  with a busy residential sector, the tender process is taking longer than anticipated.  Lining up three to four builder to tender, briefing them, providing them the usual 3 weeks time to tender, which in some cases invariable extends to 4 to 6 weeks – adds time.  Assessing tenders, meeting with a preferred tender, negotiating the details, identifying cost savings (note factor #1 above about aligning your brief and budget), documenting changes and agreements for contract signing – can take 3 months all up. 

And then the builder needs to have finished their last project and be ready to start on yours.

Selecting your preferred and trusted builder early speeds up this process, as the issues can be resolved earlier in the process.

There are benefits to doing a competitive tender.  It’s human nature to want choice and to know what’s a fair and reasonable price for your renovation – the going market rate.  Often clients go with the tendering builder they already know or has the most established relationships anyway.   It’s never best to select a builder on price alone.

You can save TIME by selecting a builder earlier in the process, based on criteria other than COST.

Conclusion

At MWa, our shortest time frame in recent years has been 7 months from initial consultation to starting on site.  That’s our office record, going down the CDC route and building selected by the client early on, with no competitive tender.

A more usual time frame is 12 months, for a project including a smooth DA approval and where the client’s brief and budget are aligned so their decision making is fast.

Read on…click below on MWa’s client advice articles:

1 Architects – Do you need one? Is your project suitable?

2 Your Brief: Wish List, Shopping List & Priorities List: Decide what you need, what you want and what you can spend – before finding your architect.

3 Your Architect – A Good Match: How to find the right architect.

4 Process: Strategy, Vision, Compliance, Detail & Delivery: How it all works 

5 Costs & Cashflow – Case Study: A recent renovation case study which shows you where the money goes and the cashflow from start to finish.

6 Time – How long will it take?: How to cut six months off a renovation time frame.

7 Fees – Myth vs Reality

8 Manage Costs, Save Money: 10 Ways to Manage Costs, 10 Ways to Save Money