Metroworks Architects

ARCHITECTURAL PROCESS

Before your project begins and before Metroworks Architects are engaged, you will have a chance to meet Melissa either on site or in the office to discuss your project needs and share initial ideas. After that meeting, a detailed, written scope of services and fee proposal will be prepared specifically for your project. That proposal will set out the full scope of Metroworks Architects services and will be broken down to include the following sequence of stages:

Concept Design: a large part of this stage involves fact-finding such as working with the client to establish and refine the budget and brief. Site opportunities and constraints are assessed, existing buildings or structures to be retained are measured and documented and requirements of authorities are assessed. All this information is then applied to the project and sketches and other drawings prepared to illustrate the initial design concept.

Design Development: more often than not, two or more design options are presented during the Concept Design stage. So this next stage is the time we work together to further refine the design - perhaps combining ideas from each of the different concepts initially presented, or modifying them to further advance the design.

Town Planning and/or Building Permit Application: not all projects are required to go through the town planning process at council, some will only require a building permit application. For those that do require planning approval, the documentation is further developed as necessary for submission to the council for approval. Where planning approval is not required, fully dimensioned and detailed working drawings are prepared for the building permit assessment.

Construction Documentation: in this stage, further designing is done and detail is added to the documentation so that it is ready for the builders to use for pricing and construction. For example, in a typical residential project this stage would include the preparation of a building specification, design of the electrical and lighting layouts as well as design of the built-in kitchen, laundry, study, bathroom and living area joinery. All joinery and other critical details are then documented at large scale ready for pricing and construction.

Contractor Selection: once all the design and documentation is complete, it is time to select a builder - if you have not already selected one during the course of the project. All the architectural documentation prepared in the earlier stages of the project is packaged together, along with documents prepared by other consultants such as structural engineers, land surveyors and others. This information package is then provided to builders for pricing either by tender or negotiation.

Contract Administration: this stage includes assistance with the preparation of contracts, site visits during construction, contract accounting and assessment of builders progress claims, variations and time extensions.

Your project may require some or all of the above stages of service so the extent of work required will be clarified with you during the early stages of the project. Your project may even require additional services offered by Metroworks Architects such as:

Interior design services
Computer generated ‘fly-throughs"
Cost planning proposals
Feasibility studies
Building illustrations
Applications for variations to regulations