What is our approach to interior design and what is your process?
We are often asked “What is your approach to interior design and what is your process?” We thought it may be helpful to share our process around the interiors we create, to help answer some of these questions.
How to design a forever home: 4 important questions we ask our clients.
Australians are living in their homes a lot longer than they did a decade ago.
Designing a home that will keep you happy and comfortable for the rest of your life is a much bigger challenge than designing a home for just the next ten years.
How to create a great brief for an architect.
In order to design your ideal house, there is no doubt that a great brief helps. Here are some thoughts on how we can help you arrive at this point, based on years of good, bad, indifferent and amazing briefs.
How do you choose a builder to build your new home or renovation?
How do you choose a builder? Every client asks the question.
It’s a discussion that causes a bit of anxiety. The reliability, capability and suitability of your prospective builder is up there as one of the biggest sources of fear for anyone embarking on a renovation or new build. The good news is that it is NOT entirely up to you to solve this problem.
The process of working with Chamberlain Architects: How does it work and what should you expect?
It is fair to say that once you have trawled though many impressive architecture websites, looked at countless beautiful images of finished projects there is not a lot of information on what the next steps are. What are the key milestones, what’s your expected involvement and how long does the whole thing take? And who are these strange people hiding behind these beautiful images?
Frequently asked questions…
We understand starting a project can be a little daunting. Where to start - and when to speak to an architect? Whether you just have a loose collection of ideas or a clearly articulated brief, to help guide you, we have put together some responses to common questions.
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To be honest, we don't get asked this often, but we still feel that its worth exploring as its something we feel passionately about.
The fact that you are looking at an architectural website is a great start. By now you may be aware that some of the projects are eye-catching or have an evocative quality. You may have noticed some interesting use of light, space and materials to create a powerful impact and that you are able to connect with. These first impressions are some examples of the way an architect can elevate a house design above the everyday. But, of course, the case for using an architect goes far deeper.
As Architects we are trained to be lateral thinkers and problem solvers. We are inquisitive and have the ability to look at the big picture whilst understanding the smallest details, at the same time. We have vast reservoirs of experience which we bring to bear on the problem at hand, whether it’s a waterproofing detail, a kitchen design or a tricky floor plan problem.
Our broad focus allows us to create the spaces that you have seen on our website. These spaces are more than the sum of their parts. It is our role, as a conductor, that sets us apart from a builder or draftsperson when it comes to preparing designs. While a builder or draftsperson might be able to prepare floor plans for you, it is unlikely that they will consider the design in as much detail, or on as many levels that an Architect will.
The other huge advantage of working with an Architect is that we are by your side from beginning to end. We have the ability and skills to navigate the various challenges that are part of any project. From local councils, building permits, construction contracts and the inevitable curly questions that come up during construction, we have a broad base of knowledge, that allows us to ensure the project stays on track at all stages.
Finally , we are passionate and committed. Houses take time. Time to design. Time to build. There's only so many we can do, and once we commit to a project, we really commit.
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How do you measure value? Is it numerical and based on economics, or is it more?
It is hard to put a tangible value on an architect designed house when so many of the qualities an architect brings are intangible, yet just as valuable. The responses we have had from our clients to some of our houses are truly humbling, such as “Glen, Ella and their team created not only a home but a piece of art that reflects their personal attention to detail, professionalism and the ability to be dedicated to the project from start to finish .” and “This project was intended for a holiday house, but we already love it so much we want to make it our permanent home.“
These responses relate directly to the intangible qualities that we bring to our designs, the creative use of light, space and materials, the careful planning to elevate the everyday experience of living. And alongside that, just the enjoyment of the process of working together. We certainly see value in this.
On the flipside, we believe that there are long-term gains in the financial aspects of your project. Materials are selected to endure and age well, and build quality and well crafted details contribute to a house that is better presented in the long run. Careful planning creates ‘great bones’, always an important consideration for potential new owners!
A recent study was undertaken by Architeam and Melbourne University exploring the question, “Do…architect designed renovations improve capital gains in the Melbourne residential property market?” This practical study managed to prove what we have always suspected, that value is added to a house by using an architect. The increase in value was calculated as 1.2 per cent extra capital growth a year for Melbourne properties with an architect-designed renovation compared to those without. For example, a $1.2 million house, over a decade with a home-owner who employed an architect would be $256,000 better off than one who didn’t. [See the results here:]
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We do GREAT projects! We are interested in any project that fits this description.
While that may sound a little simplistic, we really believe that a project becomes great when your excitement and aspiration for the project meets our passion and commitment.
Our highly engaged approach makes us particularly well suited to residential projects and projects with a hospitality or wellness focus. We typically work with private clients and have delivered mid to high end homes, wineries, breweries and bathhouses. We’re well suited to projects where the internal, lived experience of a space is a high priority, be that a private residence, a wellness space or a memorable tourism experience.
We do a lot of work on greenfields sites along the Penninsula and within Regional Victoria, but have also worked on many tight, inner city sites.
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We are pretty flexible when it comes to budgets and locations. First, let us discuss the biggest question, budgets.
When we consider project budgets, we tend to look at it based on a square metre rate rather than an overall figure initially. Typically our projects have a per square metre cost from $6000-$8000 +gst to achieve the level of materiality, finish and spatial quality that you have seen on our website.
Depending on the size of your brief, this usually results in a construction budget somewhere between $1 million - $8 million.
As for location, we have designed many houses in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria, with a cluster of projects on the Mornington Peninsula.
We have also designed projects interstate and overseas. These are obviously a little more tricky to manage, but after the pandemic, we have developed some clever ways to work remotely which allows us to successfully deliver projects from afar.
We are happy to travel far and wide to work on great projects!
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It's rare for our clients to have worked with an architect before, so don't let this deter you from contacting us.
We start with a call to understand your project and learn about you. We'll ask a few questions to get a sense of your goals for the project. We'll inquire about your budget, project size, and timeframes, and we will answer any questions you have that we didn't address here.
If, after our first conversation, we seem like a good fit for your project, we offer a no- obligation, briefing meeting. We will meet in person, at our office or on-site, to explore your project in more detail. We allocate about an hour for this meeting, enough time to hear your hopes and aspirations for the project and walk you through our process.
To capture all the details, we then prompt you with a comprehensive briefing questionnaire, to further expand the project brief.
After this meeting, we will provide a project proposal based on our discussions. We like to meet again to present this, address any concerns, and show you some actual examples of the work prepared at each stage, from some of our live projects. You'll be getting a sneak peek of what is soon to be revealed on Instagram!
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We hope it's exciting! Meeting with your architect should be something to look forward to. If it ever feels like a chore, something has gone horribly wrong.
We are a naturally collaborative studio. We don't sit back, take a brief, then present you a masterpiece. Be prepared to come on a journey, have your ideas questioned - and push back on our ideas and assumptions about the brief, and architecture in general.
Our studio culture is about having fun and delivering great results. We believe that when our client is part of the team, we can design better houses.
Read more about the process of working together in this [blog article here.]
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There are three main ways that architects charge fees for a project: the Percentage Method, Fixed Fees, and Hourly Rates. Having practiced for over 20 years, we have tried all three methods and have gravitated towards the Fixed Fee model.
There are several reasons why we favor the Fixed Fee approach. Firstly, we believe that it is the most transparent way to charge for our services, and it separates our fee from your construction budget, making budget discussions less awkward. Secondly, a fixed fee offers more cost certainty at an earlier stage, being quoted in advance based on the project's scope, rather than constantly changing along the way, as can happen with a percentage-based fee.
We calculate our fixed fee based on an agreed scope of works for the project. We take the time to really understand the brief and scope and include this in our proposal to you. Based on our understanding of the scope, we estimate the amount of time and resources needed for the project and provide you with a fixed fee.
Sometimes the scope may change after we have started the project. In such cases, we will propose a variation to the fee before continuing. For example, for a project we completed in Hawthorn, the client discovered a partial basement under their house and wanted to expand it and include it in the new design. Our original fee did not cover this, so we agreed to an additional fee to cover the change in scope.
All architecture firms have different payment structures, but we try to keep our payments as regular as possible. Rather than waiting until the end of a stage, we invoice monthly and show how much work we have done since the last invoice. Monthly invoicing helps keep payments predictable and more manageable, compared to waiting for staged payments to accumulate over time, which may be larger and harder to manage.