Engaging an architect can be a daunting process. To help with this, we have answered some common questions we receive from clients.
At Bower, we offer a complete architectural and interior design service from dream to reality.
Each of our design stages is carefully structured to guide and inspire you through the process and to stay focused on the task at hand – so you’re not overwhelmed or distracted by future decisions.
We begin with getting to know you. We want to hear your hopes and goals for the project, and to learn more about your story. We’ll explore your brief and visit your house and/or site, and present a proposal that will help paint the picture of how a project is revealed and what you can expect. Then, together, we embark on a structured, transparent and collaborative design and delivery process. Through deep listening and understanding – and with no predetermined decisions or ideas – we generate a design that feels like its meant to be. It’s tailored for you, your lifestyle and aspirations, and to foster an emotional connection to your surrounds. Each subsequent stage adds layers of design and detail refinement in a smooth and timely manner.
With extensive project management experience, we will guide and assist you through the council submission; manage building contracts, permits and through the construction phase.
We love to stay connected with our clients long after they’ve settled into their new home.
Many clients come to us because they appreciate the level of care, quality and detail that goes into all of our projects. They are looking for an outcome that is truly tailored to their needs, is connected to their unique site and captures surprising and special details. We believe there is a minimum project scale that can capture these aspirations and allows us to give our clients and their project the attention and time that deliver the quality of projects we are known for.
For architecture and interior design projects the minimum project budget is $1million +GST. Most of our projects of this type sit between $1million to $8million +GST. Smaller/ Interior Design only projects are generally start at $600K +GST.
Architectural homes cost more than kit houses or ‘off the shelf’ houses from a volume builder. The two key factors that make up the cost are project size and quality.
We live and work by the mantra of ‘quality over quantity’ and we are skilled in designing spaces that are tailored for your use and enjoyment for a very long time, that can adapt for your future life changes. We will help you refine your brief so that your home well-proportioned – just the right size for you (and not too big!). Our new homes range in size from the Hover House at 224sqm upwards.
As a reference, most of our recent projects have cost approximately $7,000 – $10,000/sqm +GST.
Many of our clients understand the value of architecture before they approach us, but the three key components of the value of the work we offer are:
1. Quality design
The long-term wellbeing, joy, comfort, wonder and ease that comes from quality design is what sets a Bower Home apart from others. We believe the true value is clear when you wake up each day inside your new home and discover a wonderful play of light on a wall and feel how the design is completely unique, and tailored to you.
2. A quality, seamless and enjoyable experience
Our team’s experience, our processes, our design and our project management skills ensure a smooth experience for our clients during the architectural journey. Clients often praise us for our friendly, open and approachable team, which we think makes it such an enjoyable process for everyone involved.
3. Return on investment
While few of the homes we have designed have been sold by our clients, those who have moved on noted that the sale prices were significantly higher than the average, with some setting records for their suburb. Various results suggest that the long-term financial value of an architecturally designed home is higher than a non-architect designed home.
The University of Melbourne and Architeam conducted further research into this, read about it here and here.
Discussing budgets can be uncomfortable for many potential or existing clients, however we don’t shy away from having these conversations, and aim to set a supportive, transparent environment for these to take place. We don’t just talk about it once at the start, we will discuss the budget at every meeting with you and will always let you know when a decision will affect the budget. We have accumulated many years’ worth of experience and insight that we will share with you, so that you can make informed decisions. We will assist you in scrutinizing these decisions to ensure value, quality and design integrity.
In the early stages, we will guide you in setting a budget, and then working towards it is an essential part of our work.
At the very start of your project we will ask about your budget goal and your relationship to your budget. This means that we ask you to think about the following three elements and put them in your personal order of priority:
How you prioritise these three elements will guide the concept design and inform our approach throughout the project. Every client and project is different, so we always tailor our approach for the best outcomes.
For example, if budget is your number one priority, we will choose not to show you options that sit outside of your budget, such as floorplans for a home sized beyond the budget, or options for services, appliances or finishes that don’t fit within it.
Every project is unique but we generally suggest 6 to 12 months for the design, planning permit (if required) and documentation stages and about 12 to 18 months for construction.
You can download our Bower Client Journey information Pack here, including a helpful diagram and description of the Bower Process stages and timeframe of a project.
We have worked with a number of quality architectural builders on our projects who share our values of honesty, transparency, excellence, teamwork, respect and a love of their craft Like us, there is nothing they want more than a happy client who has enjoyed the overall process.
As we get to know you, we will suggest builders that we feel will be a good fit for you and your project. We consider our builders the essential professionals that build our clients’ dream home and execute the architectural vision.
We frequently meet great architectural builders via our clients who may have a connection or recommendation from friends or family.
It is very uncommon for our clients to know how much they want to (or need to) spend to achieve their vision at the very start of the journey. As such, we start every project with an initial stage called Concept Plan Design which is charged as a lump-sum fee. If the project continues, the fee is credited back to you and we switch to a percentage-based fee for the remaining stages.
This concept plan design package will help you understand how the project might take shape, allows you to get excited about it, and helps us all to determine the scope and budget. We find this is a great way to start a project and get to know one another, and there is no obligation for you to proceed with us beyond this stage. At the end of this stage, if you chose to continue the journey, we can agree with you on a project budget that we can then base our fees.
For full architectural design and documentation services we charge a percentage fee based on the budgeted and the subsequent final cost of the project. Once a building contract is underway and construction commences we administer the contract, supporting you and the building team on a monthly retainer.
Throughout our years of practice, we have found that the cost of the project is the clearest reflection of the quantum of work, time and number of drawings required to deliver the quality of work we are known for. Fixed fees may be the mark of a less experienced architect (we were guilty of this when we first started!) or a cookie-cutter approach. Percentage fees ensure the best value outcome for our clients.
The total architectural fee for the design and documentation is broken into each stage of the architectural journey. When the final build cost is known our fee is adjusted to be based on this figure, if it differs. We invoice monthly, based on the progress of the stage underway.
For projects under $1million, furniture selection, assistance with artwork acquisition and window covering guidance we charge at our hourly rates.
The following series of questions are designed to help you assess if you are ready to dive into your project with Bower. It is important that you are well positioned to start the journey. A ‘YES’ answer to these indicates that you are ready to go.
1. Do you have an existing site or are you currently searching for a site for your home?
Usually our clients already have a site, however we frequently help our clients to review the potential of sites they are considering purchasing. Contact us for more information on this process, if this sounds like you.
2. Are you committed to a long-term vision for a home that you will love and enjoy for many years?
We believe it is our responsibility to create sustainably built homes for the long term, so we avoid projects that do not meet this vision of longevity.
3. Are you looking for a professional full service architect, to guide and inspire you from our first chat until you walk in the door of your home?
We believe that the best outcomes come from engagement of an architect through to construction completion, to guide the design vision and ensure value and integrity. As with all construction, it is impossible to foresee all events but we are inherent problem-solvers, there to support you through all circumstances.
4. Is your project a new house or a significant renovation?
We are experienced residential architects and our passion is to improve others lives by creating beautiful, bespoke homes. We focus on the residential sector, as we love working closely with the people who will love and use the spaces we create.
5. Are you in a comfortable and stable personal position right now to give a project your attention?
Although we make the process as easy and enjoyable as possible for our clients, committing to an architectural project is a big undertaking and does require a level of active involvement through the journey. For example, you will be required to give timely feedback on our design proposals to maintain momentum throughout the design stages.
6. Are you in a comfortable financial position to invest in quality design and the long term wellbeing, joy and value that good architecture brings?
Please see our comments above regarding the value that architects bring as well as our minimum project budgets.
As a studio, we have made the decision to take on one new project per month. This allows us to give our clients and our projects the time and attention that we are known for. It also allows us to feel proud of delivering a smooth, well-paced architectural journey– a process that is slow enough to enjoy but maintains momentum and positive energy. As a result, we normally have a waiting period of a few months.
This is a great question and one we hear frequently! In response, we have written a short piece with three simple questions that will you assist you in making this important decision. You can read it here.
Step 1 Introduction:
You can book a 15-minute introductory phone call with founder and co-director Anna Dutton (book via Calendly here), to have a chat about your project, to share what you have in mind, a bit about yourself and your budget, if known. We can tell you a bit about us, our approach and fees and if suitable, arrange a free Zoom introductory meeting.
This introductory meeting is about getting to know you, listening to you and hearing about your goals, hopes (and fears) for the project. We can also discuss the process of working with an architect and the value we can bring. If we seem like a good fit for each other, we will then use the information you have shared to tailor a Proposal for Services for you.
Step 2 Proposal and Q&A:
We will email a considered proposal of services to you and then meet again, preferably in person and at the site to present it to you. Here, we run through the proposal, answer your questions and show you a real life example of the architectural journey and deliverables for each stage. We find that our clients love this presentation as it really helps them to understand how a project is revealed and what to expect on the journey.
Step 3 Further Research:
After the presentation we encourage you to call some of our previous clients and builders we work with to hear about their experiences and the quality of our work. We can also arrange a visit to a completed Bower Home.
Choosing your architect is a big decision and we encourage you to do all the research and exploration you need, to feel confident in your choice.