Notes from the studio on building well, the things we have learned on site, and the decisions that shape a good house.
Clients often want to move quickly through design to get to the build. We understand the impulse, but a longer, more careful design phase is almost always the cheaper path. Here is why the decisions that cost nothing on paper save real money on site, and how to tell a thorough architect from a slow one.
Exposed brick is not fashionable in the way some cladding is, and that is part of its appeal. In this piece we make the case for a slow, honest material: how thermal mass quietly cuts your heating, why we leave it unpainted, and what to look for if you want brick to do more than just sit there.
A heritage overlay is not the obstacle most owners fear, and it is not a free pass either. Drawing on the Carlton Terrace Extension, we explain what councils really care about, why new work that looks honestly new often gets approved more easily than imitation, and how to keep the planning process out of a hearing.
A comfortable house should not depend on a wall of air conditioners. Using the Macedon Ranges Retreat as an example, we walk through orientation, thermal mass and shading, the three free tools that do most of the work, and explain how a building can hold its own temperature through a Victorian year.