PROCESSES
As professionals in the design and construction industry, we believe it is our duty to leverage our expertise to create a built environment that is high-quality, aesthetically pleasing, practical, and efficient.
We are dedicated to discovering the best methods to design homes and buildings that are superior in quality, non-toxic, and environmentally friendly.Unlike other design and construction firms, we take pride in our unique approach. 2Define Architecture designs and manages projects from inception to handover.
We provide support through every phase, including architecture, interior design, feasibility, town planning, project management, documentation, and construction.
This comprehensive approach ensures efficient and thorough execution.
consulting
We conduct feasibility studies to evaluate project viability and explore initial conceptual ideas.
We analyze planning overlays and guidelines for your property, providing preliminary feedback on design possibilities and potential project pathways.
Additionally, we offer sustainability consultancy services to guide environmentally sustainable decisions for your project.
Our recommendations include passive solar design principles, optimal orientation, and low-impact materials, laying the foundation for future development that balances practical and environmental considerations.
initial meeting
As we conceptualize, develop, and build together, we will foster a connection to nature, community, family, friends, and ourselves. To begin, our focus will be on connecting with you.
Throughout this process, we aim to understand your lifestyle as if we’ve spent a weekend with you in your home, learning about your daily routines and how you envision your new space.
During this stage, we'll also arrange a site visit to understand the opportunities and constraints of the physical environment and gather inspiration!
concept design
The Concept Design stage includes a thorough site investigation to identify optimal orientations for passive solar design principles, assess environmental conditions, and evaluate existing built forms, allowing us to respond to the unique opportunities and constraints of your site.
We will meticulously review your briefing document to understand all the elements that will come together to create your dream home.
Combining all this information, we will present our concept design ideas and start the collaborative process of designing your home together – the exciting part!
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Visualizing spaces can sometimes be sometimes challenging, so we can use 3D modeling software to walk you through your future home, giving you a clear idea of what the spaces and materials will look like.
We will also determine if any additional consultants need to be engaged.
Our goal for this stage is to finalize a design that you love, followed by a preliminary budget estimate and implementation program. This ensures you have confidence early in the process that we are working within a comfortable budget range and achieving our targets before moving forward.
planning approval
Depending on the regulatory planning overlays on your site, obtaining Planning Approval from the Council may be necessary as part of the design process.
If Planning Approval is required, we will prepare a Town Planning Application, which includes architectural documentation and supporting documents such as written statements and reports.
We will inform you if additional reports from other consultants are necessary, such as Arboricultural Impact Assessments, Bushfire Management Plans, and Land Capability Assessments.
Once all required documents are assembled, we will submit the application to the council on your behalf and manage communications throughout the planning process.
After receiving the Approved Planning Permit from the Council, which can be a lengthy process at times and varies by council, we can move on to the Construction Documentation stage.
design development
This is another phase for your project .While small developments , renovations and extensions( and a number of other small projects) can have the Plannign Approval and Design Development stages amalgamated into one, for larger projects, this is usually the moment to get the design more defined and start engaging with diverse consultants to get input and to start integrating their advice into the drawings.
tender drawings
As above, this phase, depending on the type of project one works for , can be combined with the Construction Documentation phase.
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In this instance the drawings get refined enough for a builder to be able to quote on them and return a price for the client to decide.
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During this , aside from bringing the drawing to a high level of development, we can assist in setting up a tender, a brief on which potential builders to show interest and quote on.
If engaged to do this, we can also assist with the evaluation of returned tenders and advice based on submissions received.
While we can advise, it is certainly the client who has the last word in terms of who they`d like to engage as builders for the next stage.
CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTATION
There can be an overwhelming number of decisions to make regarding every element that goes into your project, but we’re here to guide you through them to ensure the final outcome is beautiful, healthy, and environmentally friendly.
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While it might seem that not much is going on on the surface, it is at this stage that the technical drawings and specifications are completed 100% and coordination between architecture and other disciplines happen.
The larger the project, the more important it is to ensure the coordination between all specialties is conducted to the uttermost standards, as a thorrough documentation has less potential to generate variations later in construciton phase.
CONSTRUCTION administration and handover
Construction administration begins once a builder is engaged . For the client it is when the fruits of months of work begin to show, as construction commences on site.
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The role of the architect in this instance is to assist the builder is following the drawings and to respond to any queries the builder might have pertining to either documentation or other situations encountered during construction.
Part of this is to ensure latent site conditions are addressed and resolved.
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At the end of this process, the handover happens, and the client can enjoy and start occupying( once Practical Completion is reached an a Occupancy Permit is issued by a building surveyor) the space.