Thanks for your comments. You are absolutely right. Finding an architect you can work with who understands your needs in terms of the brief and the budgetary constraints is the most important first step in any project in country or urban areas. We always listen closely to what our clients are asking for - even developing a written brief from the first meeting to make sure we are on the same page. We do however sometimes come back with a different approach that the clients may not have considered but it should always satisfy or enhance the original brief. But it is well worth exploring the brief initially and how the design can respond to the clients needs and the site constraints as well as budget. It is also good practice to work closely with a preferred builder (or more) form the outset to ensure the project is on budget from the beginning. We have preferred builders who we have worked with for years who can give us quick ball park estimates on initial concept sketches. As the project progresses we will use a limited tender process to get a competitive tender and more refined cost estimates. This gives the client the opportunity to see what areas in the project are costing more before we even approach the approval process. We are not in the business of designing projects that can't be built as this very disappointing for our clients and a waste of time for us - we love to see our happy clients in the homes that they have often been dreaming of for years. In the past we have had many clients who have come to us after bad experiences and it has always been a pleasure to help them. We would encourage all clients to discuss budget up front and continue to do so throughout the design process. Your architect should be doing this anyhow. Clients with strong design ideas are also a pleasure to work with - although some clients are not so driven by this - a good way we have found is by using the HOUZZ ideas books for us and the client to collect and share ideas on spaces and how they might inform the design. Glad to hear you got there in the end.

We have very similar restrictions down here on the South Coast of NSW. Albeit a drier understorey than your rainforest looking environment. As a Building Designer the local experience will always help the owner get through the maze of the environmental restrictions.

It is a joy balancing the design brief vs Council LEPs and DCPs (and those who try and interpret those documents).

Always fantastic to hear about and see successful projects with innovative design solutions Obviously there has been a great match and partnership between the client and the professional to achieve this.

The industry is becoming increasingly diversified and specialised. There is a vast ocean of design service providers, but the particular differences and of what they do (or can or cannot do) is generally not very well understood by the public, and perhaps it's also not always effectively presented or marketed. Also , the visual competition factor, so predominant these days, is overriding (detrimentally) and diverting attention away from the arguably more important factors and professional points of difference involved. Certain companies, architect or designers will be more or less suited to different and specific projects, contexts and clients, and unfortunately the best professional options can remain buried just beneath the surface of where potential clients are scouring.

Finding the appropriate match is certainly not straight forward and arguably harder than it used to be despite the irony of having so many options and so much information literally at our fingertips. We're in a world that has access to an overload of (mostly disposable) oversimplified/skewed information and content. Yet it is what largely influences and directs people when they are considering their project, where in the past perhaps the working through of potential options involved actually picking up the phone or meeting professionals and having an effective in depth conversation and connecting with a human. As at the end of the day, the people factor is what this industry is all about. We're working with people and their families and help create a particular home & associated lifestyle experience. That's the core of it all.

Taking on a building project for both the Owner and the Designer or Architect is a significant commitment and a two way street. It's a collaboration, a process, a partnership and a journey, and to successfully navigate them accordingly there needs to be a certain degree of common ground and understanding between the critical people involved and appropriate alignment of the project fundamentals. It's in this area, any day of the week, that will ultimately determine a project's success or failure..............oh, and it is of course always ALL about robustly managing budget ;)

mummagabz we would love to see what you have decided to build

Great job Zugai Strudwick Architects

Nicely built too !

Siriuskey, Ive just posted it on my original thread.