Studio & FAQ's
JAMES FOLEY I Founder & Director
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GEMMA BRADLEY I Snr Interior Designer
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Our Team
ISABEL WELSH I Architecture
JEREMY COLLINS I Architecture
NIC WEBB I Architecture
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ABBEY ROBSON I Interior Design
VICTORIA HENRIKSSON I Interior Design
Questions we are regularly asked...
If you are on the search for an Architect for your new home or renovation / extension, we are here to help answer some questions that we often get when fielding new project enquiries.
I’ve never built a house or done a renovation before, what am I getting into?
You are not alone! This is how the majority of our clients come to us so we are always very understanding of this. Before you start building a house, it needs a considerable amount of time & expertise to arrive at something that is going to be worth your time & investment once complete. We want you to love the end product!
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The detail of our process is explained in the answers below.
What’s your process?
We work in 4 phases to help deliver your new home renovation or new build. In a nutshell, these phases are as follows:
1. Concept Design:
This is where we figure out all the constraints & opportunities for your home & block of land, create an amazing design that you love & show you that in realistic 3D renderings.
2. Detailed Design:
We flesh out a lot of the detail & then prepare Drawings for Council approval.
3. Technical Construction Documentation:
We prepare a comprehensive Drawing & specification set to show the builder the design intent so you can build the thing!
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4. On-Site Services
We are there for you at a monthly site meeting with you & the builder to answer any queries as the build process is taking place. This helps you have the peace of mind that the build will be as per the design that we have prepared.
How do your fees work?
It is important to think of our professional fees as part of the overall investment in your property. Our fees are based on a percentage of the build cost. As the scale & complexity of a project increases so does the amount of design & technical work required for us.
Experience tells us that clients do change their budgets during projects, we typically review the budget with you at the end of each of the 3 Design & Documentation phases to make sure it aligns with the budget you originally came to us with.
How long does a project take?
Again, this depends on the scale of the job, but typically 6-9 months including council approvals, then 6 months or so for technical documentation. During each phase we schedule regular monthly catch-ups with you to run through everything & keep you in the loop. It sounds like a long time, but time flies.
How much do these funky designs all cost to build anyway?
All of the projects we have completed & have in design at the moment vary in budget & size, but when starting a new project we are always talking to builders to get a feel for what’s achievable. We also like reviewing our previous signed build contracts, working out the square meter rate & feeding this back into the way we work on our new jobs. We are finding that in this market, working to a square metre rate of $4,000 & up to $6,500 at the upper end is a reasonable range to allow for.
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We consider ourselves aspirational but also very cost-conscious & aware of current market material & building costs.
But aren’t construction costs too high at the moment? I might wait for them to come down.
We are not aware of any builders or anyone else in the industry who are saying costs will come down, unfortunately. If anything, the time to start is now as although some costs have stabilised, some materials & trades continue to creep up in price annually, some even quarterly.
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It is also important to plan ahead, as the design, council approvals & technical documentation process can take over 12 months. A build can take 12 months or more depending on scale.
How do you manage build cost?
We usually introduce you to 1 or 2 builders from a panel of 5 or 6 we trust & have worked with previously; this happens during Concept design phase. The builder then reviews the design & drawings & put together a preliminary estimate for you that we can review. This also helps build rapport with a builder early in the design process, rather than waiting until you’re ready to start construction & scrambling for a builder.
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Another strategy is to use an Estimator during the design process, but we usually just work with builders to get the most up to date idea of pricing.
How are you different to other Architects?
It is important to compare apples with apples when selecting an Architect & comparing scope & fees. As with anything, the cheapest fee isn't always going to get you the best outcome. It comes down to the level of service that you expect & that we can deliver. Our experience tells us that clients expect a very high level of service, which they should! This is also the reason clients have come to us as they are actually on their second Architect because they didn't get the level of service with the first Architect.
We work collaboratively with our clients, whereas some Architects aren't this way inclined. It is not 'our way or the highway' - we will revise & refine the design with you so that you are 100% happy with it & we can show you exactly what you are getting through our industry-leading 3D capability.
We believe the quality of our design work & the quality of our technical documentation drawings sets us apart. Who cares about that though? Well, if you have quality technical documentation, you will have less headaches on-site.
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The main thing is that you like us, we like you & importantly, you like our design style of our previous work. We are different in that we are very collaborative & provide highly detailed 3D modelling of our projects to show you so that you can see exactly what you’re getting, not all Architects do this, some only work in 2D plans and elevations, & very basic 3D’s which mean you won’t get a full understanding of the design until it is happening on site. We aim to flip that on its head.
We also appreciate that you are busy with your family & business life & we aim to take the reigns of your project so that you have less to worry about.
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We consider each of our projects different to the last & each unique, we don’t do cookie-cutter design.
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We love that we have positive relationships with the builders we work with, which is not always the case in our industry.
I have spoken to 3 Architects & have 3 different fees, why are they all so varied?
You're probably bamboozled by all the different conversations & varying fees that you have sourced or are sourcing, we totally get it!
The key thing to identify is: What is your criteria in selecting an Architect? If you just said #1 is cheapest fee in your head, we're probably not a good match - we're not the cheapest, we don't want to be - but we are also not the most expensive, either.
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We find that a lot of our clients choose us because their most important criteria is relationship & connection between Client & Architect. We rate design quality up there pretty highly as well, but believe this is a given on our projects anyway.
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Due to the fact that you are going to be working with your Architect for 6-12 months PLUS 12 months when the project is being built, we believe there should be that great connection & some enjoyment & fun along the way.
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The fees that you have will vary for a number of reasons, however it is mainly the scope of work that has been allowed for. A low fee is usually a red flag for "we are not going to spend a lot of time on this project" in other words, your project won't get the time it deserves, & in turn you won't get the quality design outcome that you deserve either.
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For our projects, we plan them meticulously, put the right people working on them & James & our senior staff are involved every step of the way (ie. you won't be handballed to a graduate or junior staff member to complete your project, as we are told happens in other practices). James will be your point of contact.
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We also know that our level of service is unmatched when it comes to what we deliver & the quality of our work.
How is an Architect different to a ‘Building Designer’ or Draftsman?
We have a lot of respect for anyone else working in our industry.
To earn the title of ‘Architect’, it is a long & rigorous journey, requiring detailed knowledge, expertise & design ability. Architects have undergone 5-6 years of rigorous University education to achieve a Bachelor or Masters degree in Architecture. In addition to University, in Australia to be awarded the title ‘Architect’ requires another minimum of 2-3 years of professional experience (usually more like 5+ years) & 3 exams to earn this title & become officially Registered as a practicing Architect.
So, the bar is high to become an Architect & in our opinion, when you use a good Architect, your new home as a finished product is simply on another level.
Are you involved when my project starts on-site?
Our arrangement is usually to come to site once per month & check-in with you & the builder to see how it’s all going & if there’s any questions that arise.
We don’t complete what is called traditional ‘Contract Administration’ services.
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If you'd like us more involved we can work on a monthly retainer during construction to provide peace of mind that everything is on track while on-site.
Can I talk to someone to get going?
Of course. You can schedule a call with James to have a chat over the phone for 15 mins or so to discuss your project. If we are both comfortable & feel we are a good fit, we will arrange a meeting in our studio to run through a proposal of our services with you. This initial meeting is free of charge. If you’d like us to come to site prior to engaging us there is a charge of $300+Gst to cover our time & advice.
You can then take our proposal away & consider further before potentially engaging us. We ask that you sign the proposal & pay a commencement fee to lock the project into our scheduling. This is an amount which comes out of the Concept Phase & confirms that you are serious about moving forward with us. It also allows us to resource your project with staff to begin at the agreed time/month.
What our clients are saying...
Darrin Leung
CEO of DHK Group
“On our luxury Townhouse development, FOLAR have proven their expertise to develop a great design and document the project reliably and efficiently.
The 3D renderings produced as part of the design process were exceptional and allowed us to easily visualise our project.
I would certainly recommend working with James”