Fees
Our fee is calculated as a percentage of the construction budget, typically 8 to 15% for residential projects depending on scale and complexity. It covers all design services, from pre-design through to working drawings and builder engagement, and is broken down across each stage. The fee stays fixed unless the budget changes. Commercial, retail and hospitality projects vary more widely in scope, so we’ll put together a proposal once we understand what’s involved.
Contract administration during construction is charged separately at an hourly rate. With our regular builders, clients usually sign a standard HIA or MBA building contract, which keeps the administration, and our fees for it, lower. If you’d prefer a more formal contract with detailed administration, we can do that too.
We use the Australian Institute of Architects’ Client Architect Agreement, which sets out the services, fees and responsibilities on both sides.
The project budget
Construction is the biggest cost, but it isn’t the only one. Consultants (such as the engineer, building surveyor, energy rater and, where needed, a town planner or heritage consultant), council fees and architectural fees all add up, and together make up the project budget.
We’ll help you map this out early, so your expectations and your budget line up from the start.
Working with Nest
Nest is a small practice by design. If you work with us, you’ll work directly with Emilio from the first meeting to the final handover, so the vision stays consistent and nothing gets lost in translation.
Timing
Most residential projects take 2 to 2.5 years from first design to moving in. As a rough guide:
- Concept and sketch design: 3 to 4 months
- Town planning: 3 to 6 months, depending largely on council
- Design development and working drawings: 3 to 6 months
- Builder pricing and building permit: 2 to 3 months
- Construction: 9 to 12 months, usually closer to 12
Commercial fitouts usually run to shorter timelines, shaped by leases, landlord approvals and opening dates.
Process
1. Engaging our services
Every project starts with a conversation, usually a phone call or email, followed by a meeting to talk through what you have in mind.
After that first call, we’ll arrange a time to meet and talk through your brief, budget and timeline. You’re welcome to speak with a past client, or with one of the builders we work with, to hear how we operate firsthand.
Once we understand the project, we’ll talk through fees and services in detail and prepare a fee proposal. When you’re comfortable, we’ll prepare a Client Architect Agreement for you to review, and once it’s signed, we get started.
2. Brief and pre-design
We start by capturing your brief, then work through options together over one to three meetings.
This is where most of the due diligence happens: the brief, the site, planning overlays such as heritage, services and budget. It’s also where we’ll weigh up bigger questions, like renovating versus building new.
3. Sketch design
The early ideas are developed into a clear proposal, with drawings that explain the design intent.
We’ll test options where needed. This is also when one of our regular builders provides an early estimate, so the design and the budget stay in step.
We also map out the garden early, and like to bring a landscape architect in from the start, so the landscape helps shape the house rather than being added at the end.
4. Town planning
Not every project needs a planning permit, but many do, especially in heritage areas.
If yours does, we prepare the drawings for the application and work with council through to a decision.
For more complex applications, we’ll bring in a town planner to prepare the planning report and guide the application through council.
If the property sits in a heritage overlay, a heritage consultant may also be needed to assess the existing building and support the design.
We’ll tell you early on whether your project needs either, and roughly what they’ll cost.
Timing of this stage is largely in council’s hands.
5. Design development
The design is resolved in detail: materials, finishes, joinery and how the building will perform in summer and winter.
Think of it as a draft of the final drawings, with room for change. You’ll also get a 3D model to explore.
6. Working drawings
The final documents the builder will price and build from, coordinated with the engineer, building surveyor and energy rater.
They include a full interior package covering materials, fixtures and fittings, so the builder’s price reflects the whole project. Changes are harder from here, which is why the earlier stages matter. We check every energy rating report closely; read more about our approach to sustainability.
7. Choosing a builder
For most projects, we bring one of our regular builders in early to estimate during design.
They then provide an updated quote before construction. It builds trust and keeps pricing realistic. If you’d prefer to compare prices, we can run a tender instead.
8. Construction
We stay involved through construction, making sure what gets built is what was designed.
We administer the contract, visit site, answer the builder’s questions and check the work against the drawings. We’re not the project manager (that’s the builder’s job), but we’re there to look after the design, and you, until handover.
Let’s talk
Got a project in mind? Get in touch and we’ll arrange a time to chat.