Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Dec 29, 2013 8:06 pm Well its been awhile since I have been here, I must say. I am now 2 years in and still have nothing to show for it. I purchased a sloping block in the north east of Melbourne. For the past year I have been working with an Architect. We put our plans into council a month or so ago, only to hit a what I consider a major problem. My Architect did not use a town planner nor did he have a pre admission meeting with our council (both of which I now know after the fact). Now it seem the plans for my home do not meet the SL02 (significant land overlay) of the site and as a result 16 metres by 2 metres of my house needs to disappear. Although the Architect did say that he did not see the SL02 requriements prior to our submission, we are now $20K OUT OF POCKET. He says he is willing to correct his error after many emails later but as yet we are still no better off. He has offered to do a design amendment not a total redesign. I do not want an ammendment as his design cannot be built on our land. So here I am back at homeone looking for any advise. I will not be naming my Architect as we are still in communication and I do not wish to cause any harm to his business. I do not believe he deliberately hurt us but rather made a very big mistake and is trying very hard not to have to wear it. Can anyone out here offer any advise as to what we should do? We have spoken with a Town Planner and he told us straight away the plan would not be approved because of the overlay, again after the fact. Please Help?? Re: Architect Designed House 2Dec 29, 2013 8:25 pm What was on your title when you bought your land,usually states if there is an overlay. Re: Architect Designed House 4Dec 30, 2013 12:34 pm When you say Architect I assume it is a registered Architect and not a draftsperson. You can make your complaint to Architect's Registration Board, that should elevate the seriousness of your complaint and may prompt the Architect to make good. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Architect Designed House 5Dec 30, 2013 1:37 pm Why do you think these guys charge the big dollar? He has not only charged you for something that you cannot even use for toilet paper, he has wasted a year of your time...now he doesn't want to wear the responsibility. He should consider himself lucky if he gets away with just giving you your money back. 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: Architect Designed House 6Jan 03, 2014 9:22 am That is pretty poor. I know most of the rules and regs of the DCP's and LEP's for the three local councils that account for 95% of my work. When a new client contacts me to draw plans for them I can tell them pretty much straight away what they can and can't do at the first on site meeting. When I start on the drawings I still do a quick check on the relevant councils website just to make sure they haven't changed any pertinent laws. It takes me all of ten minutes. Stewie Re: Architect Designed House 7Jan 06, 2014 2:18 pm Thanks everyone for your input. I have just sent off an email requesting a full refund. I dont expect this will be met with much joy and I am sure it will only cost us more in the long run, but if I dont make a stand, who will? I will keep you posted. Now from here, how to move forward? Do I look for another Architect or do I look for the design and build small builder? My husband almost wants to give up but I'm not letting this experience get the better of us. Any more advise would be much appreciated. Re: Architect Designed House 8Jan 06, 2014 2:50 pm Definitely do not give up. Never give up. You need to re think if you need an architect or if a competent architectural draftsperson can do the job for you. If it's a simple mechanics of satisfying all the planning rules and drawing up what you want then the latter will do. If you want something special and a visual creation with a wow factor and prestige of architecturally designed dwelling then yes get a good architect. But do your research first. I hope you get your money back. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Architect Designed House 9Jan 07, 2014 2:39 pm Is worth asking for a meeting with the council and architect so that you can look at the SLO to see if there are any ways around it or ways you can try to get the plan to work within it? Otherwise you may run in to the same trouble if you engage another architect. We are in Eltham and had to deal with SLO's and there was a process we went through with council in order to get the plans through. Much of it had to do with minimising tree loss (although once we're in we can chop down what we like thanks to fire regs). We basically had to address various points of the SLO and explain our position and what we were doing to be sympathetic to the locale. Other than that I can recommend an excellent builder in the area and he uses very reputable draughtsmen to come up with amazing plans that work in the environment. Good luck and I hope you get what you're after. Re: Architect Designed House 10Jan 08, 2014 8:12 am Thank RobbieBob, We are only removing one tree. The problem isn't with the council, it's that the said designed house did not take into account the SLO2 of the land. Which ever way we go, it's a total redesign. We have had 2 meetings with the council and it was the first where we discovered the problem. A big chunk of house has to go, for it to get through council. Had our Architect done his job in the first place, we could have designed a house that met the requirements of the land. Anyway thanks again. I would also love the details of your builder and draftsman, please. Cheers Re: Architect Designed House 11Jan 09, 2014 8:43 am I am not sure if this is relevant but I hit on this issue as well. I have supplied a copy of section 32 of my block to my builder for them to check. Since information on that document is not totally up to date (1 year old at the time I gave to builder), it turns out that building envelope and driveway envelope was proposed when the original block was subdivided. My block is both SLO and VPO, and this week we received response from council that there is an updated version of the plan for my block with all the zones. I guess this might be what is missed in your case as well. I would agree with you on standing your ground and try to get refund, since your architect should have picked up the potential issue and work with council before moving on. I would definitely lost confidence with the architect, but if they are going to do the right thing and redesign your house, you are still safe to continue to work with them. Re: Architect Designed House 12Jan 10, 2014 3:12 pm Oh ok, well I really hope you can get a total refund from the architect. Good luck with it all. Ean Power from Canterbury Builders is our builder - he uses various draughtsmen depending on style/design. You can get him on 0413 050 241. Re: Architect Designed House 13Jan 10, 2014 3:34 pm I think trying to get anyone to come with a $20K refund is going to be tough even though I think you are entirely owed it given its the architects mistake and the time its taken you to get this far but I would just take one step back for a second. Have the meeting with the town planner and the architect now and see what options are available either to change the design or appeal the decision. I'm sure the architect is now stressing a little too and your request for a refund may have changed his perspective but rather than sacrificing everything from this one (admittedly major) oversight see what can be salvaged first. Best of luck with it. http://camdenbuild.blogspot.com.au/ by invite only please pm me Re: Architect Designed House 14Jan 13, 2014 12:55 pm Hi sam10, Whilst not sure why your architect has not completed the schematic stages of the design and assessed the planning controls correctly, it sounds like you are happy with the design. If the working relationship has not deteriorated to the point of ignition, can I suggest you continue with this firm? Couple of reasons: 1st: design is about ideas / methods / flair and finding someone who designs the way you like is not easy and they would have a better chance of finding a solution you like. 2nd: the designer is familiar with the site and constraints (at least they are aware of them now) and might resolve the issues quicker than a new contender. 3rd: design is an evolving process, and restrictions can lead to better design outcomes. Some of the most iconic buildings are a result of planning controls. Hope it goes well Re: Architect Designed House 15Jan 14, 2014 10:10 am Hi Everyone, We have tried to do most of what you guys are suggesting already. The problem is our Architect keeps stalling, changing his mind and won't agree to our set proposal from here. He is also not listening to us and our ideas. He has offered to hand us over to one of his coworkers instead of working with us. He seems to have lost interest and we in turn have lost all faith in him and his ability to do his job. He is not honest or helpful in any way. We approached him yesterday for a refund to which he has refused. He is a winner in the 2013 BDAV awards, so from here we will approach them and also seek council. We have certainly tried up until now to keep communication open but how long does one beat a dead horse? The issue now is, do we try to keep Town Planning open with our current application and replace the Architect or just let the application fall through and apply again when we have new plans? Any advise would be welcome Re: Architect Designed House 16Jan 14, 2014 12:29 pm Hi Sam10, I don't really have any advice for you. But I can tell you, from my own experience, that the BDAV are not much help in any dispute. They do offer a mediation service that both parties need to agree to but they have no lawyers and nor are they the registering body if your "architect" is a building designer. (They are a professional association just like the Master Builders Association.) The registering body for building designers is the Building Commission and he would be registered as a Draftsperson - Building Design (Architectural). Is he an architect or a building designer? If you wish to look at your legal options your best bet is to contact the Law Institute of Victoria http://www.liv.asn.au/ and ask for a referral to a lawyer who is expert in dealing with this kind of dispute. We found an excellent lawyer through them. You get half an hour free and that may be enough time to make up your mind whether it will be worthwhile to pursue the very expensive legal process or find some cheaper way out of this. Re: Architect Designed House 18Jan 19, 2014 9:46 pm Hi, I have been in this industry for over 20 years and my profession is architect/draftsperson/architectural engineer. I currently work as advisor to companies on how to run their workflows from sales to completion. I have seen worst situations and cases but this one is fully architects fault and he should have done all Pre-app meetings with council, made sure all overlays are checked and acted upon. After all that is our job. I work with a drafting firm that is not architects registred but rather bdav, and they know this industry inside out. They dont promise what they cant deliver and know more than 98% of architects i have faced in the residential industry. Not to mention cheaper too. When choosing this field to work on your job, make sure they give you all that is required and job description prior to contract signing. Otherwise, its as easy to say 'it didnt exist when i checked'... Your build is relatively simple, I believe your job can be easily done by a good building designer, you really do not need to pay for the architect. Remember, architect's… 3 8365 I've just had a look at the website. The company are just building broker's. There are plenty of similar companies that basically draw your plans (they own them so you… 8 4377 Hi, This is my first post. We are planning to buy new home via House and Land (H&L) Package around Boxhill/Gables/Marsden Park in Syndey. Googled reviews for most of… 0 10523 |