The Architect’s Notebook
Melissa’s thoughts on renovation, new house design and other things that occupy an architect’s mind…
Metroworks Has A New Family Member!
Yep! Metroworks has adopted an elephant - welcome Malkia! The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust does great work in Kenya rescuing and caring for elephants and other African wildlife that have been orphaned. Their teams rescue [...]
TIME & MONEY
Something a bit different to think about in this post... Imagine that you had won a prize in a contest where each morning your bank would deposit $86,400 in your private account for your use. [...]
Got Gas…?
...Or induction? As an architect, I help my clients make lots of decisions throughout the design process. One of the trickiest ones is in the kitchen - do we choose a gas or induction cooktop? [...]
What A Year! What A Project!
The awards keep rolling in for 2017!! The family home I mentioned in my last post has won another award and was also a finalist in two others! The house in Glen Iris was [...]
Another Metroworks Project Wins Award!
What a year its been for awards in 2017!! Another of Metroworks Architects projects - this one a new home designed by Melissa - has won an award! The house was beautifully built by [...]
Melissa’s Advice Featured on realestate.com.au
I'm excited to let you know that last month I was interviewed for three articles that are now featured on the very popular realestate.com.au website. Both articles were written by journalist Erin Delahunty. The first is "How to [...]
Website Update – New Before & Afters Page
So I've had a bit of time on my hands and decided to play around with a new idea for one of my web site pages. As such, the "Before & Afters" page has [...]
Metroworks Project Wins HIA Awards!
Its so exciting to announce that one of Metroworks Architects recent renovation projects - designed by Melissa - has won not one, but two awards at the recent HIA Victorian Housing Awards! The project in [...]
AN ARCHITECT’S VIEW OF NEW YORK CITY
Rather than write about what I saw and experienced in New York City, I though it better to put it in a slideshow.
Washington DC
Washingdon DC is a city that knows how to do monuments and memorials well. From the grandeur of the Lincoln Memorial through to the solemnity of the Korean War Veterans Memorial. But what I found [...]
Fallingwater
As promised in my previous post, its time to tell you about the next stop on my trip - a small town in south west Pennsylvania called Farmington. Although not particularly famous for anything really, Farmington [...]
Chicago and Mies
Chicago is a great city to visit if you are at all interested in architecture. Not only are there some amazing buildings to see, but the people of Chicago are really proud of their city [...]
Renovating – 10 reasons to MOVE OUT!
Before construction on a renovation project starts, most owners have to consider whether they will stay in an untouched part of their home during the renovation or whether they will move out. Although the answer [...]
Great Houses in the Movies
Hollywood has presented use with some great architectural and urban design ideas over the years. One of the best essays I remember writing back in uni was one comparing the city design depicted in two [...]
10 Things Your Architect Will Expect From You
Getting a great result in a new home or renovation design project is a team effort and is important – for you and for your Architect. So it is important to understand the things that [...]
Architects Add Value
Recently, I’ve been working on a large-scale residential renovation project here in Melbourne. I was engaged by my clients to provide full architectural services for the project - that is from concept design right through [...]
Why A House Is Like A Human
Now - here's an idea that warrants some deeper thought... a house is like a human body. Here's why... A house has:an overall design form - the general shape of a human that we all know and [...]
Building Permit or Planning Permit – What’s the Difference?
The location of your project, the type of project and the scale of the project are all factors that combine to determine whether your project will need both a planning permit and building permit, or [...]
I Just Need A Set Of Plans – Part 4
“I already know what I don’t know…don’t I?”There are so many elements that go into what may at first seem a simple residential project that you will need to consider. Below is a list of [...]
I Just Need A Set Of Plans – Part 3
“It costs so much to make design changes – I’ll just have to go with what they say”Most architects include a bit of “wriggle-room” in their fees to allow for design changes – it would [...]
I Just Need A Set Of Plans – Part 2
“But what if I don’t like what the architect designs?”If your architect has truly listened to you during those first discussions about your design brief, then they should be able to deliver a house design [...]
I Just Need A Set Of Plans – Part 1
“I don’t really need an architect, I know what I want. I just need someone to draw up the plans.” You may be surprised how often I hear this from people enquiring at my practice. [...]