Affinity Building Design

19/12/2022

HOME DESIGN BRIEF - The First Step To Building Your New Home.
The first stage in getting any plans done is to prepare a design brief. Your Architect or Building Designer will typically prepare one before starting to make sure everyone is on the same page. In fact if your Design Professional doesn’t provide one you are quite within your rights to insist on one.

Now a design brief is a fluid document which means through the course of a design the brief might change slightly. The design process is meant to be an exchange of ideas and design options. However if the change is significant enough your Design Professional may ask to adjust their quote based on the changes. And in some cases it may mean a re-writing of the brief. If this does happen then it is better to happen at this stage rather than after they have started laying bricks.

My recommendations to clients when they are starting out is to gather as much information as they can before meeting with the Design Professional. I am including a link to the Design Brief that I use when I am developing a proposal for a client. The reason I am including it is so that you know what type of information the Design Professional is looking for.

So I always recommend to gather as much information as you can at the start. And they say that a picture is worth a thousand words and it is never more true in this process. Take as many photographs as you can of the things that you like and the things that you don’t like. (make sure you adequately differentiate between the 2 so your Design Professional doesn’t get them mixed up.) Cut out photographs from magazines including appliances, fixtures and fittings (toilets, bathrooms, sinks, vanity basins etc) all of which helps describe your requirements.
Now you are well prepared to contact some Design Professionals, show them your ideas and ask them for a quote.
I hope this has been helpful. If so please give us a thumbs up and don’t forget to tell your friends on facebook about us.

The First Step To Building Your New Home.

09/12/2022

Why can't I find a builder at Christmas? This post explores some of the reasons that influence the madness that is Christmas!
https://affinitybd.com.au/what-happened-to-the-construction-industry-at-christmas/

Affinity Building Design is focused on providing the best quality Building Design experience possible. In this site you will find tonnes of useful information and links to sites and products that will…

23/11/2022

WHEN IS TOWN PLANNING REQUIRED FOR MY PROJECT?
Town Planning is required for a number of reasons when you set-out to extend or renovate your home.

TOWN PLANNING SCHEME –
Most local government authorities have a planning scheme for their jurisdiction. The Town Planning scheme is a map of all properties in the locality and is designed to regulate the use of land and the development of that land.

TOWN PLANNING OVERLAYS
Town Planning Overlays are influences on land that need to be considered when developing a property. For instance, a “Bushfire” overlay means that a development must be designed to meet a bushfire hazard identified on that property. It is your Design Professionals responsibility to investigate the influences on a development and ensure that the design documentation meets all of the requirements of the overlay.

OTHER PLANNING TRIGGERS
Other Acts and Regulations enacted by parliament are enforced under the Local Authorities Planning Departments. For instance, most municipalities are governed by a “Development Code” which cover a multitude of development considerations but the most common one that influences residential properties is boundary setbacks. It is most likely that your home is setback a certain distance from the front, side and rear boundaries in order to comply with the “Development Code” and this varies depending on the size of your allotment, covenants, by-laws etc.

20/01/2022

My latest blog post is about what happens when a town planning application is triggered for residential projects. Click on the link below to read more...

Town Planning is required for a number of reasons when you set-out to extend or renovate your home. Most local government authorities have a planning scheme for their jurisdiction.

18/01/2022

I just wanted to remember a great man across all of my channels tonight. Roger Ridley was a street performer who could have made millions with his music but he decided that he just wanted to bring joy to peoples lives. So he performed in the streets for free living off tips from the crowd. He died on Nov 16 2005 but his music lives on and inspired the "Playing for Change movement". We remember you Roger Ridley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us-TVg40ExM

18/01/2022

See my latest "Mood Boards" page for some interior design inspiration

24/12/2021

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone.

11/12/2021

When do I need a building Permit?
Building permits are all about ensuring the safety, health and structural stability of a building. It is the process by which qualified / licensed people review and approve the construction, alteration, extension or renovation of a building structure.
The answer to the question is quite complicated and so I have written a blog post about it on my website. You can click the link to the post in the comments section below..
I hope the blog can answer some questions for you.

https://affinitybd.com.au/when-do-i-need-a-building-permit/

10/12/2021

ARCHITECT OR BUILDING DESIGNER – WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE
In this article I have taken a different approach to most articles on the subject.
I have avoided explaining the difference altogether. Why enter into a discussion that has already been flogged to death. Instead I have lumped them under 1 label and called them "Design Professionals" to avoid the noise and to look at how exactly do we choose the best person for the job. "Without Bios". You can read the article by clicking on the link below and don't forget to like the post if you find it interesting.
https://affinitybd.com.au/architect-or-building-designer-whats-the-difference/

Lets call them Design Professionals because they virtually do the same thing. There is good or bad in any industry and this one is no different.

08/12/2021

I am pleased to say that the Resources page on my website is now up and running with some useful tools and information for people to use when designing their new home, extension or renovation. Click on the link below to have a look. And while your their check out the new posts I have done on the blog page as well. Don't forget to give a thumbs up if you are finding this information useful and leave comments of ideas we can share with others or if you want to leave some feedback to help improve the site it is very much appreciated. Happy designing and Merry Christmas.

https://affinitybd.com.au/resources/

07/12/2021

What happened to the construction industry at Christmas?

The construction industry gets a little crazy in the Christmas period. I have written a short article to try and shed some light on what happens and how you can prepare for it.
Please visit the link below. I hope it is helpful. And don't forget to give us a thumbs up if you think we are worthy.

https://affinitybd.com.au/what-happened-to-the-construction-industry-at-christmas/

Uncategorized What happened to the construction industry at Christmas? by admin December 7, 2021 Or “We’re too busy having fun” Ok it’s a little bit tongue in cheek but I see the same thing happen every year at Christmas time. Of course the same thing doesn’t happen in other than Christian...

07/12/2021

What information should I have for my first meeting with a design professional?

The first stage in getting any plans done is to prepare a design brief. Your Architect or Building Designer will typically prepare one before starting to make sure everyone is on the same page. In fact if your Design Professional doesn’t provide one you are quite within your rights to insist on one.

Now a design brief is a fluid document which means through the course of a design the brief might change slightly. The design process is meant to be an exchange of ideas and design options. However if the change is significant enough your Design Professional may ask to adjust their quote based on the changes. And in some cases it may mean a re-writing of the brief. If this does happen then it is better to happen at this stage rather than after they have started laying bricks.

My recommendations to clients when they are starting out is to gather as much information as they can before meeting with the Design Professional. I am including a link to the Design Brief that I use when I am developing a proposal for a client. The reason I am including it is so that you know what type of information the Design Professional is looking for.

affinityhorizon.ac-page.com/ABD-Design-Brief-Optin

So I always recommend to gather as much information as you can at the start. And they say that a picture is worth a thousand words and it is never more true in this process. Take as many photographs as you can of the things that you like and the things that you don’t like. (make sure you adequately differentiate between the 2 so your Design Professional doesn’t get them mixed up.) Cut out photographs from magazines including appliances, fixtures and fittings (toilets, bathrooms, sinks, vanity basins etc) all of which helps describe your requirements.

Now you are well prepared to contact some Design Professionals, show them your ideas and ask them for a quote.
I hope this has been helpful. If so please give us a thumbs up and don’t forget to tell your friends on facebook about us.

Article by: Mark Sabadina for Affinity Building Design