The benefits of engaging an architect-builder for your project

Before his recent passing, architect design theorist Christopher Alexander championed a role that has now been mostly dissolved in the building industry: that of the ‘Architect Builder’. He described a single entity that is responsible for the design and construction of the building from start to finish. It’s what is sometimes referred to as ‘master building’.

It’s now an uncommon term, but multiskilled firms like Box are challenging the status quo to bring cohesive mastery and a central entity back to the delivery of architectural projects. 

“You have architects on one side of the ledger, builders on the other, engineers, and all kinds of consultants in between - we just felt that the way it was running in an adversarial fashion meant it wasn't producing the best output for people,” shares Box founder Dan Heyworth. “We wanted to go back to the very roots of what's known as master building, where the architects and the builder were almost one and the same.”

Heyworth, who has worked in the industry for more than 20 years, says making the move to a one-stop-shop structure produces better-designed projects that are completed quicker and are more cost-effective. 

Clients who have built in the past are particularly enamoured with the master building approach.

“We get a lot of people who have been on the architectural journey and have heard about us and thought, ‘That's exactly what we need’.  They've come to us because they've been through the process and know it can be a complete shambles. They know what an architect's and a builder's strengths are, and they're just looking for someone who can pull that all together.”

Heyworth says it's also attractive to people who are building for the first time because it gives them confidence that nothing will fall through the cracks and that someone will have an overview of the whole project. 

Another key reason why clients prefer this model is there is less risk, as the liability for any failures cannot be shifted around.

“There's always this big confrontation between the architect and the builder; the person who ends up worse off is generally the customer. Many things can get missed when handing off information from one entity to the other, but in our setup (as one client said the other day).

‘There's only one throat to choke when it comes to the building’ - we can't point our finger at the architect because everyone’s under the same umbrella.”

The process of building with a combined architect-builder 

Designing and building a home is almost always a lengthy process, which means the relationship with the architect-builder is crucial to the enjoyment and success of the project.

Heyworth says creating open lines of communication and being transparent is key to creating a good relationship with clients.

“It's all about service and making them feel comfortable. It's a long relationship, so it's about creating trust. We are very open, and from day one, I'll stand up here at the board and discuss their brief, look at the site, look at numbers and get some information based on historic projects.”

All this information helps clients understand that we've done this many times before; we can give them excellent advice with design, costing and building, and most of them walk out of here feeling that we're a pair of safe hands.”

However, the briefing process when using a master building specialist is different to using separate design and build teams. For example, Box has their design lead work with their costing and building teams from day one, particularly for projects like renovations, where they may be dealing with old structures.

“Our builder can come in and work with the design team and analyse whether it's practical or not even to go there because it'll cost the client a lot of money. That's how we work on these projects - we utilise that engagement with the company's customer, business and design sides from day one.” 

Heyworth says the transparency of Box’s process helps build trust with clients, and they’ve fine-tuned the way they talk about costs with clients. 

“We deliver costings, including contingency and talking about all the things that we've seen happen or projects that might increase costs, and making sure that people are aware of the kind of things that are in our control and the type of things that are outside of our control, and the kind of contingency you might need for those,” he shares. “We start talking about all that from day one because it's a lot of money people are spending, and these are big projects.”

The team’s deep knowledge of costings and budgets doesn’t preclude design excellence, and the two-step process Box has in place ensures they deliver a design that not only meets the client’s brief, but exceeds it.  

There are two main steps in this process, and the first is  'prototyping' whereby Box comes up with an initial concept that inspires the client, yet also meets their budget. Depending on how close the design is to meeting the client’s expectations, there may be several iterations.

“More often than not, any rockiness comes down to meeting budget expectations. What we do now as part of that process is we always present the client with exactly what they want and the cost. We also provide options to show them how to meet their budget, incorporating things they can do differently or remove.”

Once the concept is established, the process moves on to creating a finalised design which includes the interiors and all materials. Once the design side of the project is complete, consenting begins and then of course, the building process itself. 

Once the build is complete, the customer care is top-notch. “If things need fixing, Mark, our care and repair man, will come and fix them. Beyond the build, it gives them confidence that should there be any problems, not only do we have the Master Builder’s guarantee, but we are proactive about going back and looking for any possible issues and fixing them because we want our houses to stand.”

For Box, it’s a joy to deliver clients’ dream homes, and the process of working together often ends with a lasting relationship.

“We're not here to hand over the keys and run. We often build great relationships with our clients, and they become friends afterwards,” says Heyworth. 

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