Explaining the Design Process: Construction Stage Design Services

We stay engaged on your project to support you & your builder throughout the Construction process; our level of involvement may differ from project to project depending upon the level of complexity. I take personal pride in giving you a design package that is as comprehensive as possible, with detail to make the design intent clear to your builder. We contract closely with local Melbourne Building companies, and have a clear idea of the level of information they need to build from, so can anticipate & design to that level and minimise any unresolved grey areas.

Tender & Construction Documentation

Your project may require defined stages & documentation issues for both Tender and Construction. At this stage, changes may be necessary to reflect feedback from building surveyor & planning consultants, other changes & variations that you’ve added, or revisions to the documentation to reduce your investment cost.

Construction Stage

There will always be a need for Construction stage design support; any unresolved details and grey areas are addressed at this stage. We attend Site visits & meetings, where discrepancies can be picked up & resolved before they become an issue. There will also be latent & unknown conditions that arise and need to be addressed on site, which will affect your design; revisions need to be made on-the-fly to limit how it affects your design ensure that the outcome doesn’t look like an afterthought or compromise. And there’s always that one time where a mistake has been made on site, and I’m consulted to help find a good solution without incurring (too many) additional costs)

During Construction, review materials and fixtures (including any that your builder would like to substitute), approval of paint drawdowns & samples, timber flooring stains, grout selections, review of contractor shop drawings (like signage, joinery drawings, windows), etc, etc.

There will always be some items that are too minor to confirm during design, like grout colours or grout thickness, wall tile setout, threshold trims, colour to spray paint things like thermostats and services (when its allowed), etc. These get resolved on site.

Defects Inspections & Defects Reports

We conduct Defects Inspections and Defects Reports towards the end of the construction stage, picking up details like scratches, inconsistent staining, detents in walls, etc. These all get scheduled with photos & corresponding locations marked on site plans for rectification by your Builder.

As Builts

At the completion of a project (particularly Commerical sites), we inspect the site and record changes that may have occurred on site; when we get back to the office these changes are transferred to the drawing file, and the entire set is stamped “As Built”, then issued to the client (and building owner). If it’s a large and involved project, we generally update the drawings as the construction is progressing, which also assists the trades if they need updated documentation to work from.

Our standard project timeline below illustrates where our Construction Stage Design Services fits into your overall project.

• Information Gathering: Initial Site Investigation, taking the Brief & Sketch Planning & the Moodboard

• Investment estimate (by Your Project Manager & Builder)

• Concept Design, schematic illustrations & sketches, FF&E Preliminaries & Joinery Preliminaries

• Update Investment estimate (by your Project Manager & Builder)

• Detail Design & Documentation, drafting plans & elevations for permits, detail design of Joinery, scheduling of FF&E, coordinate with consultants

• Permit Application (by your Project Manager

• Construction Documentation, Tender stage RFI’s, revisions to documentation in preparation for construction

• Tender (by your Project Manager)

• Construction Stage Design Services, Site meeting & inspections, site instructions & responding to RFI’s, materials approvals, Shop drawing review, Defects Inspection & report, As Built documentation, Handover attendance.

• As Builts

If you are planning a refurbishment, please explore our flexible Design Package Options designed to serve you for more information.

Lisa is a very dedicated professional with a keen eye for fine detail and accurate documentation. I have worked with Lisa on more than 10 airport lounges and I can highly recommend her work. Lisa is also good a reviewing and coordinating services drawings.

D. Johnson

(please pin the below graphic to your pinterest board for reference)

(please pin the below graphic to your pinterest board for reference)

So, why Hire an Interior Designer?

Unfortunately many people get confused or intimidated by the idea of hiring a professional Interior Designer for their project, and might be concerned about the process of working with a designer & the costs of doing so.

A lot of people I meet feel that they can hire a builder and do the design themselves, selecting materials and fixtures in dribs and drabs, often at the last minute (leading to less choice) with poor planning & lack of an overall vision. This will lead increased costs due to changes, additions and variations that the builder will not have allowed for.

You will save money & time. Your designer will plan functional and appealing spaces, provide drawings, visualisations & material / furnishing selections in a strategic manner so you can get competitive quotes, and you know what the design will look like & cost right from the start.

You require a Qualified Interior Designer & Registered Building Practitioner for any commercial project or residential project that requires a building permit; a proper interior designer is a highly trained & experienced registered professional, not just someone with ‘a good eye for colour’ and a knack for picking furniture.

Image: Omar Rodriguez @ormphotography