Design and build vs an architect and a builder: which suits your Sydney home?

There are two common ways to have a new home designed and built in Sydney. With design and build, one firm designs the home and takes it through approval and then builds it. On the traditional route you engage a registered architect to design and document the home. You then choose a separate licensed builder to build it while the architect often administers the building contract on your behalf.

Neither route suits every project, so the choice comes down to three questions. When do you want a firm price and how much independent oversight of the builder do you want? Would you rather have one party answerable for both the design and the build?

We work both ways. At SHORE Design + Build our registered architect designs homes that our own builders deliver. Those builders also build homes designed by independent architects, so we have seen both routes from the builder's side and the architect's side.

Reviewed by Emanuel Solomovic, Senior Architect at SHORE and NSW Registered Architect No. 7154.

Design and build vs architect and builder: the key differences

Design and build differs from the architect and builder route in eight practical ways, which we take one at a time below.

• Who you contract with: with design and build you sign one contract with one firm for both the design and the construction. On the architect and builder route you sign a client architect agreement with the architect and a separate building contract with the builder.
• Who answers for the result: with design and build one firm answers for both the design and the construction. On the architect and builder route the architect answers for the design and the builder answers for the construction. That leaves room for a dispute over whose problem it is when something sits between the two.
• When you get a firm price: with design and build the builders price the design as it develops, so cost shapes the drawings before they are finished. On the architect and builder route a firm price usually arrives at tender, once the documentation is complete. If the tenders come in over budget, the design may need to be reworked. Our article on high-end residences in Sydney shows how that early costing keeps the budget working.
• Independent oversight: on the architect and builder route an architect engaged for contract administration acts as your independent adviser on variations, progress payments and practical completion. That architect also certifies your payments to the builder. With design and build the architect works for the same firm as the builders, so there is no independent check built in. If you want one, you can engage an independent building consultant to inspect each stage.
• Choice of builder: on the architect and builder route you can tender the drawings to several builders and compare prices. With design and build you choose the builder when you choose the firm, so compare firms carefully at the start.
• The architect: both routes can involve a registered architect, with the difference being who employs them. Only people on the NSW Register of Architects can use the title architect, so check the name on the register whichever route you take.
• Time to site: with design and build, pricing runs alongside design, so there is no separate tender stage. On the architect and builder route tendering adds a step between documentation and construction. Approval time is the same on either route.
• Your time: with design and build you brief one team and have one point of contact from the first sketch to handover. On the architect and builder route the architect can be your point of contact during construction if they administer the contract. Otherwise you coordinate the two.

How each route works, step by step

The design and build route

1. Brief and site: the team reads the block and its planning controls and then puts early numbers against your brief.
2. Concept design: the builders price the design as it takes shape so that it stays within the budget.
3. Design development: the firm coordinates the structural, hydraulic and other consultants and settles the materials and finishes.
4. Approval: where the controls allow it, the firm applies for a complying development certificate (CDC) from a private certifier. Otherwise a development application (DA) goes to council.
5. Construction documentation is prepared by the people who will build from it.
6. The contract sum is set before work starts and the firm's own supervisors then run the site.
7. Handover and return visits: at SHORE we come back at three, six and twelve months.

The architect and builder route

1. You engage the architect under a written client architect agreement, which NSW law requires before work starts.
2. Concept and design development happen with the architect, who coordinates the consultants.
3. Approval comes through a CDC or a DA, which the architect usually prepares and lodges.
4. Documentation and a specification of your materials, finishes and fittings are prepared so that every builder prices the same house.
5. The documents go to several builders for tender although some owners negotiate a price with one builder instead.
6. Building contract: in NSW, home building work over $20,000 needs a written large job contract. The builder must also give you a home building compensation (HBC) certificate before asking for any deposit.
7. Construction: the builder supervises the work on site and the architect, if engaged to, administers the contract, checks quality at key stages and certifies payments.
8. Completion and defects: if that service is part of the agreement, the architect identifies defects and administers their rectification.

When hiring an architect and a builder separately makes sense

Hiring an architect and a builder separately suits you when independent oversight of the builder matters most or when you want to choose the architect on design alone.

• You want an independent professional checking the builder's work, variations and payment claims on your behalf.
• You already have a specific architect in mind or the design is already drawn.
• You want to tender the drawings to several builders and compare prices.
• You want to finish a design study before committing to build.

If your home is already designed, we can price the drawings and build them as your architectural builders in Sydney. ELBA in Pagewood was designed by an independent architect and built by SHORE. It won the 2024 HIA NSW Housing Award for a Custom Built Home ($1M to $1.2M).

When design and build makes sense

Design and build suits you when you want one party answerable for the whole home and a design that is priced as it is drawn.

• You want one firm responsible for both the design and the construction, with no gap between them.
• You want budget certainty while the design is still developing, not after tender.
• You would rather not sit between an architect and a builder relaying decisions.
• Your site is difficult, such as a steep, rocky or tight Sydney block, where the way the house will be built shapes the design from the first sketch.
• You want the interiors resolved with the architecture, so joinery, kitchens, bathrooms, lighting and finishes are settled with the house before construction.

SOL, the Bondi Beach duplex, was designed and built by SHORE and set the suburb's duplex sales record at $9.4M. See how design and build in Sydney works with SHORE from the first site visit to handover.

Should I speak to a builder before I start designing?

Yes, whichever route you choose. A builder who sees the design early can test buildability, lead times and cost while changes are still cheap. Design and build includes this by default because the builders work in the same studio as the designers. On the traditional route you or your architect can bring a builder in during design development, before the drawings go to tender. Our builders join independent architects' projects at that stage. Early involvement doesn't change who owns the design.

Who manages the build between the architect and the builder?

On the traditional route the architect manages the relationship with the builder if you engage them for contract administration. They assess variations, certify progress payments and identify defects. In that case NSW's Architects Registration Board suggests sending every query through the architect to avoid three-way confusion. Without that service the coordinating falls to you or a client-side project manager. In design and build the firm's own project manager runs the build and you deal with one team.

Is design and build cheaper than hiring an architect and a builder?

Not in itself. The cost of a home is set by its design, its site and its level of finish rather than by the route you choose. What changes is when you learn the price and how the fees are structured. With design and build, cost is tested at every design stage, so there is less risk of ending up with a finished design that can't be built for the budget. On the traditional route you pay the architect's fees separately and learn the build price at tender, although competitive tendering can sharpen that price. At SHORE we offer fixed lump-sum pricing with consultant coordination included.

Questions to ask before you choose either route

1. Is the architect on the NSW Register of Architects?
2. Is the builder's contractor licence in the name of the company signing the contract? In NSW, a licence held by a director does not cover their company.
3. Will I receive the HBC certificate before I pay a deposit? The deposit cannot be more than 10 per cent.
4. Who administers the contract, approves variations and certifies payments?
5. When will I have a fixed price and what does it exclude?
6. If I stop after the design stage, can I take the drawings to another builder?
7. Who will I deal with day to day, from design to handover?

Statutory warranties apply on either route. Under NSW home building law, they run for six years for major defects and two years for all other defects from completion of the work. The NSW Government guide to home building contracts sets out what a contract must contain.

How SHORE works

SHORE Design + Build is a design and build practice with a studio in Pyrmont. Our architects, interior designers and builders work in-house, so the people who design a home are the people who build it. Emanuel Solomovic, Senior Architect and NSW Registered Architect No. 7154, leads the design. We hold ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001 certification and a 4-star iCIRT rating.

Design and build is our core service. We also build homes designed by independent architects and can design a home for another builder to build. We work across the Eastern Suburbs, South-Eastern Suburbs, Lower North Shore, Inner West and Lower Northern Beaches on homes, boutique multi-residential projects and commercial work.

To talk through which route suits your site, contact the studio.