FAQ

Contact us via our website, email, or phone to schedule a complimentary 30-minute consultation.

This initial phone or video meeting is a chance to outline your project vision, requirements, and site conditions. We’ll walk you through the typical process so you understand what’s involved, and if you wish to proceed, we’ll organise a site meeting and a feasibility study as the first formal step.

Choosing Studio MWA means partnering with a team that values your vision, prioritizes quality, and creativity, and brings unparalleled expertise to every project. Our attention to detail and personalized approach ensures your project exceeds expectations.

With decades of experience and award-winning designs in New Zealand, Australia, and internationally we:

• Create timeless, innovative, and sustainable architecture.
• Deliver tailored, high-quality solutions for complex projects.
• Ensure a hands-on approach, focusing on every detail to bring your vision to life.

TESTIMONIALS from our clients you can find on our website, talk for themselves.

We provide a comprehensive range of architectural services, including:

• Initial Feasibility Studies: Assessing site potential and project viability.
• Concept and Preliminary Designs: Shaping your vision into achievable plans.
• Detailed Architectural Documentation: Preparing technical drawings for council approvals, tendering/procurement and construction.
• Procurement: Contractor selection through a rigorous, competitive process.
• Contract Administration & Observation: Managing the construction process to maintain quality and alignment with the approved design.
• Project Management: Coordinating consultants and contractors for seamless execution.
• Landscaping and Interior Design: Fully integrating outdoor spaces and interiors into the overall design.

We specialize in executive homes, complex and challenging site developments, and innovative designs that combine functionality with creativity.

Studio MWA operates from two locations:

• Wellington, New Zealand: Serving all of New Zealand, particularly the wider Wellington region, Wairarapa, and Marlborough Sounds.
• Brisbane, Australia: Covering the wide Brisbane area, Gold Coast, and Sunshine Coast regions including Hinterlands.

Both offices collaborate seamlessly to serve clients across Australasia and select international projects.

Studio MWA was established in Wellington in 2007, followed by a Brisbane studio in 2009. Led by architect Davor Mikulcic, who brings over forty-five years of international experience, the practice has delivered bespoke residential projects across Australasia with a steady focus on design quality, technical rigour and client trust.

Our approach combines timeless aesthetics, functionality, and your personal vision. We excel in:

• Tackling challenging site developments with bespoke solutions.
• Designing spaces that are both innovative and practical.
• Providing hands-on attention throughout the project, ensuring every detail is executed to the highest standard.

These qualities distinguish Studio MWA as a leader in architecture, creating spaces that inspire and endure.

Yes, sustainability is a core principle in all our designs (like Universal design principles too). While not explicitly marketed as a standalone service, we incorporate:

• Energy-efficient solutions.
• Sustainable materials.
• Local resources and labour.
• Designs harmonized with the environment.

As an American proverb reminds us: “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children”

We encourage active collaboration. Your input is integral at every stage, from concept design to material selection. Our process ensures your vision stays at the heart of the project, creating a final design that reflects your lifestyle and preferences.

We often receive inquiries like this: “I’ve designed my house, but I need an architect to create the technical drawings for construction. Can you do this, and how much would it cost?”

It’s a common request, but there’s an important distinction to make. Architects are not just drafting services. We bring expertise in design, planning, problem-solving, and construction processes that go far beyond simply drawing up plans. While it might seem straightforward to turn your design into technical drawings (see our examples in folder RESOURCES), it’s a complex task that requires detailed review, collaboration with sub-consultants and the relevant Authorities, adjustments, and compliance with regulations and construction standards.

To compare, asking an architect to “just draw it up” is like going to a doctor and saying, “I’ve diagnosed my condition; I just need a prescription.” While a drafting service might fulfill your request, it won’t provide the insight, expertise, and value an architect offers.

If your primary need is for drawings based solely on your design, a drafting service may be a better fit. However, if you want to leverage an architect’s full skill set, ensuring the design is functional, practical, code-compliant, and aligned with your goals, then engaging an architect from the outset of the project is the better approach.

We want to help everyone who reaches out, but in cases like these, it’s essential to evaluate whether working together is a good fit for both sides. If not, we’ll do our best to point you in the right direction to meet your needs.

Registered Architects bring expertise in design, construction, and project management. We help translate your vision into reality, ensuring your project is aesthetically appealing, functional, sustainable, and meets regulatory requirements. Working with an architect can save time, reduce costs, and avoid potential problems by ensuring that every detail is considered.
As architects, we are highly educated, creative professionals capable of delivering top-quality outcomes. We do not draw houses; we design homes (drawing house plans is only part of the overall complex process).

Success comes from collaboration, clear communication, and attention to detail. Our approach integrates creativity with functionality, ensuring designs that inspire and endure. Based on our team’s extensive international education and experience, quality relationships with our clients—founded on honesty, transparency, and loyalty—are key to every successful project. TESTIMONIALS from our clients confirm this time and again.

We follow a structured process designed to ensure clarity and seamless progression:

• Initial Contact – Complimentary 30-minute Consultation
  Your first step is simply to get in touch—by phone, through the website CONTACT, or by email. We offer a complimentary consultation of up to 30 minutes (by phone or video) to discuss your intentions, explain how the architectural process works, and give early guidance specific to your project. This conversation helps you understand what is possible, what to prepare, and where to find useful resources on our website. There is no commitment at this stage; it is an opportunity to gather clarity before deciding to proceed.
• Initial Consultation (On-Site Meeting): If you choose to move forward, we will arrange an on-site meeting of up to 2.0 hours. This meeting is charged as a one-off fixed fee based on our standard hourly rate, plus travel time and mileage. We review the conditions, discuss your initial brief in more detail, and help you identify constraints and opportunities that may influence the design and budget. Further, the site visit includes gathering relevant information, taking site photos, and explaining the project initiation and completion process (no design consultation is provided during this phase). If the project progresses with the Feasibility Study, this fee is credited toward the overall architect’s fee.
• Feasibility Study: Conducted under the Institute of Architects Small Works Agreement. This typically involves an average of 20–30 productive hours billed as a lump-sum fee. If the project progresses, this fee is credited toward the overall architect’s fee. Generally, it helps you visualise project opportunities, understand constraints and the full project process and complexity. It helps us to visualise project potential and write a full, detailed Architect Agreement. Initial Consultation (On-Site Meeting) is an integral part of the Feasibility Study.
• Full Architect Agreement: This agreement establishes the project scope, fees, and responsibilities in detail.
• Concept Design: We develop creative options and block models for your review and approval.
• Preliminary Design: Detailed plans, elevations, renderings, and landscaping concepts are prepared.
• Developed Design: We collaborate with sub-consultants to ensure technical precision.
• Detailed Design & Documentation: Comprehensive technical drawings are created for council approvals, tendering, and construction.
• Procurement (Tender & Negotiation): We guide the contractor selection process, ensuring a competitive and transparent approach, concluding with the signing a Construction Contract between the Client and the Main Contractor.
• Construction Administration & Observation: We oversee construction with regular site visits to ensure quality and compliance.
• Post-Occupancy Review: We review the completed project to ensure it meets your expectations.

To make the most of our first meeting, it’s helpful to prepare and share the following:

• A general idea of your project scope and budget.
• A detailed project brief (some templates you can find on our Web site as guides).
• The site/project address and your contact details for correspondence.
• A clear understanding of your real budget and expected timeline.
• Design ideas or preferences (e.g., likes, dislikes, and inspirations from our past projects).
• Any information about site conditions or constraints, including ownership details (e.g., Certificate of Title).
• Initial site photos and existing documentation, especially for renovations.
• Land surveyors’ topographic site survey plans showing boundaries, structures, trees, easements, and underground services.

Providing this information helps us better understand your requirements and visualize your project context.

A project Brief is a document that outlines your goals, expectations, and requirements for the project. It should include:

• Your needs and priorities.
• Budget.
• Expected timeline.
• Specific preferences.
• Site information and conditions.
• What from our previous designs particularly catches your attention

A well-prepared Brief (as detailed as you can) is essential for ensuring a successful project and allows us to create a realistic and transparent full Architect Agreement with a detailed Fee Proposal.

By engaging us for the recommended initial Feasibility Study stage of your project, we provide you with a downloadable Initial Brief for New Residential Project – Brief Template 1 in Word format that you can customise to suit your needs. Similarly, for renovation, addition, or alteration projects, we provide a downloadable Initial Brief for Renovations – Brief Template 2, in Word format too, so you can customize interactive document to suit your needs. Due to the varied scope, we create after that a “Return Brief” by gathering your input, conducting site visits, and completing our research to clearly define the project’s parameters (as part of the Feasibility Study or Pre-Design stage of the project). Downloadable Templates are available to you after signing with us an initial Small Project Agreement (NZ) or Client Architect Agreement for Limited Services (AU).

Yes, we manage all aspects of council approvals and permitting to ensure your project complies with local regulations. For more complex projects, we often collaborate with planners as part of our sub-consultant team to facilitate this process effectively.

We excel in designing for complex sites. Whether it’s steep slopes, limited space, or unique environmental constraints, our innovative and tailored solutions maximize the site’s potential while respecting its limitations.

Absolutely. We regularly work with trusted professionals, including engineers, surveyors, building certifiers, and builders, among others. This collaborative approach ensures a cohesive and seamless project from start to finish.

The timeline depends on project size, complexity, and site specifics:

• Small projects: 4-9 months for design to construction documentation.
• Larger projects: 12-18+ months.

External factors such as sub-consultant performances and Territorial Authorities’ timeframes (approval process) can also affect the timeline.

Often, I start answering this question (particularly at first contact with a potential client without knowing much about future projects) with the question “How long is a piece of string”?

Project timelines vary depending on a project’s size, complexity, approval processes, challenges during the procurement process, and particularly the construction stage. General guidelines are:

• New Residential Projects: Usually 18 – 30 months from start to completion and sometimes even longer on more complex projects.
• Substantial Renovations: Usually 18 – 24 months depending on complexity and sometimes even longer.

Beware of promises for “quick” completions, as factors beyond anyone’s control – such as sub-consultants performances, approvals processes, material availability, builders and trades specialist availability, or builder scheduling – can seriously impact timelines.

Engaging an architect for the full scope of services ensures cohesive design, streamlined communication, and consistent quality throughout the project. We manage every phase of the project from initial design to completion, ensuring your vision is realized efficiently, as per the approved design, and within budget.

We are your Main Consultant and for everyone involved in the project your representative from project inception to the project completion. With your full involvement and our transparent professional approach to you and everyone else involved in the project (being impartial), we are responsible for transforming your Brief vision into completed a top-quality project.

The initial site meeting, up to 2.0 hours, is charged as a lump-sum (typically involving a minimum of 4 hours in total, including site meeting, travel time and preparation for meeting) and is essential for you and for us to understand your project, requirements, expectations, site conditions, context, etc. It also allows us to explain our the architectural process in detail and address any questions you have. To make the meeting productive, please provide as much information as possible beforehand, using recommendations and the templates available on our website. This meeting, along with the subsequent Feasibility Study (on most of the projects), forms the foundation for an accurate and transparent Architect Agreement with detailed fees.

If the project proceeds, this fee is credited toward the overall Architect Fee as part of the Pre-Design Stage of the Project.

A Feasibility Study is a preliminary analysis that evaluates the project’s viability, identifying constraints, opportunities, and possibilities. It includes initial research, collecting data, basic design diagrams, and site analysis. Typically involving 20 – 30 productive hours, it is charged as a lump-sum fee based on project complexity. If the project proceeds, this fee is credited toward the overall Architect Fee. This Pre-Design stage helps both the client and architect visualize and establish the project scope and direction.

Our architect fees typically range:

• New Projects: 8% – 15% of total construction cost.
• Renovations/Alterations: 12% – 18% of total construction cost.
• Fixed Lump-Sum Fees: Based on the agreed project scope.
• Hourly Rates: For smaller or more flexible engagements.

Fees vary based on factors such as complexity, site conditions, and project scope. While these figures provide a general guide, exact fees are discussed during the initial consultations. Transparency is a cornerstone of our agreements, detailed in Institute of Architects contracts we used as Registered Architects.

We provide a Project Cost Estimation Template in Excel format for initial rough budget calculations/estimate based on:

• House size (m²) with allocated individual spaces.
• Quality level (e.g., budget vs standard vs. premium finishes).
• Local construction costs per m².

We recommend Quantity Surveyors as registered professionals being engaged by the client and we closely collaborate with them for more accurate estimates during a project.

Yes, for smaller or well-defined projects, we can offer fixed-price (lump-sum) Architect Agreements. However, most projects are priced as a percentage of the total build cost to ensure flexibility and accuracy. Our fees are calculated based on the time required to complete each stage of the project and translated into a percentage of construction costs.

Yes, additional costs may include:

• Council application fees (Development Application – Resource Consent and Detailed Design – Building Consents).
• Consultant fees (e.g., engineers, surveyors, building certifiers, technology specialists).
• Additional Architect services not included in the Agreement (e.g., prolonged processes, scope changes, producing marketing material).
• Adjustments for unforeseen site conditions (e.g., weather impacts, natural disasters, ground/underground conditions).

We provide a transparent breakdown of potential costs and required Sub-Consultants in the Architect Agreement. It’s also wise and highly recommended to allocate for every project a contingency budget of 5% – 10%.

We ensure budget management through transparent communication and collaboration with Quantity Surveyors to provide cost estimates during the design stages. Our detailed documentation reduces unexpected costs, and we work with trusted contractors to ensure projects stay on budget. Comprehensive Architect Services from inception to completion are key to controlling costs and timelines. Without these, we cannot take responsibility for budget outcomes.

Changes or revisions during a project are managed through a clear and professional process. In our experience, most changes arise from clients’ “afterthoughts” or decisions to expand the project scope to enhance the overall design. When this happens, it typically involves additional work for us (and often sub-consultants too), requiring an adjustment to the Architect Agreement. These adjustments are documented transparently in writing, detailing the new scope and associated fees, which are based on the time required to complete the additional tasks.

During the construction phase, any required changes are addressed through Documentation Amendments (if applicable), followed by necessary approvals. These are further managed as part of Contract Administration through a structured Variation process, ensuring all changes are clearly documented and approved by all parties.

It’s important to note that such changes often lead to an increase in the overall construction cost and project Timeframe adjustment. This is why we strongly recommend including a Contingency sum in the project budget. This provides a financial buffer for unplanned changes, ensuring the project can adapt without causing undue stress or delays.

Our goal is to handle all changes efficiently, keeping the process smooth and transparent for our clients while maintaining the integrity and quality of the project.

Your budget is the foundation of your project as it determines what is realistic and achievable. While dreaming big is encouraged (and we welcome those dreams in your detailed Brief), being honest about your financial limits ensures the design aligns with your expectations and avoids disappointment later.

A clear and realistic budget allows us, as your architects, to create a design tailored to your needs and financial capacity. It also simplifies collaboration with other professionals, such as engineers and contractors, and ensures smooth progress at every stage.

Remember, the Architect’s Fee is just one part of the overall project cost. There are other expenses, such as:

• Sub-consultant fees (engineers, surveyors, planners, certifiers, etc.).
• Local government application and approval fees.
• Contingency sums for unforeseen expenses.
• Temporary costs, like renting a place during construction.

Real-life example: A client once underestimated their budget and omitted important details during initial discussions, hoping to save on fees. Midway through the process, they realized the design exceeded their actual budget, leading to delays, redesign fees, additional application fees, and unnecessary stress. If the true budget had been shared from the start, we could have created a feasible design within their means, saving time and costs.

Being transparent about your budget is not about limiting your options; it’s about empowering us to deliver the best possible outcome within your means.

A lump-sum payment is required upon signing the Architect Agreement to establish the project and confirm your full commitment. Progress payments are structured according to project stages and milestones, typically every two weeks or monthly as agreed. The overall Architect Fee is spread across the project’s duration to align with its progress.

Yes, projects can often be phased based on your budget or priorities. We can design with flexibility to accommodate future stages. Generally, goal is to fully complete and obtain approval for all required documentation and “phase” or execute in stages the project construction.

We specialize in creating high-quality, functional, and aesthetically innovative designs tailored to meet your needs, including:

• New Residential Projects: Executive homes, luxury residences, family homes, holiday retreats, and unique homes on small or irregular sites.
• Complex Site Developments: Solutions for steep slopes, challenging site access, and irregularly shaped or small urban lots.
• Infill Housing and Mixed-Use Developments.
• Interior Design: For residential, public, and commercial spaces.
• Substantial Renovations: Major additions and alterations.
• Religious and Community Buildings.
• Residential Projects for People with Disabilities.

Through innovative solutions, we balance creativity with practicality to deliver outstanding results.

Yes, we offer customized interior design services that ensure a seamless connection between overall the architectural concept and interior spaces for residential and commercial projects. This includes fully designing kitchens, bathrooms, ensuites, laundries, furniture layouts, color schemes (internal and external), fixtures, fittings, and fully designed commercial interiors.

Yes, we specialize in innovative solutions for challenging sites, such as:

• Steep slopes.
• Small or irregularly shaped lots.
• Sites with difficult access or restrictive zoning.

Our experience through previous projects ensures creative, functional designs that maximize your site’s potential.

We maintain high-quality standards by conducting regular site visits, collaborating with contractors and sub-consultants, and addressing issues promptly. This ensures our designs are executed exactly as planned and approved. Full architectural engagement from inception to completion allows us to maintain the integrity of the project.

Yes, we integrate hard and soft landscaping into our designs, creating harmonious connections between architecture and nature. For larger or more complex projects, we collaborate with specialist landscape architects to meet local authority requirements.

Yes, we’re experienced in international projects and adapt our designs to different climates, cultures, and regulations. Collaboration with local architectural practices is required and ensures compliance with regional government requirements.

We establish realistic timelines at the project’s onset and provide regular updates to keep you informed. While some delays are unavoidable, our proactive planning minimizes disruptions and keeps the project on track.

Yes, we provide computer models, 3D visualizations, and virtual tours/computer animations for most of the projects, helping clients visualize their designs before construction begins. For certain projects, we also create scale models to offer a tangible representation of future projects as very useful tools to help our clients, sub-consultants, contractors, and territorial authorities.

We prioritize inclusive design, adhering to accessibility standards to create functional and welcoming spaces. Universal design principles are integral to our approach, ensuring spaces meet diverse needs without compromising aesthetics. Many of our residential projects have received top awards for implementing Universal Design principles and have been published worldwide as exemplars in residential architecture.

Yes, we have extensive experience with renovations and some heritage projects. We blend modern functionality with respect for historical structures, preserving their character while enhancing usability.

Absolutely. We excel in transforming spaces through thoughtful renovations and extensions (often called Additions & Alterations). These projects are complex and time-consuming but significantly enhance functionality and aesthetics, improving everyday life for the users.

We maintain open communication, fostering collaboration throughout the process to ensure your vision is fully realized. Your input is invaluable, and we prioritize your preferences while providing professional guidance. Our regular meetings with you as our client and further Emails and phone calls are integral parts of your involvement during the design process and later during construction further regular site visits with us to visualize progress.