Services – ELK Architecture

CAPABILITY

EXPERTISE

Our experience spans various typologies including residential, multi residential, residential flat buildings, NDIS/SDA housing, aged care, commercial, childcare and educational, accommodation and hospitality, industrial and more.

ELK are QA certified and a Registered Design Practitioner with the ability to complete regulated designs under the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020. We have experience in Remedial building works under the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 working on designs for repair and upgrades to existing buildings. We understand the importance of quality and compliance without compromising on creativity.

SITE SUITABILITY/DESKTOP STUDY

Attuned to our property developer clientele, we understand that a good site can be gone within minutes of you seeing it, and understanding its suitability for your project quickly is paramount. ELK Architects offers a high-level, site suitability study which will give you valuable information on the site including items such as, planning controls, hazards, bushfire, mine subsidence, flooding, biodiversity and/or other site impacts.

This is a free of charge service that we offer to give you the developer, additional information to help with your own Feasibility Studies before you procure your next site.

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN

Our role as architects is to understand our client’s vision—and then help them realise it.

At ELK Architecture, our commitment goes beyond simply creating a building; to us, it’s about crafting an experience that mirrors your vision. From the initial sketches to the final details, every line and curve is thoughtfully considered with your aspirations in mind.

As a multidisciplinary office, our team of architects and designers use their expertise and creativity to deliver clever, innovative, and practical spaces.

ELK Architecture is relationship focused with a passion for delivering quality architecture and interior design that we and our clients can be proud of.

MASTER PLANNING/URBAN DESIGN

We develop master planning and urban design solutions tailored to the social beliefs and commercial objectives of our clients and the policies of local authorities. Our designs reflect the unique cultural and environmental dimensions of each project, accommodating a high degree of flexibility to allow a sense of place to develop and evolve over time.

Services, Commercial, Residential, Public Spaces, Amenity and integration with the Natural Environment cannot be designed in isolation. Environments that support individual and community wellbeing need to be approached holistically, in thoughtful, people centred ways.

INTERIOR DESIGN

We view interior design as a specialised branch of architecture and is all about how we experience spaces. Our skilled Interiors team work to create homes, workplaces & public spaces that are aesthetically pleasing, comfortable, functional and beautiful for its users. We consider not only the elements of designs, but also the structural aspects of a building, the site planning, the landscaping, the function of a space, as well as the interior details to create considered and cohesive designs.

The ELK Interiors team have extensive experience in residential, multi-residential, and commercial interior design; including office fit outs, retail, hospitality, aged-care and education.

CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION

ELK are experienced in the duties of contract administration, whereby we as the architects will monitor conformity of the building contract as well as the quality of the outcome. Obligations we may undertake if contracted to do so include periodic site visits, responding to Requests For Information (RFI), issuing instructions, assessing progress claims, issuing progress certificates and defects reports.

PROCESS

DESIGN PROCESS

The ELK Architecture team prides ourselves on building cohesive relationships with our clients and combined with our architectural expertise and eye for detail, this allows for a consistent and timely flow of information at all stages of the design process, and greatly contributes to positive outcomes for our clients.

Our Design Process consists of five key stages, beginning with an initial Pre-Design meeting, Sketch Design, Detailed Design, and Development Application documentation. Once approved, we work closely with the client and their builder, in order to complete the Construction Documentation, ready for certification and the building site.

INITIAL MEETING & PRE DESIGN

During the Pre-Design phase of a project, you as the client, will have a ‘no-strings-attached’ first meeting, where we will talk through your brief and vision, discuss the design and build process, along with outlining our services.

It is in this initial stage of the architectural process that ELK Architecture aims to form a cohesive relationship with the client, building on a shared concept & strong vision for the best outcome.

The meeting can take place at our office, in your home or at the site of your project.

SKETCH DESIGN

The Sketch Design phase of a project involves ELK exploring a range of possible options for your site or existing building. We will be fully exploring your brief and the physical and planning constraints to provide solutions to how best to approach the design. This stage involves a lot of diagrams and sketching in order to understand the brief and communicate the options within the design. Sketch design will put your ideas on paper and may unearth alternatives you might not even considered.

DETAILED DESIGN

This is where we explore the form and materiality of your project along with refining the design around the concept. We will be crafting how the spaces feel, how the sun is controlled, how the breeze flows through, those special moments within the house, the texture and feel of materials and how this aligns with the brief. This is also a good time to revisit the budget and compare the design against the original brief to keep on track. We also introduce the required consultants to the project and receive their initial advice.

DA DOCUMENTATION

The DA documentation stage is the finalisation of the architectural documentation package and the illustration of the design that will be sent to council for Development Approval. This includes the plans, elevations, and sections of your building, along with the solar access, over shadowing, privacy and other analysis drawings required to understand the building. This documentation, along with the consultant drawings and reports, are packaged up and submitted to council for assessment.

CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTATION

This is where the highly technical work begins. We take the approved drawings from council, and we work with you (and your builder) to create detailed drawings, finishes schedules and architectural specifications for the design. We will coordinate with the specialist consultant team, and provide a documentation package that is of a high quality, practical and clear and ready for your builder to start building.