Archives: Courses

This CPD aims to provide some insights into client management from a broad range of industry experts.

The ArchiTeam Work Health & Safety (WHS) Kit has been reviewed and redone to provide members a tool to use within your practices and to provide the supplementary information needed to submit for preferred suppliers lists and tender/RFI submissions to councils and government. The WHS Kit can also be used to express a practices’ health and safety expectations and assists the practice to achieve better health & safety results.

This session with the developer of the kit will take us through the Kit and how to implement it in your office and how to use it to benefit your practice.

Do you occasionally jump off the treadmill of practice life (and deadlines) and wonder if there is a different way to deliver projects? Or how you could broaden the kind of work you do? Or wonder if you are beginning to be boxed-in by your own imagination?

Perhaps you have been toying with the idea of Collaborating. But with who? And how? Eventually you give up, thinking: ”I don’t even know where to begin.”

We hope this CPD will be the starting point to answering these and other questions.

There has been an increased requirement for Performance Solutions following the introduction of the NCC 2019 Amendment 1 in July 2021. This has created more work for Architects with additional documentation or coordination of specialist consultants required.

Professional forums have lit up with questions: When should we expect to need a performance solution? How much will it cost? Who does what and how does that impact risk? How do I advise my client?

Drawings, specifications, and schedules are used for calling tenders, negotiating prices with builders, obtaining permits, and throughout the construction process. If documentation is used for different purposes and by different stakeholders, how can we ensure we are effectively communicating the design requirements and the expected outcome to these various audiences?

In an ideal world we may all like to be engaged for ‘full architectural services’ for each-and-every project we’re involved with, but the reality of contemporary practice is that sometimes we just need to be a bit flexible in the services we offer. Many believe that varied modes of practice are required to maintain our relevance as architects – to help service different types of clients, and different types of projects.

Are you struggling under the workload and feel the need to grow your practice, but don’t know how?
We take a walk through the journey from sole practitioner to small practice owner and beyond… Firstly let’s identify the why? Why do you need to grow? What is your goal? Have you defined a strategy and business plan?
Growth is not always inevitable. Our speakers will discuss potential reasons for seeking to expand your practice.
Growth needs to be carefully managed. This session will address the considerations that need to be understood before committing to a growth strategy.

27 May to 3 June is National Reconciliation Week. The National Reconciliation Week 2022 theme, “Be Brave. Make Change.” Is a challenge to all Australians to Be Brave and tackle the unfinished business of reconciliation. What is reconciliation? At its heart, reconciliation is about strengthening relationships between Aboriginal and Torres strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous peoples, so we can Make Change for the benefit of all Australians.

Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room… Or so Jeff Bezos says… so what does your architectural practice’s brand saying about you?

This presentation is all about what to expect when the fast-approaching NCC 2022 changes come into effect. What does achieving 7 stars look like? How do I do it without breaking the bank? And how will Whole of Home assessments work? Jacob Edwards is a lead energy rater from Frater Consulting Services with 8 years industry experience. He will detail the key changes to be ready for as well as offer plenty of tips and tricks to help you hit the ground running with NCC 2022.

The town planning system is often one of the primary frustrations for the architectural profession, but by forming a better understanding of the decisions and framework behind them, we can navigate the process to find better and speedier resolutions for our clients.

But where to start?

In a ‘post-pandemic’ world of inflation and cost escalation challenges, our members are reporting builders are increasingly hesitant to sign traditional fixed price contracts and are instead looking to Cost Plus formats, to mitigate cost escalation risks.

Exploring the strength in small practice with a focus on Ways of Working, investigating the critical role that small practice plays in shaping our built environment, from the smallest detail to the broader urban landscape. A diverse range of speakers from across this continent will share their practice knowledge, experiences, and processes, and how they are working collaboratively, or exploring different modes of practice to tackle major societal and environmental challenges.

With a focus on adaptation, resourcefulness, and re-use, how might we consider the architectural detail?

How do we as architects utilise details as a strategy of conceptual exploration, design development, and resolution, relative to a prescribed project budget/brief? This session explores the inherent capacity of small practitioners to focus on detail design – the elementary nature of material composition – as it relates to broader notions of architecture, landscape, culture, and practice.

What alternative modes of working are possible for a small practice looking for new opportunities, to channel particular passions and strengths, or as a way to unlock a more creative or economically sustainable business model? This session will explore the diverse ways in which small architectural practices have been structured and operate beyond established norms. Speakers will reflect on their practice model and processes, and the way in which they have consciously (or unconsciously) framed their practice towards making a broader contribution to society.

Speakers:

Emma Williamson
Anthony Clarke
Louise Wright
Rory Hyde (moderator)

ArchiTeam Insurance members of 2023-24 policy are encouraged to attend this compulsory insurance seminar. It provides insight into the ArchiTeam Group Policy and what day to day operations of your practice can impact your insurance cover.

Setting up your practice is one thing, but at what point do you need to hire staff and who do you need to run a business well? What do you need to have in place to legally hire and manage staff effectively?
This workshop will provide information from skilled professionals on employment contracts and employment law (including the National Employment Standards (NES) and the Architects Award (2002)), human resource requirements and business management needs for your small practice.

Interested in diversifying your practice away from the standard model of architecture?

Hear about the journeys of architects who have taken their skills and knowledge as an architect and applied them to other fields and learn about what they found they had to offer that field.

We are all told that a good specification is an important part of project documentation – but how much do we really need to know to do one effectively? Specifications can be time consuming, highly technical and well… just a bit scary. There is also the perception that no one ever reads them so they mustn’t be of much use!

This CPD is for those who want to be smart and strategic about how they use and manage specifications in their practice. As architects we should know why we are using a specification and how best to optimize them for each project.

Join us for an open discussion to demystify the perceptions around specifications and give you the tools and knowledge to integrate them into your work easily and effortlessly.

At James Hardie we’re driven by a desire to build a better future for all by understanding how people want to live. Through an extensive research piece combining advanced AI-driven technology, desktop research and interviews with architects, designers and key industry professionals, we have decoded the future trajectory of home design.

Introducing, the James Hardie Modern Homes Forecast 2024 — our first annual research report on the seven popular and emerging contemporary home styles of this year.

This forecast is designed to help homeowners articulate exactly what they want and support trade professionals to deliver their clients’ dream modern homes without compromise.

CPD – Devilish Details

We all know the devil is in the detail – the more unique and unusual we want our architecture to be, the more detail we are required to provide.

But some of us are … big picture thinkers, and even thinking about details sends us into our procrastination caves, while others can go a touch too far, providing too much information that the detail is beyond comprehension, or renders the art non-viable.

Still, in the interest of improving our skills, our production and our expertise, it is time to grab the .05’s from the drawer and bring details to the fore.

What roles do details play within our projects?

Who is looking at our details, and can they understand them?

How can we become better at drawing details?

We’re going to get a sneak peak at some fine details that show us ‘how this was detailed’.

Speakers:

Troy Donovan –  (@the_donnies)
Wilson Tang –  Sonelo Design Studio PRACTICE — Sonelo Architects
Emily Watson –  Studio Bright, Director of Architecture, Studio Bright | Studio

Learning outcomes:

This Master Detailing CPD is compiled of a panel of master detailers who will help us to:

Understand how details and construction systems will impact our design outcomes.
Learn the process of producing high quality details to meet standards, codes and contracts
How to prepare details efficiently and accurately for your stakeholders

AACA competencies (2021-NSCA)

Detailed Design and Construction Documentation, Design Delivery and Construction Phase Services

Learning outcomes:

PC 39 – Be able to integrate the material selection, structural and construction systems established in the conceptual design into the detailed design and documentation

PC 46 – Be able to produce project documentation that meets the requirements of the contract and procurement process and complies with regulatory controls, building standards and codes, and conditions of construction and planning approvals.

PC 47 – Be able to complete and communicate on-time, accurate documents for relevant stakeholders, including drawings, models, specifications, schedules and construction documentation.

Gain an insight into both an expert and an architect’s perspective in client relations. Listen to Ross Clark advise on process improvements, strategic and operational planning and project management. These tools can aid in creating a stronger strategic plan that each new relationship with a client can be fostered around. Toby Ewert manages a thriving medium sized architecture practice and will go into his own methods of finding consistent projects and how he communicates with potential clients. It can be difficult to negotiate on contracts without specific systems in place. Toby will discuss the strategies he uses from the moment he receives that first call to signing the contract.

Safety is one of the biggest factors on a project site. It is always on a construction teams mind. So, as an architect- is safety your concern? Listen to Dr Gerard Ayers, a construction safety expert talk about the ways in which an architect can plan and incorporate measures to ensure a safe and responsible outcome. Hear some case studies and understand the stark consequences of poor planning. Safety is not only your concern, it is also your responsibility.

Effective communication is essential in order to exceed client expectations. With considered strategies and careful pre planning, architects can improve communication with clients and stakeholders. Andrew Stevenson will review a variety of approaches that help you and your clients connect more effectively, leading to a successful outcome, and happier clients. Peter Hogg will then share his knowledge in small practice working partnerships, collaborations, his personal experience in dealing with clients as well as highlighting the importance of recognising your own strengths and weaknesses as an architect. A collaborative and communicative practice works. You can’t be an expert in everything…

Founder and Director of the British consultancy firm Colander, Caroline Cole has inspired many of the UK’s most successful architectural practices to develop their businesses.

Caroline will discuss her work with architects so that they could establish and maintain a profitable balance between creative excellence and business acumen whilst establishing strong client relationships.

What is it about the way an architect thinks that contributes to broader debates around community? How does this differ from others in the built environment?
As we head further into the twenty-first century there is a change occurring in the way we want to eat, work, and live. Many are moving out to create a rural existence in small, once quiet country towns, yet others are pushing the limits of living small within the fast paced hustle and bustle of our suburbs – creating ‘new communities’. So how does the role and skills of the Architect benefit the community? Does size matter? Is designing buildings enough?
Small Practice in Community will draw together a broad range of professionals representing a range of disciplines from Australia and abroad to discuss collaboration and how the pooling of resources with other ‘like-minded’ professionals allows the formation of new ideas and new ideals that step outside the traditional model of architectural delivery? Why did these individuals choose to step beyond the traditional model? Is small the new success? Is being small the socially responsible thing to do? How does a community benefit from ‘small’?
How many architects find themselves designing buildings, but feel that there are more ways in which they could contribute? The panel session will investigate the idea of Architects as Innovators and how these skills of the Architect can be reinterpret or extrapolated into creating and influencing the broader community in a multitude of ways. Individuals and small collectives that choose to step beyond the traditional model of what an Architect does and what a business consists of.
ArchiTeam hopes the Small Practice in Community conference will inspire you to consider ways in which you can be contributing more to your immediate surroundings and to the wider community, thus broadening the positive impact of architects and architecture.

Raised in Southeast Asia, Kevin spent nine years in the United States before returning to Malaysia to reclaim old dreams of a sole practice in 2002.

Kevin will discuss his experience with Small Practice Management and discuss his passion in small projects.

ArchiTeam’s insurance brokers, Greg Hansen and Vincent Rizutto of Austbrokers Countrywide discuss the ArchiTeam group policy.

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Listen to Belinda Strickland (Professional Development and Policy Coordinator for the AIA) and Noy Hildebrand (Sustainable Design Consultant and Architect) discuss the ever growing topic of Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD) and how an architect’s designs can incorporate ESD.
This talk will provide an insightful overview of buildings and energy covering current, as well as the proposed building code requirements. Recent study findings will be discussed alongside available guidance material. A brief overview of shading masks and natural ventilation will keep you up to date with new techniques and materials needed for sustainable design. This is the perfect opportunity to grow your knowledge in ESD.

Exploring new advances a variety of cladding materials from timber cladding, including shou sugi ban to aluminum cladding systems and their construction, manufacturing techniques, finishes, fire ratings and treatments.

The core resource of your architecture business is the time you and your team dedicate to it. An hour working on a sketch design proposal is an hour you can charge to your client, while an hour working on marketing you can’t. One earns you cold, hard cash and the other doesn’t, but both are essential to the health of your business. How can you track the way you spend your time? What software options exist to help you not only track time but report back on the profitability of projects, project phases and team members?

The first Architeam CPD event for the year will examine four popular, lightweight apps used by the architecture profession: Coincraft, Harvest, Streamtime and Workflow Max. You’ll hear from four architects that use these apps, their opinions on their pros and cons, and a broader discussion about resource tracking for architecture.

Putting together a fee proposal for small projects can be challenging. The percentage fee method that often suits larger projects can become unacceptably high when applied to a small residential renovation or interior fitout. But what other options are there?

Inspired by a long and enthusiastic thread on the ArchiTeam forum, this CPD event will explore the fee options available to architects working on smaller projects.

Have you got more work than you can handle? Do you need to fill a skills gap that only a young graduate can provide? Do you need support to help you run your business better?
Employing your first staff member is an exciting development for a sole practitioner or a young studio, but it’s also daunting. This CPD session will explore the opportunities and constraints of growth.

This CPD event will examine various tips for negotiating successfully with councils, present case studies of successful outcomes with Council and/or VCAT and reflect on what we can include in planning drawings to smooth the process through.