In this, the second of our series of Design Case Studies with Altherm Window Systems, Aimer and Naismith talk about how the design of their homes was also a masterclass in project and budget management. The photographs are by Patrick Reynolds.
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| Jane
Aimer, her husband Paul Kelly, and their children Gina and Tom are in the left-hand townhouse, while Lindley Naismith and her partner John Balasoglou occupy the right-hand home. |
Naismith and Aimer live next door to
each other in in twin houses they designed
themselves (with the assistance of their partner at Scarlet Architects, Mike
Dowsett). Being so deeply involved in their own building process gave them even
greater insight into their clients’ experiences, and the challenges of managing
budgets. “Nothing hones the mind more than doing it for yourself,” Naismith says. “It gives you an insight into the stress of the project and what happens
to people psychologically as they go through it. It’s a heady mix of financial
pressure, emotional pressure, time pressure and relationship pressure.”
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| The homes have shutters that filter late-afternoon westerly light and are a nod to the heritage homes in the neighbourhood. |
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| From left: Mike Dowsett, Lindley Naismith and Jane Aimer of Scarlet Architects. |
Much of
that pressure stems from the common misperception that equates a builder’s
tender with the overall budget for a house, when in the final reckoning, the
overall cost of a home can be far, far higher than that. That’s because a
builder’s tender doesn’t include the costs of all the extras needed to complete
a home: lighting, interior cabinetry, landscaping, drapes, bathroom and kitchen
fittings and fixtures … the list is long and the size of the final bill can vary
enormously.
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| The rear view of the homes (which are on separate titles) shows Aimer's home on the right, and Naismith's on the left. The gardens are connected by two sliding doors - if either couple has theirs shut, it's a signal they don't want to be interrupted (although this is rarely the case). |
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| The view to the garden from the living room in Aimer's house. The artwork is by Tracey Tawhiao. |
In Aimer and Naismith's own project, they attempted to assess the
cost of all these extras early on in the design process, just after the
builder’s quote had arrived. They estimated a budget for each of the items over
and above the builder’s estimate, and as the building process continued they
endeavoured to make each of these items adhere as closely as possible to their
original estimates to keep the budget on track. “It’s the little increments
that can get you,” Lindley says.
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| Rooms in each home are arranged vertically around light-filled stairwells - green in Aimer's home, and red in Naismith's. |
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| The staircase in Naismith's home features red plexiglass. |
This kind of budget creep – a few extra thousand here, and a
few more there – may be the source of the old (and unfair) adage that if you’re
using an architect, you should set a budget and then expect to double it. In
the relatively recent past, it was indeed considered an architect’s job to
estimate a client’s budget. These days, the process of building has become much
more complicated, and the possible range of variations much greater. That’s why
Aimer, Naismith and Dowsett prefer to get a quantity surveyor involved in the early
stages of every project. “We always do a reality check early on,” Aimer says.
“We haven’t got a project until the client is happy with the cost of it.”
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| A view of the kitchen and dining area in Naismith's home. |
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| Looking into the living room of Aimer's home from the stairwell. |
Even then, it remains the clients’ responsibility to control
the budget and keep track of expenditure (unless they have employed a project
manager or paid the architects to manage the building process). After all,
architects have no control over whether their clients choose top-of-the-range
kitchen appliances, or lavish bathroom tiles, or other budget-blowing interior
finishes that may not have been originally specified. Says Naismith: “There’s a
huge responsibility there for clients, and some of them ignore it. Often if
things are over budget, it’s not the responsibility of the architect, because
of the fittings the client has chosen. You can have fancy tiles and wonderful
lighting, but the budget might not be estimated for that level of finish.”
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| This sectional drawing shows the way both homes are organised around their central stairwells. |
Ironically, when it came to their own project Jane and
Lindley ignored their own good advice of getting a quantity surveyor’s
estimate, and instead relied on their own best estimates of the non-build
costs. These estimates weren’t as accurate as a quantity surveyor would have
been. Jane and Lindley’s houses were budgeted to cost about $750,000 each.
Because Jane and her partner Paul had a little more flexibility with their
budget, they specified high-quality lighting and other fittings, and ended up
spending about $250,000 more. Lindley, however, wanted to stick more closely to
her budget, which often resulted in her and her partner John choosing cheaper
options, and spending about $120,000 more than they anticipated, all the while
resisting the pressure all renovators or new-home builders come under to finish
a job “properly”.
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| Another view of the exterior of the homes. The cottage on the right was an earlier project renovated by Naismith. |
A little extra here and there may not seem like a big deal
in comparison to the overall amount of money being spent, but each of these
items adds up. But now their homes are complete and happily occupied, neither
Jane nor Lindley thinks they have over-capitalised, and both say they are now better
informed about managing budgets than ever.
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| Naismith's living room features a Skagen couch from Bromhead Design and a Lammhults-designed chair from Katalog. The bench is by George Nelson for Herman Miller from Matisse, and the 'Tolomeo' floor lamps and Arteluce table lamp are from ECC. |
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| The mezzanine study in Naismith's home overlooks the dining area. |
Q+A
Mike Dowsett, Lindley Naismith and Jane Aimer of Scarlet Architects
HOME How did you estimate your budget?
Mike Dowsett After the
builder’s estimated price came in, we set a budget based on previous jobs and
guestimated figures for additional items.
Jane Aimer We took a stab at trying
to identify things that weren’t part of the builder’s price. The builder’s cost
is nowhere near the full cost, so setting that budget early on was really good
for us, as we’d compare it to every sub-contractors’ quote that came in, and if
their quote was higher, then we’d discuss what we needed to do to get it down.
Lindley Naismith The best way to avoid budget blowouts is
to rigorously estimate the budget at an early stage.
HOME When things looked too expensive, how easy was it to bring
costs down?
Lindley Naismith One example is how we put a lot of effort into the
stairwells that form the core of our homes. We found the original quote was for
them to be built in a highly finished architectural way. In the end we chose a
more commercial-style installation and decided to live with the imperfections.
It’s less refined, with bolts visible, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Mike Dowsett Originally we had specified commercial-grade windows,
but they turned out too expensive so we used standard residential windows that
we bulked up a bit so they read as heavier sections.
HOME Why do you use a quantity surveyor on jobs you are designing
for clients?
Lindley Naismith We really push for
it even if our clients want to rush ahead. Because we are optimistic folk we
want to please our clients, so the temptation to underestimate is huge. So
getting a quantity surveyor in involves a third party and takes the project
away from us being optimistic.
Jane Aimer If you want a job to meet a budget you have to look at
all the line items and make sure they meet budgets. Clients have to be rigorous
about that, with our help.
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| The homes' shared rooftop features a hot tub underneath an array of solar panels. |