Frequent Architecture Questions (FAQs)

Compare relevant experience, design quality, licensing, communication and the proposed scope of service. Ask who will lead your project and how they coordinate costs, consultants and construction support.

A New Zealand Registered Architect is registered with NZRAB. An architectural designer may hold a Design LBP licence. Compare the individual’s credentials, experience and design capability alongside the service offered.

Start with a designer when you need to explore your site, layout or consent pathway. Bring a builder into the conversation early enough to test buildability, availability and cost before the design is fully documented.

Bring your property address, overall investment budget, preferred timing and a short list of what your home needs to do. Existing plans, site information, photographs and a few annotated reference images are helpful if available.

Modal Architecture offers three package options for every project, giving you a choice of service levels and architectural investment. We provide a project-specific fee range, then explain the scope and support included in each option so you can choose what suits your home, priorities and the way you want to work. Our architectural fees exclude GST.

Set a total investment budget around the home and lifestyle you want to achieve. Test the design against cost advice early and keep a separate contingency for uncertainty. Review scope and pricing at key stages, and approve the cost and timing of changes before work proceeds.

Building a home is an investment in your lifestyle, comfort and the way your household will live. Start with a construction cost model tied to floor area, specification and site conditions, then obtain project-specific pricing. For illustration, 200 m² at an assumed $4,000 to $6,000 per m² is $800,000 to $1.2 million before GST and excluded project costs.

Plan the whole investment in your home, alongside the architectural investment that supports the success of your project. Allow separately for construction, specialist consultants, council charges, site investigations, service connections, external works and contingency. Check GST and whether each allowance is included in the building contract or paid directly by you.

Plan in months for a bespoke home or substantial renovation. An initial programme might allow 4 to 8 weeks for early design and 8 to 16 weeks for development and documentation, with consent processing, consultant work and decisions affecting the overall duration.

Describe the way you want to live, then use a small selection of images to explain the light, materials, proportions and atmosphere you enjoy. Separate essential needs from preferences and explain what does not work in your current home.

Start with a well-sized home, thoughtful orientation, effective shading and a durable, well-insulated building envelope. Coordinate ventilation, glazing and efficient services, then assess options such as solar generation against your site, priorities and the investment you want to make in a comfortable, durable home.

Avoid starting detailed drawings before agreeing the brief, overlooking site constraints, postponing cost checks and making major changes late. Clear decisions, coordinated information and realistic allowances for design and consent reduce avoidable rework.

Compare both options against the condition of the existing home, the changes you need, planning constraints and the investment you are prepared to make in your home and lifestyle. Renovating can retain valuable character and structure; rebuilding may suit a home that cannot reasonably support the intended layout or performance.

An extension needs space within the site’s planning constraints and a workable connection to the existing house. Check structure, ground conditions, drainage, access, daylight and the effect on the current layout before committing to an added room or storey.

A second dwelling may be possible, but feasibility depends on your site, planning rules, access, services and the proposed building. Some qualifying small standalone dwellings can use a building consent exemption; this does not remove all design, documentation or planning requirements.

Check planning controls, title restrictions, hazards, ground conditions, legal access and the availability of services. Test whether the site can accommodate your intended home and the investment you are prepared to make in your lifestyle before relying on its apparent size or outlook.

Check which approvals your proposal needs before detailed design progresses. Building consent addresses Building Code compliance; resource consent addresses planning and environmental requirements. Coordinate the drawings, specialist reports and applications so the two pathways support the same proposal.

Some renovation work is exempt, but structural changes and many alterations require building consent. Assess the actual work and all exemption conditions before starting; the size of the renovation or the name of the room does not decide the answer.

For a standard building consent application, the statutory processing period is generally 20 working days from receipt of a complete application. Requests for further information suspend the clock, so the elapsed calendar time can be longer.

A request for further information, or RFI, asks for clarification or evidence needed to assess the application. Your design team reviews the questions, coordinates any specialist input and submits a consistent response. The processing clock pauses while the information is outstanding.

Choose a builder with relevant project experience, suitable licensing, clear communication and a well-defined proposal. Compare scope, exclusions, programme and the people managing the site, as well as the price.

Review the approved documents and conditions, finalise the building contract and confirm the construction programme. Agree responsibilities for inspections, consultant visits, design queries and completion records before the relevant work starts.

Construction involvement depends on the agreed appointment. Modal can provide design clarification, site observations and contract administration where agreed, helping the team resolve questions and maintain the design intent as the home is built.

Yes, but assess the design, cost, programme and consent implications before the affected work proceeds. Record the agreed change, update the relevant documents and obtain any required council approval rather than relying on a verbal instruction.