On plans

I can see both sides of the need to acquire permission to build.  On one hand we should learn from the mistakes of others and recognise that not everyone is suited to home design.  On the other hand knowing how to gain permission has almost become a profession to understand the process.

As taste and good design are things that are difficult to define, the rules regarding how this is policed are very complicated.  Also when it comes to design things need to be safe and environmentally responsible.  Regulations are formulated to ensure that those gravity defying shapes are in fact gravity defying.  And while there are plenty of mistakes that are rough on the eye, those that are rough on the environment need to be curtailed too.

So to help me not get through this process I enlisted the help of a professional.  I had drawn with substantial detail how our new house was going to fit together, but without having done so before it was impossible for me to be sure that I was not also adding substantial flaws.  So I rang around in search of a drafts person or architect.

I've always strongly believed in the role of an architect.  It became clear that employing a professional architect was not going to be workable.  I contacted one such individual as I was attempting to resolve the aesthetics of the northern wall as mentioned in my previous post.  As we looked through the projects of the architect they failed to impress and when we talked about our project it was apparent he was not into collaboration.

What followed was trawling for a drafts person.  I contacted a few drafts persons to discover either their fees were too high (maybe they had too much work already) or they were so low that I had the feeling we would wind up in a sausage machine process and just get precisely what I asked for without input on their part.  An old high school friend's father had been building this new house for the past 5 years so I got the contact details of the drafts person they used and made a call.  This was what we were looking for someone who listened to what we wanted but was also opinionated at the same time.

The progress went well to fine tune my design and produce a submittable document.  A few movements of walls to widen corridors and other adjustments of dimensions was by enlarge the changes required.  To get my drawings up to the correct specification lots of labels, section and elevation views.

The environment wasn't left out either.  When submitting for a DA you need to include a Basix certificate.  A NSW Government requirement which is really a giant online calculator to tell you how green you are.   Window sizes, water sources, heating and cooling of the premises are all taken into account.  This had its complications, for example to avoid a photovoltaic system meant I couldn't have air conditioning!

We were now ready for our DA submission to Baulkham Hills Council.