It seems that I have been ‘architecting’ and in architectural industry for eternity. After high school I started at a technical college, studying an engineering and construction course. Upon my arrival to Australia I found that my qualification wasn’t recognised so I had to do my architectural degree again (!). Of course I initially enrolled in the wrong course, architectural drafting, and decided to see it through, after 4 years of that I finally studied architecture, which took another 6 years.
People often ask me ‘how did you do it?’ my answer is always ‘because I love it.’ I have been lucky that by accident I stumbled into a profession I love. My marks weren’t high enough to be placed in an electronics degree (being the eighties and before computers) so they put me in second best which was engineering and construction. It must’ve been fate as I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. I love what I do because it is a profession where both the art and the science collide and merge, and the aesthetics and the practicality intertwined; the visuals and the spaces get created. I am passionate about architecture because it excites the left side and the right side of my brain. After working for 15 years in Sydney for big firms I decided to relocate to Byron Bay and open my own practice. Byron being a small community, therefore reputation is everything, that’s why I take what I do very seriously, there are lots of money and emotions involved in the creation of architecture and everything has to be perfect. I believe the process of creating a client’s dream home has to be a painless journey and an exciting experience, it is something that many people get to do once in their life time and my goal is to make sure that experience is a pleasant, creative process where the clients get involved while their dream home takes shape.
I often get told we can’t afford an architect, my answer is; you can’t afford not to have an architect! You might think I’m biased but I’m not, after many years in the industry I get to hear many horror stories and see many disasters. What someone spends on architectural fees they automatically save double or triple that amount on site delays, design mistakes etc. etc.
Also by hiring an architect the client makes that money back on resale, as the project being architecturally designed and marketed as such increases the resale value. Also the above has been scientifically proven by a research paper done by the CSIRO in 1999, about the correlation of projects cost vs architects fees, the paper states the cost of a project is directly affected by the quality of documentation and design. Whilst living in the house you are enjoying beautifully designed and detailed spaces that make most of the light, orientation aspect and so on.Our love of architecture and what we do shows in the outcomes, in 2017 we won 4 awards from the Institute of Architects Australia, Architizer New York, international property awards London, and best house on Houzz worldwide. Having lived in Byron now for almost 15 years we know the climate, the local geography and typography, council staff and planners, the good builders from the bad ones, hence clients engaging us for their projects get to capitalise on our experience, contacts and our local knowledge. The builders and consultants that we work with and recommend, they’re all tried and tested; hence they are as committed and professional as we are.
Thinking of renovating or building a new home why don’t you give us a call to have a chat about your project to see if we can help you, our advice and tips are free, our aim is to inform the client as much as we can so they don’t end up making mistakes or building in the wrong spot or hiring the wrong people.
Sam Zaher
