The design phases: what actually happens
Once pre-design is complete and you’ve decided to move forward, the design work begins. There are three main phases: Schematic Design, Design Development, and Construction Documentation. Each one builds on the last, and each one exists in a specific order for a reason.
These phases apply whether you're working with a renovation architect in Melbourne, a draftsperson, or a design and build firm, though the depth of documentation and design resolution will vary.
Schematic Design
Schematic Design is where the vision takes shape. This is the concept phase, spatial planning, layout and the overall direction of the design. We're working out how the spaces will relate to each other, where the additions sit on the site, how light can move through the home, and what the project is fundamentally trying to achieve.
We build on the pre-design questionnaire, going deeper into how you live and what the home needs to do, to help inform the vision. It can take a few weeks of drawing and thinking to come up with a couple of options we think work well. We usually do 2 options but occasionally, a site might offer the possibility for more. That's the beauty of this phase, we can explore. Everything is possible at this moment.
To help visualise the design at this stage, we primarily use sketches and 2D. For a complex or hard to visualise element, we might use 3D modelling to show you the massing so you can get a sense of the space.
Schematic Design is deliberately kept at a high level, and there are two reasons for that. The first is town planning. Most projects in Melbourne require a planning permit from council before detailed design work can begin. You don't want to invest time and money resolving every detail before you know what council will approve. The Schematic Design gives council enough to assess the proposal without you over-committing to a design that may need to change. Of course, what we put forward is informed by everything uncovered during pre-design: the overlays, the heritage controls, the site constraints. We design with the planning controls in mind from the start. But ultimately it's a planner at council who assesses the proposal and issues the permit, and their decision shapes what the project looks like going forward.
The second reason is cost. Before the design develops further, it's worth getting a sense of whether the build is financially feasible. At this stage there are a couple of ways to do that. Some builders offer an indicative pricing service based on schematic drawings, which can give you a broad directional sense of where costs are heading. A quantity surveyor can provide the same thing independently, which some clients prefer for a project of significant scale. Neither will give you a final number but both can help you make informed decisions before you commit to the detailed work of the next phase.
Once the desired concept is signed off, we resolve the exterior, which includes exterior materials and colours because this is required for the town planning application
Estimated duration: Typically 4 to 6 weeks, allowing for a couple of rounds of feedback and refinement.
A note on town planning
Town planning sits between Schematic Design and Design Development, and it's worth understanding why. Before detailed design begins, council needs to assess and approve what you're proposing to build. This process takes time and the outcome shapes what's possible in the next phase. Rushing past it or trying to design in detail before approval can lead to headaches down the track. We'll cover town planning in detail in a separate post.
Timeframes vary depending on the council, the complexity of the proposal, and whether objections are raised. In straightforward cases, expect 2 to 3 months. Projects with RFIs or neighbouring objections can take 4 to 5 months or longer. Heritage overlays and complex sites should be discussed case by case.
Design Development
Once planning approval is in hand, Design Development can begin. This is where the design gets fully resolved and it's more expansive than most people expect.
Design Development is essentially where architecture and interior design happen together. We start with moodboards and palettes and work together to find a vision you're excited by, and then we get more specific and start working through decisions for everything within the built structure. The first priority is joinery design and wall finishes. Once those are resolved, we can start getting quotes from engineers. While that's underway, we work through tile selections, paint colours, flooring, lighting, tapware, and hardware. We support selections throughout by shortlisting options, ordering samples, and visiting showrooms together.
This is also where the project starts to feel real. The spatial ideas from Schematic Design get tested against the reality of materials, finishes, and how things actually go together. Decisions that seem small, like the depth of a shelf, the position of a light switch, or the grout colour on a splashback, matter more than people realise, and getting them right takes time and care.
This phase often has a longer tail than people expect, and some decisions, lighting being a good example, simply take time to resolve properly. In practice, DD and CD frequently run in parallel. While joinery is being finalised, door and window schedules and wall types can be progressing, engineering can be underway, and material selections continue to be refined while you wait for engineering feedback. The phases overlap by design, and that's not a problem.
As selections are confirmed, we can also start putting deposits down to secure materials and lock in lead times for the project.
At the end of Design Development, getting a cost check is worth considering before moving fully into Construction Documentation. A builder who has been involved early can often provide an updated estimate at this point, or a quantity surveyor can do so independently. Either way, having a realistic picture of where costs sit before the final phase begins is a useful checkpoint.
Estimated Duration: Palettes and joinery typically take 4 to 6 weeks to resolve, though this phase often has a longer tail depending on how quickly decisions can be made and samples sourced. Some selections, lighting in particular, simply take time. Once joinery and wall finishes are confirmed, engineering and Construction Documentation can begin in parallel, with remaining DD selections continuing alongside.
Construction Documentation
Construction Documentation is the phase most people know least about and the one that protects them most on site.
This is where we produce the full technical drawing set that tells the builder exactly how to build what has been designed. A full construction documentation set typically includes floor plans, elevations, sections, wall types, joinery drawings, door and window schedules, structural drawings, energy efficiency documentation, and building regulation compliance notes. Every drawing is a decision made in advance so it doesn't have to be made on site, under time pressure, by someone whose incentive is to build quickly rather than well.
A common misconception is that you can build off Schematic Design or even Design Development drawings. You can't, or rather, you shouldn't. Without a full construction documentation set, critical decisions about how the building goes together get left to the builder. That's how you end up with cost variations, design compromises, and outcomes that don't match what you had in mind. The documentation is the instruction manual. Without it, you're hoping everyone reads the situation the same way you do.
This is the set of documents that the building surveyor reviews in order to issue a building permit and it becomes the north star for the entire build.
Estimated Duration: The drawing set typically takes 8 to 10 weeks to produce, running in parallel with the tail end of Design Development. Once lodged with a building surveyor, the timeframe for permit issue varies and is outside our control. Your building surveyor will be able to give you a clearer picture of current turnaround times when you engage them.
What this looks like in practice
A client comes to us wanting to extend the back of their home and reconfigure the ground floor. In Schematic Design, we work out the layout, test a few approaches to the addition, and land on a concept that works spatially and sits within the planning controls. We lodge for a planning permit. While we wait, we can begin preliminary design development. You'll complete a questionnaire and start to collect things that inspire you to help guide us on the vibe you are hoping to create. We do all we can to make sure we are aligned on the vision. Once approval comes through, Design Development begins in earnest and the joinery gets designed, the palette is resolved, every finish is selected and coordinated. Then Construction Documentation translates all of that into a drawing set the surveyor can review for a building permit and the builder can actually price and build from.
How long does it all take?
If you add up all the phases from proposal acceptance, you're looking at a minimum of 8 to 9 months before breaking ground. And that's assuming no delays, a straightforward planning permit, and decisions made quickly through Design Development.
Pre-design: 3 to 4 weeks
Schematic Design: 4 to 6 weeks
Town planning: 2 to 3 months (best case)
Design Development: 4 to 6 weeks
Construction Documentation: 8 to 10 weeks
Building permit: timeframe varies depending on your building surveyor and the complexity of the project
Realistically, for most projects you're looking at 10 to 12 months from proposal acceptance to site start. There are a lot of variables to manage along the way but the important thing is that you are working with a team you're aligned with and there's clear communication every step of the way. It's a significant investment of time and money. Done well, it produces a home that feels completely like you, and that's worth getting right from the start.
If you have questions about the design process or want to understand what it might look like for your project, we're always happy to start with a conversation.