BIO

Construction specifications is the process obtaining the client's authority to prepare detailed construction documentation and a specification of works that outline and quantify each part of the building to its entirety. This will lead the architect as an agent on behalf of the client to obtain offers for the execution of works, evaluate the tenderer’s offers and recommend on awarding the building contract. The architect will then prepare the contract documentation and arrange for the signing of the building contract.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Project management entails administration of the building contract by the architect as principal agent. This is the process of giving possession of the site to the building contractor, issuing of construction documentation, initiating and/or checking of sub-contract design and documentation that are appropriate, inspection of the works for conformity to the contract documentation and acceptable quality in terms of industry standards, administer and perform the duties and obligations assigned to the principal agent in the building contract, issue the certificate of final completion and assist the client in obtaining the occupation certificate.

URBAN DESIGN

Urban design and architecture are can be considered as two faces on the same coin in that they are intimately linked to one another and cannot be considered in isolation. Urban landscapes could be composed of a diverse mix of urban building typologies with multiple layers of program use and moments of densely vegetated open spaces where passive urban management is continuously sustained due to a variety of operational windows. This creates spaces that are vibrant and full of life at all times through the course of a day and are ideally inhabited by many different people of all ages making day and night life an event where living, working and playing flow seamlessly through one another.

PASSIVE DESIGN

Passive design is the consideration and implementation of supplementary sustainable systems that should be part of any existing and new building. The world is moving into increasingly uncertain times regarding the ever growing demand for electricity production and water supply. By designing buildings that are more thermally efficient in relation to heating and cooling we can reduce individual homes electricity demands. Electrical production through the use of solar technology and the reuse of garden refuse in biomass electrical generators can allow individual homes and buildings the ability to create their own power. Water is a resource that can exist within a system for very much longer than what is currently being implemented. Fresh water from municipal connections needs to be used sparingly and grey water from basins, baths, showers, washing machines and dishwashers can be filtered and reused to flush toilets and irrigate gardens which then ties back into garden refuse as biomass fuel. Embodied energy exists in many states and needs to be used as effectively and by as many individuals as possible to collectively move towards a more sustainable future. Architects needs to educate clients about such systems how over time can be very important investments that pay for themselves and give back very much more.