Blog

Working out a project budget: budget report with charts, laptop and glasses on a desk

Why Do Building Projects Go Over Budget?

Most budget blowouts trace back to a decision made before the build, not a problem…

Choosing a block of land: subdivision plan held up against a sloping rural site, with one lot marked in green

Should You Get an Architect to Check a Block Before You Buy?

A listing tells you the price, not what you can build. Zoning, easements, bushfire,…

Sydney architect Ruth Newman holding rolled plans in a garden, discussing when to engage an architect

When to Engage an Architect

The right time to engage an architect isn't when you're ready to draw. It's when…

Three-stage residential renovation by Ruth Newman Architect showing completed deck with glass balustrade and outdoor seating, custom timber and tile fireplace with built-in shelving, and structural steel construction phase with scaffolding

What happens when you don’t engage your architect during construction (and what changes when you do)

You signed off the drawings and the builder's on site, so the hard part feels over.…

The Decide, Design, Deliver framework in three panels: a flooded road, a coastal house and timber roof framing.

How I work: Decide, Design, Deliver

After 30 years, the pattern was always the same. The projects that worked got the…

Empty commercial office space with glass meeting room and city view, overlaid with the question Should I sign this lease

What an Architect wishes you’d ask Before You Sign Anything

By the time most commercial tenants engage an architect, the lease is signed, the…