Choosing an architect is one of the first decisions you make when building or renovating, and one of the most important. The right architect shapes how the house will feel to live in for decades, and how smoothly the project runs on the way there.
Here are the questions worth asking before you commit, and how Zen Architects answers them.
Is the architect registered?
In Victoria, architects and companies providing architectural services must be registered with the Architects Registration Board of Victoria (ARBV). The register is public, so it is the first and easiest check to make.
Zen Architects Pty Ltd is an ARBV-approved company, and both directors, Ric Zen and Luke Rhodes, are registered architects. Their registration numbers are listed on our practice profile.
Have they designed something like your project?
Ask to see completed homes that faced the same questions as yours: a sloping block, a heritage overlay, a tight inner-city site or a bushfire rating. Finished, photographed homes tell you more than renders.
For example, Local House in Eaglemont replaced a family home with one almost 100 square metres smaller that suits the next stage of its owners' lives, and won Best Energy-Efficient Home at the Grand Designs Australia Magazine House of the Year Awards 2024.
Who will actually design your home?
In larger practices, the person you meet first is not always the person who designs your home. Ask directly who will lead your project from the first sketch to the end of construction.
At Zen Architects, every project is led by our directors, Ric Zen and Luke Rhodes.
How do they approach sustainability?
Sustainability should shape the design from the start, not be added at the end. Ask how the architect uses orientation, shading, insulation and materials, and whether they have delivered measured results.
Zen Architects has been designing sustainable homes since 1989, including a Passive House in Anglesea, certified by the Passive House Institute as a Low Energy Building and built on a site rated BAL 29 for bushfire.
Do they know your council and its overlays?
Planning controls differ from suburb to suburb, and heritage, vegetation, flood and bushfire overlays can change what is possible on your site. An architect who knows your council will build those controls into the design from the start, so nothing is designed twice.
You can check your own property's overlays with a free planning property report from VicPlan.
How will you work together?
Most home projects move through the same stages: the brief, concept design, design development, the planning permit, documentation and construction. Ask how often you will meet, how decisions are recorded, and how the architect works with the builder once construction starts.
If you leave the first meeting feeling heard, and the architect has asked as many questions as you have, that is a good sign.
To see how we work with homeowners on new homes, renovations and extensions, read about our residential architecture for homeowners, or arrange a design consultation.
Questions worth answering.
What should I bring to a first meeting with an architect?
Your title and any survey of the site, photos of the house and the street, a list of what is not working in the home today, and examples of homes you admire. A clear brief makes the first conversation far more useful than a set of finished ideas.
Should I talk to an architect before buying a site?
If you can, yes. An architect can look at orientation, slope, overlays and access before you commit, and tell you what the site is likely to allow. It is far easier to walk away from a site than to design around a problem you did not see.
Can I check an architect's registration myself?
Yes. The Architects Registration Board of Victoria publishes a public register of architects and approved architectural companies that anyone can search online.