Architect, Building Designer or Design and Construct Builder: Who Should Design Your Home?
Architect, building designer or design and construct?
An architect is a registered professional who designs your home, usually before you pick a builder. A building designer does the same job without architect registration. With design and construct, the builder manages the design and prices it as it develops, then builds it. The first two can give you a design you love that you then find you can't afford; design and construct is set up to stop that.
- Architectregistered; title protected in NSW
- Building designerdesigns homes, not registered
- Design and constructone team, designed and priced together
- $40–75ktypical design and professional fees
Designed and priced together from the first sketch, with a fixed price before you sign. NSW contractor licence 258735C.
By Keiron Moore, Director of CKS Projects, with 25+ years building on the South Coast. Updated October 2026.
Important Disclaimer:
“This article is general guidance, not an exact price guide, guaranteed returns, or a substitute for professional advice or a formal quote. Construction costs, rental yields, and capital growth examples reflect 2025 conditions and will vary with site constraints, design, materials, and market movements. Speak with a qualified financial adviser before making investment decisions. For accurate estimates and design recommendations for your site, contact CKS Projects. We’ll provide a comprehensive consultation and a formal quote tailored to your Wollongong home.”
Government charges are as published at the date shown and change over time.
Architect, building designer or design and construct: the three routes
| Architect | Building designer | Design and construct builder | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who designs | A registered architect | A building designer | A building designer working with the builder, or your own designer |
| When you know the build cost | After design, when builders quote | After design, when builders quote | As the design develops |
| Contracts | Design contract, then a separate building contract | Design contract, then a separate building contract | Usually one team from design to handover |
| Who coordinates design and build | Often the architect, if engaged to | You, usually | The builder |
| Risk of redesign on price | Higher, if the design wasn't costed | Higher, if the design wasn't costed | Lower: the design is costed by the team building it |
| Best for | Complex or highly bespoke homes where you want the architect to lead | Straightforward homes on a known budget | Owners who want design, price and build aligned |
None of these is right for everyone. What matters is when the design gets priced by someone who will actually build it.
What NSW rules say about who can design a house
"Architect" is a protected title
An individual can only call themselves an architect if they're on the NSW Register of Architects. A business can only describe itself as an architect if it has a nominated architect.
House design isn't restricted to architects
The Architects Act protects the title, not the work. Building designers design many NSW homes.
Houses aren't in the DBP scheme
NSW's Design and Building Practitioners scheme regulates class 2, 3 and 9c buildings, such as apartments. A house is class 1, so its designer doesn't need registration under that scheme.
The design still has to comply
Whoever designs it, a house needs a DA or CDC, BASIX certification and compliance with the NCC before it can be built.
Sources: NSW Architects Registration Board, protection of the architect title; NSW Government, building classes under the Design and Building Practitioners scheme. See also council approval and BASIX certificates.
Why designs blow budgets
It's a story too many homeowners know. You fall in love with a concept, then discover it costs far more to build than you planned. What follows is cuts, redesigns and compromise.
It usually happens because the design was finished before anyone who builds homes priced it. Complex shapes, multiple roof lines and extensive glazing can add 15–25% to construction on CKS Projects' figures, and on a sloping block, site works alone can run $80,000–$120,000.
When the design and the price develop together, those choices are made knowingly: you see what each one costs while you can still change it. That's the point of design and construct.
One brief, one budget, one conversation
When the client, builder, building designer and interior designer all work separately, details get lost in translation. In a design and construct project they work from the same brief and the same budget, with you at the centre:
You, the client
Your ideas, needs, style and budget, and what your land offers.
The builder
Costs the design as it develops, so the price you see is one you can rely on.
The building designer
Develops a site-specific plan, never a catalogue plan, with 3D renders and a walk-through.
The interior designer
Carries the same brief and budget through to finishes, fixtures and joinery.
Interiors and selections
The same approach carries through to your interiors. Through its collaboration with Paiano Design, CKS Projects clients can work with KBDi award-winning interior designer Eliesha Keenan. Before your first session she has your client brief, so she knows your design, site and budget from the outset.
Paiano's Curated Home Sessions let you book as many sessions as you need, for the whole home or a single space such as the kitchen, bathrooms or joinery. Or bring your own interior designer.
Every selection is then logged against your allowances and priced before you commit: see builder inclusions vs custom selections and prime cost items vs provisional sums.
How to choose a builder for a new home
- Check the licence. Look the builder up on the NSW Government licence check, and confirm it covers the work. CKS Projects is licence 258735C.
- See finished homes. Ask for homes like yours, on blocks like yours, and talk to the owners.
- Find out who you'll deal with. The builder, or a sales consultant and then a supervisor you haven't met?
- Ask when the design gets priced. Before it's finished, by the people who'll build it, is the answer you want.
- Get a detailed fixed price before you sign. With allowances listed, and preliminaries itemised.
- Check the deposit and insurance. No more than 10% deposit, and a home building compensation certificate before any payment on work over $20,000.
- Ask how you'll be kept informed. Site meetings, a client portal, and how variations are priced and approved.
More on fixed price vs cost plus contracts and why work with a design and build contractor.
The CKS Projects design service
You can choose for CKS Projects to deliver the whole design process, so your home is designed and priced together from the first sketch:
Consultation and concept
Tailored design consultations and site-specific concept development.
Custom floor plans
Never cookie-cutter, and drawn for your block, views and light.
3D renders and walk-throughs
Produced from the same plans used for the construction documents.
Interiors and planning
Interior design and spatial planning, with Paiano Design or your own designer.
BASIX and sustainability
BASIX compliance and a sustainability strategy built into the design.
DA and CDC management
Approvals managed for you, then a fixed-price contract before you sign.
See architectural drafting, concept designs, architectural home designs in Wollongong and custom home builders. Budgeting first? See what a house costs to build in NSW.
Design and construct FAQs
What is the difference between an architect and a building designer?
In NSW, only a person on the NSW Register of Architects can call themselves an architect. A building designer designs homes without that registration. Both can design a house; the difference is the registration, training and, usually, the fee and the kind of project each takes on.
Do I need an architect to design a house in NSW?
No. The Architects Act protects the title "architect", not house design itself. Houses are also outside the building classes regulated under NSW's Design and Building Practitioners scheme, which currently covers class 2, 3 and 9c buildings. Your design still has to meet the NCC, BASIX and your council's planning controls to be approved.
What is design and construct?
A way of building where one team takes the home from design to handover. The builder manages the design with the building designer and consultants, prices it as it develops, then builds it. You deal with one team instead of separate design and construction contracts.
Is design and construct cheaper?
Not automatically, but it avoids the most expensive mistake: designing a home you can't afford to build. On CKS Projects' figures, design and professional fees for a home run about $40,000–$75,000. Paying that and then redesigning because the price came in high costs time and money.
Can I bring my own architect or designer to CKS Projects?
Yes. CKS Projects builds homes designed by independent designers too. Elanora Four in Coledale, for example, was designed by Alex Urena Design Studio and delivered by CKS Projects. You can also bring your own interior designer.
Will the 3D render match what gets built?
With CKS Projects, renders are produced from the same plans and specifications used for the construction documentation, so the render reflects the actual design, materials, glazing and form.
How do I choose a builder in NSW?
Check the builder's licence on the NSW Government's licence check, see homes they've finished, talk to past clients, and find out who you'll deal with during the build. Get a detailed fixed-price quote before you sign, a deposit of no more than 10%, and the home building compensation certificate before any payment on work over $20,000.
How long does it take to design and build a custom home?
Around 9–18 months from design to handover for most CKS Projects homes, including about 3–6 months of design, approvals and pre-construction.
Design it and price it together
Tell us about your land, your brief and your budget. We'll talk it through for free, then design, price and build your home as one team.
