Residential projects: Medium-to-large residential projects, including new builds, renovations, extensions, retrofits and interiors. As a guide, our minimum build budgets are $800,000 for architectural projects, $600,000 for interior fit-outs and $70,000 for furnishing and decorating. 

Commercial, community and institutional projects: Our commercial work budget ranges vary.

Sustainable design doesn’t have to cost more than any other bespoke, high-quality build, because it’s a set of priorities applied through the design rather than a premium add-on. Some choices cost more upfront, like better glazing and insulation. Others save money, like building smaller, keeping existing structure or reducing the need for mechanical heating and cooling. A well-performing home also costs less to run and maintain over its life. The biggest cost drivers are scope, size, site complexity and the building market itself, which has risen sharply over the past decade.

Our fees are a percentage of the pre-GST construction cost, typically 10–20% for architectural services. A percentage is the fairest way to match fees to the work involved, since larger and more complex projects take more design time. Design fees sit on top of the construction budget. Fees adjust in line with the project cost. Together with consultant and statutory fees, landscaping, furniture and any temporary accommodation during the build, they make up your total project cost.

Renovating can be the more sustainable choice, because the energy and materials already built into an existing home are lost when it’s demolished. Existing buildings also carry history and character worth keeping where possible, whether that’s cultural, architectural or personal. We specialise in high-performance thermal upgrades for existing buildings and work with builders leading the way in passive retrofit. We start by testing what your building can realistically become, practically, physically and financially. Where rebuilding is genuinely the better answer, we’ll tell you, and we’ll design something worth the resources it uses.

It depends on what you’re changing. An interior designer can lead non-structural, interiors-only work, while a Registered Architect is required for structural changes, heritage overlays, complex planning, or ambitious performance targets. In Victoria, only people registered with the Architects Registration Board of Victoria (ARBV) can use the title “architect,” and they are bound by professional insurance requirements and a code of conduct. Most structural work needs a building permit, and the drawings must come from a registered practitioner, such as an architect or a registered building designer. Interior designers have specialist knowledge of the functionality and materiality of interior environments and bring a high level of detail and refinement to interior solutions. With Brave New Eco you benefit from a high level of expertise across both areas. Registered Architect and Director Joanne Nataprawira (ARBV 19601) and Design Director Megan Norgate lead projects together, so they resolve interiors, flow, performance, compliance, and structure as one design from the first concept.

Every architectural project moves through six stages, from early feasibility through to the end of construction:

1. Pre-design

2. Concept design
   2a. Town planning

3. Design development

4. Permit documentation

5. Negotiated contract 

6. Construction administration

Allow 6 to 24 months for design until the build commences and around three years from the first meeting to completion for most projects. The range depends on scope, whether you need a planning permit and how many consultants are involved, and planning approval alone can add many months. That time translates into hundreds of hours of design work and collaboration, which separates a resolved, enduring home from a business-as-usual one.

Yes. We introduce you to builders, craftspeople and makers whose quality and values we trust. We work with several builders, each with different strengths, and matching the right builder to the right project is key.

Yes. Our studio is in Brunswick, and most of our built work is in the inner north, because we like working locally (and riding to site). We also take on architectural projects across greater Melbourne and regional Victoria, and interior design projects across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. Our architectural registration is in Victoria, so we don’t take on architectural projects interstate.

Usually not straight away. We’re a small studio that takes on only a few new clients each year, so there’s often a wait before we can begin. Keeping our numbers small is what lets us give every project close attention. Timing, location, project size and budget feasibility all affect whether we can take a project on, so get in touch early, even if you’re a year or more from starting.

We start with the air you breathe. Ventilation, moisture control and low-toxicity materials make the biggest difference to how well a home supports the people in it. Beyond air quality, we design for daylight, thermal comfort and acoustic calm. These aren’t wellness extras. They’re measurable qualities we design for from the outset.

Passive House (Passivhaus) is a rigorous international building standard that delivers exceptional comfort with very low energy use. It does this through airtightness, high-performance insulation and glazing, construction free of thermal bridges (weak spots where heat escapes through the structure), and heat-recovery ventilation. Passive House isn’t a style but a measurable, certified performance benchmark. Certified homes use up to 90% less heating and cooling energy than typical existing homes, hold steady indoor temperatures and receive continuously filtered fresh air. Passive House principles shape all our work, and where a project aims for certification, we collaborate with certified Passive House builders and consultants to get it there.

Permaculture is a systems-based design approach that works with natural systems rather than against them. For us it’s how we think, not an add-on, and both our directors are trained permaculture designers. In practice, it means applying systems thinking to the process to consider energy, water, landscape, community, emotional durability, and how you’ll actually live in the home.

B Corp certification means B Lab, the independent body behind the standard, has verified our social and environmental performance against a global standard. The assessment covers the whole business, including governance, workers, community, environment and customers, not just the design work. We were certified in 2024 and recertify every three years.