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From small
building design until today ...
Our services and our story of
generating value for you
Hi
there,
--- thanks for visiting and wanting to find out more about Placemark
and our services. A bit of our story will help you see the value we can
add to your project.
In
1997 home
owners in the suburbs, and even in some parts of the country, started
to add more value to their land not just by renovating or extending.
Those who didn't have the resources to build began to realise that
obtaining a straightforward development plan - symphatetic to their neighbours - for one more dwelling in
the backyard will be less costly in adding value to the land
on the dollar.
That's when we thought: - Hey, we had the necessary expertise in planning and
design, so we could actually help there. And that is exactly when Placemark was born. Since that time we managed to
help a
lot of small and larger developers (and more than a few would-be developers) to add that highly desired
value to the land.
Then, a client wished to get more than just the plans to sell with the
land. It so happened that the owner of a larger block that could
accomodate
three units gave us an idea.
We helped him to actually build one unit with very little outlay. So he was able to sell
one to the builder and as a result build one for free. Now that was
value adding to enjoy.
Something you could do too, pretty much regardless of the market conditions.
And when you think about it, that additional value can be utilised in so many ways, including
refinancing the property.
Now, when an established client wanted a complimentary service that we
were able to provide we added
that as a new services
to other clients as well if they wanted so.
Later
we decided to try and 3D model our documentation for some of the larger
designs. Gradually,
those models held more and more
useful information that often included
building components, products and even billing quantities. For some
projects the data even began to hold various climate and resource efficient measures.
It
was a risk we took as it mostly
involved investing spare time. Now, some of those models turned
out to
be useful in more ways than one. Some welcome demand established and
started
to grow.
And we are happy to say that we have succeeded in meeting that demand.
Today, in addition to
beeing a design studio with growing reputation, Placemark is
also a well-respected building information model
(BIM) developer in the construction innovation field.
But
despite our profile an size of projects growing, our overheads remained
comparatively low, because we have
been happily working from a home based studio.
Luckily, frequent online communication - including
email
and our internet
form - has proven to be more than
effective with our clients.
Awards and
Achievements
We've developed a BIM for a major flagship project and received very
positive feedback. The purpose of the BIM was environmental
resource analysis of a
27,000 plus m2 multi-story overseas office complex in Rotterdam, the
Netherlands (20007).
Placemark was nominated for Best
Building Design state
award (2005).
We have also been extensively consulting the CSIRO and the CRC for best
practices in resource efficient BIM for the
past several years.
We have been instrumental in two major
overseas projects: 5500m2
Shopping plaza rezoning on the outskirst of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
(2008); and Otti has been key member or the 100,000 plus m2 Urban
Design and
Revitalisation Project for the Docklands in a metropolitan city in Europe
(1993).
Last but not least, we are proud that our practice keeps having a very high approval success rate;
98% with local planning applications and 100% with VCAT appeals.
Qualifications
and Expertise
We
are qualified engineers and architects; and practiced
teaching design for many years. We are registered
and insured building practitioners and members of the Building Designer
Association of Victoria BDAV.
Katalin has a Bachelor of Architecture degree and participates in
working drawing and design education at the
Holmesglen TAFE; and I has a
Master of Architecture degree, a construction innovation
consultant for the CRC and the CSIRO and a member of the
Victorian chapter of the Building
Designers Association.
I have taught urban and architectural design at
the University of Melbourne. Together, we are the two principals and
have degrees and tertiary qualifications in architecture, urban
design, business management and education.
Over 30
years expertise in architecture, town planning and project management
is the body of knowledge that can be leveraged for the success of your
project.
Local and Overseas Projects
We are based
in Victoria, where we have
completed
projects in these
municipalities
around the Melbourne CBD and outwards. In addition, we
have participated in projects (small and large) in these places,
states,
and overseas countries:
Brisbane (QLD)
Wagga wagga (NSW)
in Australia;
and UK,
Netherlands,
Hungary, Korea, Vietnam overseas.

With
our clients we go
out of our way to get them just what they need.
Thank
you for visiting, we hope you find just the right information you were
looking.
Your
Host and Director of Placemark,
Otto Newhouse
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Developing
your land
One of the
biggest changes by far that has been happening to the suburbs of
Melbourne is
about adding more value to your property.
Of
course residential
"unit" development is one way. But in most cases, an extension or
renovation can also include a second unit, and even on relatively
smaller lands.
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Multi
unit development
The key is careful planning. And you need to plan a lot of things, even
successful communication with council authorities.
Now, depending on
your goals their are a few options to consider: - These are
staging, fast track planning or using time and energy saving materials
and building systems.
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3D
modelling
We often use 3D computer
modelling. These can also help us greatly with increased accuracy in
costing.
They also come very handy in resolving
problems and - occasionally - appeals. (Overshadowing, overlooking and
other issues.)
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Design and
Development tips
Recently, I
started adding here some more about the many things you might want to
investigate
for your project.
Here how it starts .. for now ...
Land
development tips ... >>
Beach
house
design tips ... >>
Towh
house design tips ... >>
Home
extension tip ... >>
Tell us
what other tips you would like to see here. You can also let me know if
these tips helped in some way. Just fill in this comment form.
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Completed projects in
these municipalities in
Victoria
Banyule,
Bayside, Bellarine Shire, Boroondara, Darebin, Glen Eira, Knox, Monash,
Wellington Shire, Whitehorse, Yarra. |
Our
clients
and associated third party businesses include:
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- Itec Corporation
- CSIRO
- Abaki Sotware
- The Cooperative Reseach Centre
- Melproperty
- J Renee Nominees
- Progress Homes
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- Chiarotto Building Corporation
- Jias Malpco
- Fun-led-light.com
- Toman & Associates
- Ryan Planning
- Novak & Associates
- First Rate Rating
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building design page
Home to Placemark
Published since 2000 by Newhouse Pty Ltd T/As Placemark.
Mailing address: PO Box 2718 Mount Waverley VIC 3149 Australia. |  |
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