DESIGN EXPLORERDAVID O’BRIEN · DESIGN + BUILD
Drag to look around · scroll to zoom
Live site diagram · 3D graphics unavailable in this browser.
Your vision,
taking shape.
Start with possibility. Shape the site, explore the architecture and watch your ideas develop from a first sketch into a richer direction — with space, sunlight and investment in view.
Try a starting point
What are you planning?
Where will it sit?
Setting shapes the landscape, materials and indicative building allowance. Area and frontage decide what fits.
Area and frontage shape a layout test. Planning determines permitted yield.
The street side facesSets the illustrative sun study
Site study assumptions
Use your known setbacks, or test these starting assumptions. These are not verified planning controls.
The plot uses area ÷ frontage for depth. Floor area, footprint and upper levels are schematic. Survey shape, eaves, trees, easements, height and upper-floor controls need site-specific review.
How big, and over how many levels?
What stays, and what is added?
What outcome are you after?
What kind of project is it?
Going up shrinks the footprint and lifts the rate. Each option shows what it costs against your current choice.
New area and renovated area are priced separately. The pale model is the home you have; the addition is drawn in your materials.
Land-division figures are provisional DOB allowances informed by local 2026/27 guides, including ordinary listed contributions/services. Confirm GST and scope before reliance. Larger lot counts are extrapolated. Do not duplicate included services in shared works. Attached rates include ordinary common-property works; shared infrastructure is for additional works only. Finance, selling costs and land are excluded.
Requested dwelling counts are scenarios, not permitted yield. Zone rules, parking, access, minimum areas, frontage and built form need a site-specific assessment.
Unique projects are priced on their own terms, so there is no cost model here. Add a few lines about it in your brief below and we will start with a conversation.
What matters most to you?
Choose up to four priorities. They become part of your brief for DOB.
What should it feel like?
Colour directionIllustrative material families
SpecificationSets the reference building rate
StandardComplex
Move toward Complex to explore courtyards where space permits, skylights, contrasting materials and richer roof and gutter forms—especially at Architectural and Bespoke specification. The allowance adds progressively up to 8% at Core, 15% at Architectural and 25% at Bespoke as form and detail become more complex. Actual detailing and construction require DOB and builder review.
Indicative material schedule
Does the budget match the brief?
Set your budget for the scope modelled here. Keep land, professional fees, finance and unselected extras separate.
Indicative DOB pricing · October 2026 Core new-home calibration. Site, design and builder review will establish project pricing.
Renovation + extension scope
The renovation percentage is the existing dry area being worked on, excluding wet rooms priced below. Extension rates cover ordinary dry-room finishes. Enter wet-area fitouts once across renovation and extension; white goods are additional. Zero means not allowed.
Starting fitout guides: kitchen $23k–$49k; bathroom $17.5k–$35k each; laundry $10k–$19k. Enter the total for your rooms and chosen finishes. Hazardous materials, unusual reinforcement and repairs require defined scope.
What the figure includes
- GST
- Garage, alfresco and general standard site works within new-home rates
- For renovations/extensions: entered dry-area work, wet fitouts and repairs
- For developments: selected dwelling scope, included common property and itemised shared works / land division
- Indicative setting allowance: City base, Country +5% for nearby rural logistics, Coastal +3% for ordinary new-building durability. Country applies to dry-area renovation work; Coastal applies to new construction and extensions.
- Your entered additional site works and externals allowances, above included setting scope
- Your entered contingency
What it leaves out
- Land
- Demolition
- Abnormal site works: slope, retaining, access, soil, services, bushfire, remote travel and severe coastal exposure beyond the guide allowance
- Consultant and approval fees
- Landscaping, pools and external works beyond your entered allowance
- Finance
- Unselected extras, professional fees, finance and escalation
DAVID O'BRIEN · DESIGN + BUILD
Save for later keeps this brief in your portal account. Proceed to Site + Vision sends a request to DOB.
See the brief as text
Email: hello@davidobriendesign.com
My briefsSaved to your account
How we work from here
- 1
Site + Vision
Site visit + assessment, preliminary site/planning review, project potential + feasibility guidance, report + presentation and a clear recommended pathway.
$1,100incl. GST · residential starting stage - 2
Custom Design
Your agreed brief developed into a resolved design.
- 3
Planning + Lodgement
Planning drawings prepared and lodged, with consultants coordinated.
- 4
Working Drawings + Build Ready
The documentation a builder needs to price and build.
- +
Builder Alignment + Construction Support
Optional. Help choosing the right builder, and design support while the project is on site.
You appoint each stage separately. Your proposal sets out the fee and timing for every stage.
Reference building rates are in AUD, include GST, garage and alfresco, and retain the prototype’s allowance for general standard site works for a new home. Additional site works, externals and contingency are included only to the extent entered. Land, demolition, consultant and authority fees, finance, escalation and unselected extras are excluded. Zero additional allowances do not mean those works are free. Wet fitouts and repairs for renovations/extensions, shared infrastructure and land division are listed separately; only entered or expressly included scope is allowed. Confirm actual scope and pricing through Site + Vision and builder review.
The model is an indicative massing study, not a resolved design. Footprint, upper levels, setbacks and yield are schematic and unverified. Pricing uses the approved DOB October 2026 exploration framework: home size factor clamp(0.85 + 45/area, 0.90, 1.10); extension size factor clamp(0.90 + 10/extension area, 0.95, 1.30); form-direction allowances Conventional 0%, Contemporary 5%, Character 8%, multiplied into new-construction / extension rates before detail loading up to Core 8%, Architectural 15%, Bespoke 25%. Core single-storey starts at $2,000/m² at 300 m² and size savings stop at $1,800/m² before form and detailing allowances. Undercroft/basement rates are provisional blended allowances. Renovation dry areas, extensions, wet fitouts and repairs are separate. Detached developments price each dwelling's requested area; attached rates include ordinary common property with no whole-project size discount. Additional shared works and land division are itemised. Land-division guide amounts are provisional, with larger lot counts extrapolated; confirm actual GST and scope. Form allowances reflect standard roof and building composition; the complexity control adds articulation beyond that starting form. Existing dry-area renovation, fitouts, repairs and land division receive no form surcharge. Setting uses provisional DOB allowances: City 0%, Country 5%, Coastal 3%, multiplied into new-construction and extension rates. Country also applies to dry-area renovation work; Coastal does not automatically load existing renovation interiors. These are exploration assumptions, not uniform South Australian market premiums. Palette does not add a surcharge. Remote travel, BAL, major services, severe exposure, access and soil costs require separate scope allowances above included setting provisions. The Adelaide sun study is illustrative, not an energy assessment.