Brett Aylen Architecture

We have been in our house now for 11 months and we love it. Currently we have spent $110.00 on electricity but expect to be in credit with the arrival of our fInal bill for the year. The house requires very little heating and so far the air conditioning has only been used once on a 46’c day. Even then the air con was only put on at 8pm for a couple of hours. Today the outside temperature is 42’c and inside the house it is 25.5’c at 5pm without having used the air conditioner. The insulation is great as are the PVC double glazed windows. The design of the house is exactly what we wanted however the only negative is that it the actual build cost was about 15% higher than we were led to believe during the design process. Working with Brett was a good experience and he helped us to save money where possible during the build process and we still achieved the desired result with a well designed and functional house. As part of the design, we have incorporated a 4 car garage as well as outside areas allowing us to sit out on any side of the house depending on the weather. We have incorporated a landscaped garden with fruit trees, raised ‘Wicking beds’ for our vegetables and a herb garden and all of this on just 763 square meters of land.

I approached Brett in 2013 to design a modern Farm homestead to cope with our climate,his knowledge in regards to this has produced a very comfortable home to live in.He was very helpful with ideas and gave good advice when choosing products and colour schemes.

I am the very lucky owner of the zero carbon house, which you can see featured on Brett's web page. I found Brett to be very approachable, considerate and a joy to work with. He makes building an environmentally friendly home a breeze. The design process considered liveability and aesthetics along with the orientation, airflow etc and all the details that make the home feel very comfortable to be in. He also allowed options for future extensions should my circumstances require it, which I think is very unique considering it's only a 238 square meter block. The builder Brett chose to work with did an exceptional job, even when put under very tough time restrictions. The design included landscapeing and greenery ( which hadn't grown yet in the photos!). The greenery adds to the privacy and shading of the home which has had mixed success, and has needed some tweaking to the original plantings and design. The upstairs gets a little warmer than I hoped for. I'm looking forward to working with Brett again to improve this.

We found Brett Aylen to be professional in that he considered our needs and budget first. He researched new materials that fitted the strict criteria for building in this area and knew how to work closely with the builders. He brought sensitivity to the design of our new house within a negotiated budget, was available for consultation when desired, and encouraged us to work closely with the builders. The project was finished on time and the quality of workmanship is excellent. in terms of sustainability this house rates at 7.8 stars.

Brett is a breath of fresh air... He is a wonderful and wise person, who I found to be mindful, emotionally aware, and an excellent listener. His business has previously designed my office space that all visitors commented on favourably, and I look forward to the day that Brett designs and project manages our dream (climate responsive) house right at the beach. You will find that Brett is working with you and for you, every step along the way.