PBDG are Canberra Architects who focus on sustainable house design as well as environmentally sustainable design for schools and government projects.
Vision
PBDG researches and develops Regenerative Design in all its work.
This creative act aims to unite community and ecology in place through the activation of regenerative design principles within each project.
Our vision is to create a more sustainable world for people and the planet through our work with community, living pods, micro villages, healthy habitats and natural biomimicry landscapes we refer to as “naturescapes”.
ISO 9000:2015 Quality management systems
PBDG is certified to comply with this quality management system and is intended to deliver “improved customer satisfaction”.
Compliance with this standard ensures that PBDG “identify internal and external issues that can affect, positively or negatively, the processes of achieving their goals”.
PBDG has been compliant with this standard since 1992.
PBDG is pre-qualified with ACT Government for Major Capital Works.
Occupational and Safety Policy
ISO 45001:2018 Occupational health and safety management systems
PBDG embraces and complies with this standard.
We are second party certified to carry our services to this standard.
Environmental Policy
ISO 14001:2015 Environmental management systems
Our work is based on the standard which works through the cycle of “Plan, Do, Check and Act”
- “Plan: establish the objectives and processes necessary to deliver results in accordance with the organisation’s policy.
- Do: implement the processes.
- Check: monitor and measure processes against the policy, objectives, targets, legal and other requirements, and report the results.
- Act: take action to continually improve performance of the management system.
ISO 14001 specifies the most important requirements to identify, control, and monitor the environmental aspects and impacts of an organisation’s operations and ultimately how to manage and improve the system as a whole”.
Education
PBDG are Canberra Architects who have extensive experience designing for the education sector. We have produced architecture plans for a large number of schools and early learning childhood centres in Canberra.
High-performance Buildings
Architect Canberra – Architecture Services in Canberra for Residential, house projects. We can assist with your house floor plans, renovation plans, project management services, full architecture services.
Masterplanning
When you make the biggest purchase of your life with a home, or build a facility for the community, it has to be functional, practical and fit for purpose. We believe it should be beautiful as well, and beautifully made.
We believe beauty, although expressed differently socially, culturally and contextually, stirs our soul through its presence and contributes to the richness and fabric of everyday life.
We express it as ornament, which occurs in three scales: image in the landscape, composition and detail. It is also expressed as integrated, applied and discrete elements.
We design using an initiative process that moves between idea, space, geometry, pattern, colour, texture, material and draw reference from mathematical proportions and harmony in nature.
How do we go about master planning? From sighting the landscape and working with natural and created elements on each site. We acknowledge the vision and idea behind the project to create sources, journeys and habitats. We define the spaces with geometry and scale. Structural forces are defined by the geometry. Pattern, rhythm and movement in the geometry. Materials give substance to the form. Textures, colours and ornament bring life to the building as an organism and a reflection of the ideas it embodies.
A plan might display a geometric pattern, an elevation might express elements of the plan in different colours and materials.
Public Works
PBDG are often involved in a variety of works outside the realm of architecture.
We work with an amazing range of talented and skilled local artists, artisans and craftspeople in our projects, from the conception phase to the final installation. Whether it is to lift our own designs to the next level or help them pursue and reveal their vision.
An idea can emerge from practical needs and from a range of inspirational sources, such as nature, and working with artistic minded people enable the idea to manifest at an extremely high level of skill and quality.
Interiors
Paul Barnett Design Group works with talented artists and artisans to help produce stunning architectural buildings for clients in the education and government sectors as well as for residential projects in the Canberra Region.
PBDG’s philosophy is that there should be a cohesive design in the built form as a whole, flowing from the landscape, through to the interiors. Natural materials, an array of colours, form and texture and the engagement of local artists for custom artworks are integral to this approach. We work closely on every project with artisans from many disciplines to ensure that the spaces are enjoyed by those who will inhabit them. There are many ways to introduce such elements, from a small piece of coloured glass in a window, providing a gem of colourful light in a classroom, to a large timber splayed tree trunk at a reception counter.
Artisanship
We have worked with an amazing range of talented and skilled artists and artisans in our projects, from the conception phase to the final installation. The beauty of a collaborative approach enables a unique and fresh design response for every project we undertake.
An idea can emerge from practical needs and from a range of inspirational sources, such as nature, and working with artistic minded people enable the idea to manifest at an extremely high level of skill and quality.
It is through the dance between ideas, art and artisanship that we imbue our work with qualities beyond the functional and practical, and attempt, in the spirit of artistic endeavour, to create something that is beautiful and speaks to us.
Project and Construction Management
SCOPE OF PROJECT
Defining the scope of a project is an initial and integral part of the construction management process. We are thorough and diligent in defining what is required from the outset and provide clear and concise communication in the event that any scope changes are required.
PROCUREMENT STRATEGY
There are a number of approaches that can be taken to the management of a project. During initial briefing and scoping meetings, we are able to ascertain the most appropriate approach for each project. Generally speaking, we have found that Construction Management is a great team approach, as it enables a continued review of the budget and scope to ensure that the client gets the best outcome. However, Lump Sum too is sometimes a preferred option when the scope if defined early on and there aren’t likely to be too many changes.
COSTINGS
We carry out extensive briefing meetings with clients to ensure that the scope of work is very well defined, prior to the commencement of a project. When necessary, we will also engage a Quantity Surveyor to provide an estimate of the works.
