About
We believe more people should have access to well designed, healthy homes that won’t adversely impact our natural world and the environment.
Econests by arcologic is the unique vision of John Damant of Arcologic Design who has spent the past two decades working towards a better way of designing and delivering sustainable homes.
Since 2000, Arcologic has been at the forefront of sustainable home design in Western Australia with multiple awards and competition wins behind our name.
To deliver our vision of Econests, we have teamed up with one of the South West’s leading builders Tallwood Custom Homes.
Together we aim to transform the way sustainable homes are offered and delivered in this unique part of Australia.
Our Six Step Process
For over twenty years we have been researching ways to make the home design and delivery process more simple and sustainable. The Econests system aims to help you on this journey by simplifying the often stressful process of planning and building your dream sustainable home from the very first step .
1. You choose your design
Simply choose one of our unique pre-designed plans from your preferred Collection for your Lot and orientation.
2. You choose your finishes
Select from our range of pre-approved sustainable cladding options , colours and optional upgrades to personalise the look of your Econest .
3. You choose your interior
Select your preferred Theme from our predesigned options for your Collection, or request a personal consultation with our Interiors Team.
4. We document it
Once we have your preferences we will fine tune Documentation and Specifications to obtain final approvals and pricing for Contract signing.
5. They build it
Our selected builders will contract with you and build your home to the highest standard , regularly updating you on site progress and any milestones.
6. You live it
Handover is a big day in the life of Econests as this is the day you move in and can start enjoying the fruits of our vision, your choices and the Team’s hard work.
About Arcologic
Founded by award-winning designer John Damant in 2000, Arcologic has built a reputation for being at the forefront of sustainable design for homes and housing throughout Western Australia and beyond.
With 35 years of experience spread over four continents, John has a wealth of experience in all facets of architecture and design. His passion has always been for environmentally sustainable and energy-efficient design, and in Arcologic he has turned these passions into a unique practice specialising in sustainable homes and housing.
We’ve won Awards across Australia for the way our homes are sustainably designed, including the 2020 BDAWA Design Excellence Award and the 2022 Design Matters (WA) Building Design of the Year.
John Damant, Econests Founder & Arcologic Director
Why Pre-designed Collections ?
“ The idea of designing from a blank slate is intimidating and we were worried about the additional costs and approvals process of custom design“
Dane and Mai, Witchcliffe Ecovillage
What our Clients are saying
Award Winning
Arcologic Design have won numerous Awards and Competitions for sustainable housing and recently we won the 2022 WA Design Matters ‘Building Design of the Year’ for best overall home of the year.
We have also won the first award for any home planned for the Witchcliffe Ecovillage by being awarded the 2021 Design Matters Award (WA) for best Conceptual/ Unbuilt project for our Kulbardi House design (currently under construction )
FAQs
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On signing up with us you enter into a License Agreement that allows you to use our design to build a single Econest on your Lot. This fee is $ 7 500.00 ex. GST and is non refundable. Once all documentation is complete and approvals have been granted by the local Council and/or the Ecovillage we charge $ 7 500.00 ex. GST as a Preparation of Plans fee.
This equates to a fee of between 2 - 3 % of build cost, far less than the 7.5 % - 10 % typically charged for Custom Design.
For our Custom Design fee Schedule please contact the Studio.
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For final pricing to be obtained, we need structural engineering for your home and its specific site conditions. Because it is not a one - off design, this fee is around $ 600.00 - $ 1500.00 ex GST which again is far lower than what is charged for a custom design.
We will also need a Contour and Feature Survey of your Lot which costs around $ 600.00 ex GST. (for a typical site) and the Final Energy Assessment which costs around $ 350.00 incl.GST
If you have a Lot in a BAL(Bushfire Attack Level) area with a rating above LOW we will need to get a quote for a Bushfire Management Plan.
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Once we have the necessary Approvals in place and start on site our build times are averaging 6 - 10 months to Practical Completion. Of course this can be delayed by unforeseen circumstances such as supply chain issues and extreme weather, but this is the timeframe we set out to achieve. Our builder will keep you updated regularly on project progress and if there are any anticipated time overruns.
Custom Design is a much slower and involved process so can take from 9 - 18 months build time.
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Because we have a certain quality build we require to maintain our brand quality and ethos we have pre-selected local builders based on their track record in their particular region as well as their sustainable credentials.
They have also done the work to ensure we can offer our Econests at a fair market rate, and have the warranties and insurances we require in place. But above all, we chose them based on the quality of their building and the excellent project management skills they bring to their process.
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The concept behind our Collections is that we offer a wide choice of plans, finishes and interiors which will make your Econest uniquely yours. Any changes to the plans, no matter how small, will increase the costs and scheduling down the line as every modification has a chain reaction . We have negotiated certain reduced prices with consultants and suppliers based on these not being one-off designs so any change voids these savings.
Unlike Custom Design we can offer these homes at a fixed cost and a fixed timeframe because we have done most of the work upfront.
However, if you are after something outside our Collections or that would need changes we suggest looking at our Custom design service instead.
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Currently our Econests can be built in the South West region serviced by Tallwood, including the Witchcliffe Ecovillage. This area spans from Bunbury in the north to Augusta in the south.
We are in the process of setting up further building partnerships so that Econests can be built in multiple regions within WA including Perth Metro, the Hills , Peel and the Great Southern.
Contact us to see how we can help you with an Econest for where you live in Western Australia.
Our Building Partner
Our Product Partners
