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 team up with carefully selected builders in areas we serve. Our initial building partnership is with Tallwood Custom Built Homes who build our Econests in the South West of Western Australia.
Together we aim to transform the way sustainable homes are offered and delivered in this unique part of Australia.
We dream it
We have spent several years working towards this unique collection of designs to offer as an alternative pathway to your dream sustainable home without the uncertainty, time, stress and costs of custom design. By choosing from our pre-designed collections you can save on the considerable cost of a custom designed process, yet still get a home that feels unique and has genuine architectural beauty
They build it
We partner with a select group of skilled builders who have the proven expertise, quality and resources to bring our Econest home designs to life at the highest level. By carefully matching the right builders to the right locations, we’re able to offer our clients the best value. These trusted builders fully understand the Econests approach, and our ongoing collaboration fosters knowledge sharing, valuable insights and continuous improvements in craftmanship and quality.
You live it
Our mission is to help you live in a better home and leave behind a better environment . . . to live lighter and wake every day cocooned in quality spaces, with a home designed to support , not drain your resources. We understand that the process of having a home designed and built from scratch can be stressful and our aim is to simplify the process so it can be an enjoyable and rewarding experience for all.
Why Econests ?
“ 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 Econest clients are saying
Media
Econests in the Southwest - an article in Sanctuary magazine about our Econests initiative.
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
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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We will 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 8 - 12 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 Partners
Our Product Partners
