Factual Definition
A building designer is a professional who provides building design services for residential and small-scale commercial projects but is not a licensed architect or engineer.
Kyle Standing’s Perspective on Building Designers
Most people assume building design is a simplified version of architecture. It is not. Architecture and building design serve different segments of the construction market, and for the majority of residential projects in Western Australia, a building designer is the appropriate professional to engage.
A building designer produces the full set of documentation a project requires concept plans, working drawings, elevations, sections, construction details, site plans and council submission packages, at a lower cost than a registered architect because the scope is matched to the project. A new home, a house extension, a granny flat or a patio does not need the design exploration and fee structure of an architectural practice. It needs accurate, council-ready drawings that comply with the Residential Design Codes, meet the National Construction Code and satisfy the assessing officer at the local council.
Where most building designers rely on engineers to resolve structural questions after the design is finished, Kyle Standing holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) with First-Class Honours from Edith Cowan University. That means structural considerations load paths, footing requirements, span limitations are factored into the design from the start, not retrofitted after a structural engineer flags a problem. Fewer design changes at the engineering stage means fewer delays, lower consultant costs and a smoother council approval process.
How Kyle Standing Applies Building Design
Every project at Perth Drafting Service follows a sequence designed to reduce rework and avoid council objections.
The design phase begins with the site constraints lot dimensions, orientation, existing structures, easements, R-Codes density coding and any local planning scheme overlays. These are established before a floor plan is drawn, not discovered after one has been approved by the client. Concept plans are developed within these constraints so the design is achievable from the outset.
Working drawings are then produced to a standard that satisfies three separate audiences: the client (who needs to understand what they are building), the council (who needs to assess compliance with the R-Codes and the local planning scheme), and the builder (who needs dimensions, construction details and material specifications sufficient to price and construct the project). A set of drawings that serves only one of these audiences creates problems for the other two.
Where a design variation from the deemed-to-comply provisions of the R-Codes is unavoidable, overshadowing, boundary setbacks, open space a justification letter is prepared and submitted with the development application. Having worked as an engineer at the City of Wanneroo before founding Perth Drafting Service, Kyle understands what council planning officers look for in a variation request and how to present the case in terms they will accept.
Why Kyle Standing’s Perspective on Building Design Matters
Building designers in Western Australia are not currently regulated by a state registration scheme. Anyone can use the title. This means the range of competence across the profession is wide, and clients have no registration board to check a designer’s qualifications against.
Kyle Standing’s combination of a civil engineering degree, a Certificate IV in Residential Drafting and direct council-side experience is unusual in the WA building design market. Most building designers hold a diploma or certificate-level drafting qualification. Very few hold an engineering degree. Fewer still have worked inside a local government authority assessing the same types of applications they now prepare for clients.
This matters at two specific points in a project. First, at the design stage, where an engineering-informed designer produces drawings that require less structural revision saving the client time and consultant fees. Second, at the council submission stage, where a designer who has assessed development applications from the council side knows how to present a compliant package that moves through the approval process without unnecessary requests for additional information.