Director at Queensland-based Tempus Design and president of Building Design Queensland, Tamica Lewis, says collaboration with her clients is key when it comes to designing their dream build.

“The way Tempus has evolved is to provide the client with a design journey in an attempt to solve problems that we’ve seen arise over the years,” she says.

“We’ve seen the traditional way that projects are delivered to clients and we’ve heard reports from them about when they’ve had a poor experience and what’s gone wrong. It’s surprising how many clients go through the entire process with someone and don’t get the thing that they wanted at the end”.

Tamica says such insights led her to her current philosophy that the client should be engaged “with every step of the journey”. She says the journey is something that the client really enjoys and helps ensure they actually get what they want at the end.

“When you look at building a new home, the amount of money you’re spending is quite large so we want to ensure it’s a fun experience for our clients and they’re involved in it as well so collaboration is key for us”.

There is a big point of difference with Tempus’ design brief process too. The designers aren’t afraid to dive deep and get personal with their questions to ensure the client is truly emotionally connected with their project.

“Sometimes there are tears, it’s very involved and it really helps the designer connect with the client and their outcome”.

At that point, Tamica doesn’t focus too much on materials, it’s all about “space, form, flow and function”. Ultimately the building designers will work together with the interior designers to ensure all the details fit the client brief and the building classifications. Tempus use 3D modelling to give clients an experience of being in their home before it’s built.

Tamica says some of the biggest challenges they face at Tempus include ensuring what they specify meets the unforgiving Queensland climate and being on the front foot of the ever changing government rules around that. Considerations include cyclonic conditions, wind classifications, bushfire ratings and the harsh sun which damages products faster.

“There is a lot to manage to ensure we are compliant and managing the client's expectations,” she says.

“I’ve had some projects where it’s almost impossible to put a glass door or window into a home that will meet the wind code”.

This makes it vital for Tempus to work with suppliers such as AWS that have great research and development for all their products.

“When we get to those projects that are really tricky we work directly with them (AWS). They almost come on the project with us. We will work with them to resolve ‘Where and how can we put these windows? How big can they be? Where can we push it? To get what our client wants or as close to”.

“Having that ability to pick up the phone to a person that you know and have them help you through that process is absolutely wonderful”.

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