About

Brent Yttrup has been around Architecture and Building from a little tacker. From the time he could walk, following his Dad Peter Yttrup around Deakin Universities Architecture Department, where Kevin Borland would call his Dad in for a chat, “helping” his Bedstefar (Grandfather in Danish) unload his bricklaying equipment, helping out the Family Engineering in the lab or on the drawing board where Architects ranging from pioneers of sustainability and earth structures, to quirky local ones, the personalities were wide ranging, but seeing all their drawings and models was foundational.

Finishing high school in 93, Brent started on the tools with local Geelong/Bellarine Builder Peter Pendergast, gaining carpentry experience from putting 2 windows into a Great Ocean Road house day one, pergolas, extensions as a 2 man show, to progressing through working on factories, and massive Surf Life Saving Club when the 2 of us were joined by a large team of sub-trades in an era that was rough and ragged. This work continued part-time once Brent started University studying Architecture at Deakin University, with the invariable “when you’re an architect, make sure you: don’t do / allow for / don’t f@#k shit up like - this!” guidance coming from every trade, at the slightest opportunity. Lectures on Thursday could be understood and appreciated from different aspects on-site on Friday. Most young labourers have to prove them selves and keep up… being an Architect student, there was another level of proving to be done that built a repour and life long mutual respect with all the Trades and Builders Brent worked with, and an underlying deep appreciation for skills, and those the possess them, as well as a quick pick of those that don’t when they say they do.

In a relatively small local industry once started working for Architects, this construction exposure gave Brent the opportunities to jump on the tools on projects he’d worked on doing the drawings to then build the frames, and not just see, but have to actually deal with the design decisions he had made on site.

Whilst this rotating career path caused some concern with Brent and Nellie to start with and how it would be perceived in the industry and with potential Clients, they found the lessons from both sides actually complimented and assist each other during the different phases.

The flow from sole practitioner to working in or managing large teams keeps things fresh and allows perspectives from the big corporate world and finely detailed world of bespoke architecture to cross-pollinate and thrive.

THINGS THAT DRIVE US!

Thoroughly understanding a Client’s way of life and how they live is of crucial importance to us.

We delve into the ‘why’ when a Client comes to us with a preconceived solution and love their response when we solve the problem in a different, better, more functional and beautiful way. “I would have never thought of that” is a common exclamation at our meetings, usually followed by: “That is amazing!” Many years of experience and many projects allows us to think outside the square, or more that we know the boundaries of “the square” is further out than many Client’s perceive.

Client satisfaction rather than awards and industry recognition is what we find most rewarding.

We don’t have pre-conceived ideas of style or force our ideas down Client’s throats, but analyse the site, settings and brief (Client’s wants and needs) to come up with new and innovative solutions that we then explain the reason behind as well as the benefits of.

Functionality of a house can mean so much to a person’s life as can having the best looking, or most energy efficient house in the street. We also understand that a manageable mortgage can also have a drastic impact on the lifestyle of that household,. How Client’s weigh these aspects up is often conflicting and is something we manage through the explanations of options and the plusses and minuses of those options.

Sustainability is paramount in all our projects, with building orientation and the passive solar design performance of the building often creating the actual forms of the house. Sunlit houses are lovely places to be in winter as properly shaded houses are on a hot summers day.

We are obsessed with assembly, build-ability and how forms and materials interface to ensure a great build.

Our drawings are often commented on as being the clearest many Builders have seen. We pride ourselves on creating drawing sets that explain the building in the most concise way.

Working closely with Builders means we often have them involved early in the process. We respect trades and know that our combined knowledge and skill will result in a better project.