Manias Associates Building Designers

Michael was extremely thorough. He continued to work with us to ensure the design plan we got, we were 100% happy with. He introduced some new ideas that we hadn’t thought of. Highly recommended.

Michael was a huge help to me and I would greatly recommend him for your new project. His insight into the profession is vast and he doesn't mind going the extra mile to make sure someone is on the same page as him. I myself have recently acquired my own business in this profession and I definitely feel more empowered after speaking with him then I was previously. He is a great help to the new practitioner and will provide this industry with some great new practitioner's who get an opportunity to be under his management.

I have obtained the services of Manias Associates Building Designers for consulting design work on my new residence in Queensland. As I live in Queensland and Michael Lives in Victoria the work was done remotely using emails, pdf, Dopbox, and appropriate architectural software. I was impressed by the suggestions, and the amendments by his procedural design process, and I would not have any hesitation in appointing him again in future projects

We are first time builders with very little experience. Michael generously offered his time and thoughts on our proposed floor plan designs . His knowledge and enthusiasm of the building process was very evident throughout our discussions. The importance of basic design principles and creating opportunities out of limitations was of a particular highlight. Michael was very understanding of the direction of our home and gave advice to further enhance that direction. We are very thankful of our dealings with Michael and highly recommend his services to anyone in a similar position to ours.

Provided me with some excellent feedback and ideas on my new home design. Very value information which gave me new insight to using the block to full advantage. Really appreciate the assistance.

Michael provided excellent assistance and advice in taking our initial floor plan concept for our extension/renovation and showing us where we could improve our design. Manias Associates provided clear and concise recommendations on what to include, remove or alter - whilst still retaining the original intention of our early concepts.

manias designer helped me with my renovation plans and worked with me to make my design have better flow and harness the northern backyard space into my home.

We lived in a small Victorian terrace house which, although quite liveable, had the usual Victorian design problems for 21st century living - some areas which were dark, an outdated kitchen and bathroom, and some wasted space even though there was quite limited space overall. The total block size was less than 200 sq m. We wanted to update and possibly relocate the service areas, add a formal dining area, have a living area and verandah at the back of the house and generally introduce more natural lighting - all of this without destroying the Victorian 'feel' inside. The house has gloriously high ceilings. We were introduced by one of our friends to Michael Manias of Manias Associates Building Designers. Our friend spoke highly of his work and attitude. After meeting Michael we very quickly decided to engage him for this project. He was enthusiastic, very reliably contactable and came up with some excellent options which we would never had imagined. This included an upstairs office and a nook for breakfast, the latter meaning the dining area retained its formal feel One major concern was that the provision of a dining room would significantly reduce the space available for other needs, but Michael's lateral thinking came up with a solution which worked perfectly for us and wasted no space. The project was constrained by regulatory requirements involving walls on boundaries, but these were dealt with expertly. Suffice to say that, having now moved from that house after quite a few happy years there, we are now embarking on another renovation. Our first call was to Manias Associates to see if Michael was available to do the design work. Happily he was, and we are now in the exciting situation of planning our 'forever' house. We would obviously recommend Manias Associates for any similar projects.

Our building designer – Michael Manias from Manias Associates Building Designers was calm and professional in all aspects of the project. We developed a substantial dual occupancy in the bayside suburb of Williamstown on a site that had been in our family for two generations. Michael listened to the ideas of my brother and I and developed two designs that, although different, complimented each other and related well to the area. He managed the production of the process from design to town planning to documentation and to completion. He consulted with other experts when necessary, ensuring that every part of the project was detailed to a high quality. He has special skills in designing light-filled spaces, and this made an enormous difference to our project. We are happy with the end result, which is everything we wanted including the eight metre wide doors for our back garages which are of considerable proportions.

“ I have used Manias Associates Building Designers over many years to obtain design advice on some of my space issues in both commercially and domestic buildings. As I live in another State most of the consultations were via Skype and email. Michael was able to offer very fruitful design ideas, on space allocation and the use of materials and Building Regulations. The method that I found best is to send some photos with the required dimensions on a hand drawn plan, then we consult and edit for a final design idea. I thank him for his advice; I will use him again in the future and would recommend him to anyone contemplating a similar exercise. “

Together with Manias Associates Building Designers and his consultants we were able to turn a disused small industrial building into a warehouse, office and sale area for our technology products. The semi industrial building got a modernist front design and we doubled its size by the addition of warehouse space in the rear. The building responded well to the requirements and added to the business success. I have engaged Michael Manias of Manias Associates Building Designers for both commercial and domestic design projects. We were able to work well with Michael from initial design ideas to obtaining a Town Planning permit and then a Building Permit to a final construction phase. Michael works well with complex spaces and I look forward employing him in our next project.

“I have worked with Manias Associates Building Designers documenting a number of houses, I found Michael very driven to achieve a good documentation result of his work and has always maintained a rigorous checking method to constantly improve. His understanding of design and materials always provided good solutions to any questions that arise during documentation. His detail knowledge allowed Builders to understand drawings and produce a good result in time and on budget. “