Luke Rowlinson

As beef producers six hours west of Brisbane, we didn't think we'd find an architect interested in our project. And then Luke was recommended. Not only did he take us on, he came to ground truth the site, listened to us, and then produced an elegantly simple solution that had not occurred to any of our armchair expert family & friends. Luke designed a plan that we could implement in phases - he understood that the project was always going to be secondary to our work, and also cheerfully rolled with our regularly changing timeframes, but was always organised and kept us on track. After renovating the first stage (adapting growing children's bedrooms), it made such a difference to our home's liveability that the second stage is on hold as we debate if it's even necessary to spend that money and time on an extra living space. Now that is good design! I have no hesitation in recommending Luke as a considerate, thoughtful architect who has made a massive difference to our family home and life.

Lukes been great to deal with through out the process of starting our redesign.

To find an architect with aligning values has made our eco project so much more enjoyable and exciting. Luke took the time to get to know us and what we stand for and has delivered a design that really captures the essence of our ambitious ideals and a way to bring them to practical reality. We feel that our project is as important to Luke as it is to us. He has been instrumental in helping us find other aligned practitioners (feng shui expert, eco interior design, natural pool design) and has been open and willing to evolve his designs to incorporate their input. He is professional, creative and very generous with his time going above and beyond to patiently guide us through the compliance process to minimise stress. He has also worked to ensure that his designs are economical from both a financial and environmental point of view. There is no lip service or greenwashing or ego, Luke is genuine in his green credentials and also his determination to create positive social impact. Luke is an absolute pleasure to work with and we recommend him highly.

My partner and I had never engaged an architect before ( or built a house for that matter), and had met with several architects who we just didn't feel connected with us. We connected with Luke through Houzz, and from the get-go, were impressed with his enthusiasm and passion for our project. He immediately visited our block ( an hour north of Brisbane) to gain a better feel and understanding of what we wanted - all without obligation. For newbies like us, we absolutely appreciated that visit as it gave us the confidence that our architect 'got' our block and was on the same page with what we wanted to emphasise in the new build. Our project is semi rural and with that comes a raft of requirements additional to urban projects. Luke was able to outline the hoops we would need to jump through and the order that we would need to get the various reports done. He has also been able to connect us to the various providers ( fire reports, waste water reports etc). At no time did I feel pushed into engaging the teams Luke suggested, however from my perspective, having an architect who has established relationships with these service providers, and can arrange the connections has been invaluable and has saved a considerable amount of time. With respect to the design process, my partner and I came to the project with a rough idea of what we wanted our house to look like and how it should function. Our ideas and 'must haves' changed regularly and at times considerably, all of which Luke patiently dealt with, adding key suggestions of his own to creat a design that perfectly reflects how we will work with the house. Luke is a great communicator, with scheduled fortnightly zoom meetings to discuss proceedings. We could not recommend Luke more highly.

Luke from the start understood what we were looking for. We had a 4000 sqm block with a northerly aspect. He explained how the aspect could be used to get maximum light and warmth in Winter and how the house design would provide protection from the summer sun while providing access to the amazing views. We have spent quite a deal of time on the overall design and Luke provided a balanced voice on our expectations, while suggesting better ways to incorporate our ideas. He opened a path of consultation that had myself and my wife feeling comfortable while still being in control of how we wanted it to be. One felt that his depth of experience in design was something we could trust and he brought to the conversation knowledge and experience in a professional and friendly manner. Have a chat with Luke and you will feel very comfortable that he will do the job.

Luke has listened to all our comments without balking at any of our obscure requests, and has presented us with a plan that is both practical and interesting. We have found him easy to deal with, prompt to respond, and just generally a very decent human being. Would happily & highly recommend.

Luke has been fantastic assisting us to develop our short stay accommodation at Ballandean Rock Pool Park. He is very responsive, answers our questions clearly and logically and most important he listens to our feedback.

Luke assisted us with the design of a not-for-profit domestic violence transitional home. Throughout the process Luke was incredibly responsive and consistently took ownership of challenges as they arose. His patience and consideration in working with a reduced budget and prolonged approval process was exemplary. The result was an aesthetically beautiful build that is both responsive to the site and it's limited access. We're thrilled with the result and look forward to the home benefiting many families in need in future.

I had nearly completed a house design (Feb 2021) for a bespoke steep slope home build in Lawnton QLD. At the last minute, I was advised by the builder's certifier of unforeseen boundary setback complications including waterway setback issues, public infrastructure buffer zone setback requirements, and building height restrictions, with all these issues resulting in an extremely limited building envelope on a steep slope residential property. Luke was engaged to come up with a house design that would work within these building constraints and design an appealing, organically themed home at short notice. Luke far exceeded my expectations in presenting an architectural solution that was functional, cost-effective, and well throughout. Throughout the design process, Luke was extremely responsive to my design queries and presented detailed design tweaks to improve the final home design that I would not have thought of without his input resulting in a home design that I am extremely happy with. Throughout Luke's engagement, I felt that he genuinely cared about finding the best home design to suit my brief and interpreted my ideas with enthusiasm. In communications via phone, emails, and video conferencing Luke was honest, open, and trustworthy, with a depth of architectural knowledge that was worth every cent spend on his services. Luke was also professional and confident in aligning town planning, my builder, and the certifier to streamline the council approval. Highly recommend Luke’s work, he's a gem!

I have been fortunate to work with Luke for several years on some outstanding and complex projects and also some modest but challenging housing projects for special needs clients. In 2019 Accuplumb started work on a Rowlinson Architects designed project for Gainsdale Pty Ltd and Jilrift Pty Ltd (owned by Flight Centre founders, Graham and Jude Turner) This project was challenging from the very start with a very remote location and specialised build, from structural building perched on the side of a mountain, to suspended walk ways, to fire precaution, capturing water and harnessing energy from the sun and waste treatment all in a very remote location in a national forest, not to mention full State, Federal and Queensland National Parks compliance, all with stunning design in keeping with the surrounding bush and causing minimal disturbance to all flora and fauna . Luke was very easy to work with I look forward to working with Luke and Rowlinson Architects again!

Luke came to us highly recommended by his previous client of a specialised project. Our project is of a very unique nature involving plethora of extra regulations and complexities - robust disability housing. We were well aware that not many professionals choose to become involved with such specialised building type. Luke has all the attributes of a true professional – he is knowledgeable and diligent but also brings qualities to his work that are rather rare – an architect who keeps the project firmly together whilst allowing his clients plenty of input, a man of empathy and curiosity that helps him get excited about resolving challenges. And as like attracts like, Luke has been able to bring together an equally wonderful construction team to see our project succeed all the way. If you are looking for a productive teamwork with more fun and less stress – Luke is your man. We are grateful he’s been ours.

We used Luke's services for an extensive renovation of our family home. Of all the industry specialists we spoke with, Luke was the only one who managed to help us clarify what the end picture could look like based on utilising available spaces and creating new flowing spaces neither we nor any other "professional" could see. Lukes capacity to share his vision didn't end at the design stage and he was exceptional at engaging the Tradesmen during construction to ensure the end result (our Family home) met our expectations and requirements. We have remained in contact with Luke ever since. He is the consummate professional and is highly recommended.