Building Designer
What the work is
Creates concepts, designs and detailed documentation for buildings, renovations and extensions in consultation with builders, clients and consultants.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Consults with builders, clients and consultants to understand design requirements and gather feedback on building designs
- Prepares initial design models for engineering and estimation purposes using BIM
- Takes measurements and dimensions, and performs other routine calculations for building or renovation design layouts
- Provides design recommendations to clients based on factors such as budget, building site constraints, and overall feasibility
- Produces architectural documentation for sketch design and to support applications to councils
- Prepares building designs, models, concepts and estimations using CAD, 3D modelling and BIM software
- Ensures building, renovation and extension designs comply with regulations and standards, and client, certifier and consultant requirements
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a small design and drafting office working with builders, home owners and the local council. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A client sees their drawings come to life and says the house feels like home before it is built
- A tricky site turns into an elegant design with the right trade-offs
- A builder tells you the plans were the clearest set they have worked from
Hard days
- A client wants a beautiful design and a budget that don't match
- The council asks for changes that mean redrawing a whole set of plans
- A neighbour objects, and you are the one who has to explain why
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 312132, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.