"We worked with Altereco on the knock down rebuild of our high performance home in the Inner North of Melbourne. From our first meeting, we knew that Altereco were well aligned with our vision, values and vibe!

James and Claire led a great team, with excellent communication throughout the design and build process which was underpinned by Basecamp, a great communication platform. Every step of the process was clearly mapped out and transparent in costs. We always felt listened to and were given honest information and opinions, so we could make informed decisions.

We were so impressed by the collaboration between Altereco, other trades and our builder - it really was a dream team and we can honestly say that our build went very smoothly. A major contributor to this fact was the impeccable design and documentation work done by Altereco. We are so so happy in our beautiful home."

Phoung P. Thornbury

“We were nervous undertaking a building project for the first time, not knowing how to start and what the process would look like. From our first meeting with James and Claire, we knew we were in great hands. They gave a clear roadmap of the design process and expected fees at each stage, as well as answering any and all newbie questions we had. During the build process they were a dream to work with, although there were almost no issues to deal with because the design stage had been so thorough! We wouldn’t hesitate to work with them again in future.”

Erin M. Spotswood

"Our experience with Altereco in designing and building our home in inner north Melbourne during 2020-2022 was exceptional. James, Claire and their team were consistently professional, approachable and attentive to our needs. Despite the challenges posed during Covid, they quickly transitioned to virtual meetings and utilised efficient communication tools such as email and the app Basecamp. They carefully considered our design preferences and skilfully navigated heritage and site restrictions, ensuring smooth council approvals. Collaborating with a compatible builder early on helped us stay within our budget and the construction phase proceeded seamlessly, even amid the pandemic.

Special thanks to Natalie for her valuable interior design expertise and assistance throughout the design and build process. We're delighted with our bright, warm and inviting home, featuring raked ceiling and strategically positioned large timber windows. Harnessing solar power adds to our gratitude for our fully electric home. We 100% recommend Altereco to anyone looking to design their own sustainable, efficient and beautiful home."

Michelle C. Coburg

“We absolutely love our house and how it performs.

The design is so clever. The orientation of windows , etc, works so well, that it is enchanting when these come in to play, as the seasons change.

We have about 10KW of solar on our roof, which means our power bills are virtually nothing. The bonus too is that I can charge our electric car. ( year round, I do 95% of charging during the day at home )

We are good at allowing an afternoon sea breeze through the house, which helps cool it down remarkably quickly. We have grown a deciduous vine over the pergola, and also over a trellis I installed on the wall outside the study( facing west ), which makes a big difference during summer, in helping to keep the house cool.”

Anon.

“We designed a beautiful and high efficiency house with James, Claire and the crew at Altereco. We wandered in with our design and construction concepts and they immediately got on board with our vision and helped us bring it to life. We are thrilled with the result! We now have built a gorgeous hempcrete house that is thermally efficient, space efficient, comfortable and healthy. It exceeds all our expectations! And it’s now an award winning house too! 🌟 They weren’t afraid to constantly strive for improvement or work with unfamiliar building materials. Highly recommend working with Altereco.”

Sarah C

“We engaged James from Altereco for our sustainable home which included a renovation and extension. James was great to work with, my husband and I are very particular, we know what we want and choose to be very well researched. James helped us learn along the way, was able to capture our vision perfectly.

We interviewed many architects and found James to be incredibly great value given the price & quality of his work.”

Leanne T

“Altereco were great to work with during the renovation of our heritage listed property. We loved their design, their use of space and materials was beyond expectations and their work with council to assist with heritage restrictions made the process seamless for us.

Our project required underpinning and support of the house next door and their expertise and work with our builder in this area was invaluable.”

Sally M

“We are so very pleased with the care, thought, and expertise that we experienced with James, when we designed our beautiful home here in Apollo Bay so many years ago.

10 years have passed now, and we still love the family friendly, perfect for entertaining style of our home just as much as the day it was built, and this is all due to the brilliant work of James, who was able to put our vision of how our home should work onto paper and ultimately into the design of our house.

I will always remember James going to the trouble to visit our block of land before we began our plans, to understand the aspect of the land and how our home would best suit its location. Now that the home is a reality, I can now understand his vision for every window and door placement and size, that really makes the most of the beautiful landscape that surrounds us.

I often hear of people saying that building their first home is stressful and they often have regrets, and I can honestly say that with James' guidance (and a great builder), we found it completely opposite.

If we can bear to leave our beautiful home and build again in the future, we will be sure to be using James again, and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend his service to anyone wanting to find a quality architect who understands his customers.”

Jenny R

“We've now worked with Altereco on 2 projects. The first was a renovation of a small terrace house which had a bad 1970s renovation in the back half of the house. James came up with some great ideas about how to maximise light and space within the narrow site. He was also very willing to listen to our ideas and took all of our needs into consideration when coming up with the final design. Several years later we engaged Altereco again for a renovation of a larger, Edwardian house. James again developed a wonderful design for a complicated site. His design beautifully tied in the heritage features of the front part of the house with a modern, spacious extension at the back.

Both projects were in heritage listed areas, and James' technical knowledge was invaluable in negotiating through council regulations and neighbours' objections.

We wouldn't hesitate to work with Altereco again. James is a creative designer who really listens to clients and is very responsive throughout the whole process. He was also very helpful during the building phase, and had a good working relationship with our builder. This was extremely important as we relocated overseas during the last part of the second renovation, and it was a great relief knowing we could trust James to work with the builders in our absence.

Highly recommended..”

Karola C

“We engaged James and his talented team to design a renovation and extension for our 1950’s brick home in Yarraville. Altereco’s design aesthetic, environmental focus, transparent fee structure and approachable manner meant a lot to us.

From the beginning, the design process felt upfront and inclusive. Regular meetings with James and the team, both at the Altereco office and off site (including at stone and lighting suppliers), efficiently produced a detailed and comprehensive building design and fixtures and finishes list that we loved. Mel and Sam were particularly helpful here offering targeted options and product that helped us figure out our personal style and exactly what we wanted for our home.

This was our first renovation and we really had no idea what and how to go about it. We had a jumbled wish list that Altereco patiently and methodically incorporated into the final design. After a 10 month build (by Black Door Building) we are left with a stunning, light filled home that is perfectly designed for us.

We genuinely could not be happier...”

Sonya S

"Our initial meeting was on site, which for James was over an hour's drive - that in itself was a highlight as he then got a feel of what we were trying to capture.

Our entire process from the initial meeting, through design and then documentation was seamless. Which also then made our building process also much easier for quoting and specification for the builder to read, due to the incredible detail of our plans and documentation.

We are so incredibly happy with our home, the layout and the way he has captured all the elements to work perfectly together. We thank James and the Altereco team and highly recommend them for designing beautiful homes.”

Rhiannon M

“Absolutely love our design by James & his team at Altereco. He listened to what our needs were and transformed our tired Californian bungalow into free flowing, warm, functional, light filled home providing us with a better quality of life.

Being north facing, the renovation captures the sunlight in winter reducing the need for heating and cools quickly in summer due to sliding doors & bi-fold Windows.

Even our 3 & half y/o boy says everyday “Mum & Dad, I love our new house!” along with the many compliments from friends and family. I really couldn’t recommend James & his team highly enough.

I will be using Altereco for any projects undertaken in the future..”

Luke N

“Altereco Design was a great crew to work with. James certainly had an eye for design and detail, was engaging, professional, approachable and respectful.

James and Mel worked really well with our building team, and answered all the questions that I just didn't have the skill to do.

Our home is amazing and is a true reflection of Altereco Design.”

Anita S