Mike Movaffaghi (middle) with City of Wanneroo Mayor and a colleague.
About Us
As a team we have over 75 years of collective experience delivering highest quality of architectural design and bespoke builds. Archbuild is the brainchild of Mike Movaffaghi. He started the company with a clear purpose in mind: to help people get their luxury houses designed and built within their budget and through a pleasant experience. Before establishing Archbuild in 2020, he had worked on large-scale commercial and public government buildings for 19 years, delivering over $1 billion in projects, some of which were shortlisted as finalists for Australian Institute of Architects awards. On the side, Mike Movaffaghi was designing and building houses and multi-units for living and investment. During all of these years, he came across many people with painful experiences dealing with homebuilders. He noticed a significant gap between the commercial and housing sectors in terms of quality and client experience. Compared with the commercial sector, the housing industry seemed to him like a wild jungle. The irony is that a bricklayer, carpenter, or even a scaffolder with a few years of experience on-site potentially can forge references from a few builders and get licensed as a homebuilder. Compared with some other countries that require engineering plus site experience to get a builder's license, this seems ridiculous. Mike Movaffaghi noticed that, in general, trades such as bricklayers and scaffolders are focused on one trade, dealing with a builder as their client for most of their professional life. A builder client is a B2B (business-to-business) relation, whereas a homeowner client is a B2C (business-to-client/customer) relation. Hence, the trades generally lack the critically important home client relations experience for the successful delivery of a project. Mike also found that the majority of trades do not possess the required systematic thinking in relation to project management and delivery. They usually are hands-on with a few workers or apprentices on their side. They are focused and head down to their only trade - as they have to in order to deliver their job. This is different from the heads-up bird's-eye view approach required for a successful home project delivery, which requires dealing with sometimes over 30 trades, a few consultants, site safety, and a range of authorities (councils, private certifiers, utility services authorities, etc.). Mike Movaffaghi found this glitch in the housing market and decided to establish a home design and building company that can make a difference: a systematic client-centered custom home builder in Sydney."
Our Licenses and Insurances
Licences & Registrations
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Licensed Builders
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Registered Architects
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Accredited Project Managers, PMP®
Insurances
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Public & Product Liability Insurance
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Professional Indemnity Insurance
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Home Warranty Insurance
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Builder Cover Insurance
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Workers Compensation Insurance
Management Systems
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Quality Management System, QMS
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Work Health Safety Management System, WHS
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Environmental Management System, EMS
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Risk Management System, RMS
Memberships
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Master Builders Association (MBA)
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Australian Institute of Architects (AIA)
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Housing Industry Association (HIA)
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Member of NSW Government Panel of Construction Consultants
Architects Who Build
We distinguish ourselves from the typical home builders. We are architects who build buildings. We are university educated, holding bachelor's and master's degrees with a systematic approach.
Our perspective is holistic, prioritising our clients' needs for space, quality, and style.
We offer a comprehensive solution, guiding clients from land acquisition to design, approvals, construction, and obtaining occupancy certificates.
Our Mission
Currently, in the housing market, people have been left with mainly two choices: either work with an architect, take the design to a builder and face an overprice quote, or go to a house & land package builder, which gives them only a few choices from their existing copy-paste plans. We have noticed how the words "architect design" and "custom design" have been manipulated by the industry. If you want to change the house & land copy-paste plans, even a little bit, this gets called "custom design" and charged massively extra. Some project builders claim they have an in-house architect, however our experience shows they largely fail to deliver a true "architect design" home. A true architect design home must result in uniqueness, 100% custom spaces, and provide a sense of identity to the family who wants to live in their very own home. The other major flaw we have noticed in the project builders house & land industry is their marketing. They display a full specification of their highest range of finishes but price tag it with the lowest-end finishes with lots of "exclusions" to lure the customers into signing a contract. This leads to many variations and disputes between clients and builders, hence causing major headaches for clients. Project builders largely provide limited selection of finishes to the customers to select from the "builder's range"- if clients want something else they need to pay substantial amount of extra costs called "variations". With all of these, at the end of construction, the majority of the customers are not only left with a very high cost but also with a house which is merely another copy of many others and not meeting what they exactly want. Mike Movaffaghi, the founding director of Archbuild, noticed this gap in the market and decided to take action. He noticed if he wants to close this gap he needs not only to be an architect but also a builder. He went through a challenging endeavour of moving between industries for years to acquire firsthand experience in both fields and obtained a full builder licence on top of his architect registration. At Archbuild, we believe good architecture is for everyone, not just the elite. Everyone deserves a bespoke architect design home, a true custom design home, which meets 100% of their needs. We believe the architect design homes do not necessarily need to be expensive. If properly designed and managed, they can be delivered within budget, and offer great value for money. Archbuild is committed to delivering not only marvelous 100% architect design homes, but also to ensure they are delivered within clients' budgets. We are committed to offering the best value for our clients' money.
A floor plan sketch by Mike Movaffaghi for a custom design home on an irregular narrow block in Gladesville, Sydney. See our Contente home page.
About
Mike Movaffaghi
Mike Movaffaghi is a multi-award-winning registered architect and licensed builder. He is the co-founder of Mova Rasi Architects and the founder of Archbuild. Mike began his career in 2001, after earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Architectural Engineering. Throughout his career, he has successfully delivered over $1 billion worth of projects across commercial, residential, and government sectors before establishing Archbuild and Mova Rasi. Mike has been a licensed builder since 2013, a registered architect since 2012, and an accredited project manager (PMP) since 2013. He is a member of the Australian Institute of Architects and the Master Builders Association. He holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in architectural engineering and project management.