Testimonials

Allison, Worongary

Will, Mariana, Rita and Andreza,
Pete and I would like to say a huge ‘thankyou’ for your guidance and expertise in re designing our 30-year-old house, that needed updating and a change in functionality and design. Located at Worongary on acreage our brief was to blend the Coastline with the Hinterland. For our initial meeting and with some ideas in mind, the team went on to deliver at every stage of the Building and Interior development process listed on the website. This process highlighted the importance of communication between us and ARCO, which then allowed ARCO to implement their creative aspects to the build.
The 3D computerised modelling of the design was exceptional. It created excitement, a sense of ‘things coming together’ and the visual appreciation of the design. The documentation that ARCO provides for the certifier, engineer, builder, and suppliers is excellent. Whilst on site the first thing that our builder did every single day was look at these plans before starting. They were critical to our build. Suppliers were able to quote directly from these documents with all information provided. These quotes involved plumbing fixtures, tiles, electrical, flooring just to name a few. We commend the team at ARCO for their commitment to providing a great service and conveying their building and design knowledge to us. We are extremely happy with our house and it could not have happened without the design input of Will and the ARCO team.
Thank you!

Stephen, Kirra

We engaged ARCO Designs to assist us in renovating an old brick history-laden Artdeco Coolangatta family home. This project was definitely not for the faint-hearted and the end result is a testament to Will’s wonderful design team, which included John and Rita. The sloping site, our desire to preserve as many original features as possible, the extent of works required and our tight budget presented many challenges, but we couldn’t be happier with the end result. All issues that arose were dealt with efficiently and effortlessly and Will and his team were always available to answer any questions or remodel any changes. We never got the impression they were trying to rush us out the door and we very much appreciated their extra efforts in getting everything just right. That attention to detail and professionalism is evident in our final plans and this is regularly commented on by all the trades that now rely on them. Rita’s interior design is absolutely fantastic and the 3D BimX model is such an invaluable and detailed reference tool. We highly recommend ARCO Designs and loved working with them.

Andrew, Benowa Waters

We are completing the design stages of a large renovation to our home. Will has been an essential part of this process. From the very beginning his focus was to understand our vision and then to bring his expertise to the project to translate this vision into a beautiful design. The site has some access and slope challenges which we overcame. We are very excited about the design and have found the 3D program that Will uses extremely valuable, this really helps to brings the design off the page allowing one to visually walk through the project. Will is professional, has many years of experience and is competitively priced, we are very glad to have used ARCO Designs for our project and would recommend Will to family and friends.

Jo, Elanora

We trusted Will to turn our renovators delight property into a beautiful forever home.

We knew he was an expert in his field but we were blown away with how easily he understood us and what we were trying to achieve. His design exceeded our expectations and wildest dreams.

His professionalism, commitment, quality of work, patience and creativity has designed an absolute masterpiece.

We can’t wait to bring it to life!

Amanda, Worongary

Would recommend Arco Designs, he really listened to our eco/passive home requirements.

Very responsive to queries and updates!

Friendly lovely company works really well with other consultants. Listened to and incorporated our ideas.

We will use Will again on another project.

Humas, Currumbin Waters

We had the best experience with Will and Mariana! Throughout the entire process they were both so efficient and came up with an incredible design that we hadn’t even dreamt of. They were never too busy and had great communication throughout. We highly recommend them!! Thanks again!!

Nadine

From the outset Arco Designs have been a pleasure to work with. Their experience and innovative approaches have enabled us to achieve our dream renovation despite significant site constraints. Will and Mariana’s design and construction experience has delivered us a stunning, sustainable and functional home within our budget. It’s no surprise they are claiming so many awards when they deliver this quality of architecture for such a reasonable fee.

Ben, Currumbin Valley

I can recommend Will and their team as knowledgeable and efficient designers who are easy to work with and flexible. They also have a superior knowledge of sustainable design and products. And they are quick too. Thanks Will.

Lindsay, Brisbane

We have just finished the build of our weekend retreat designed by Will, John, Rita and the ARCO team. We only had a vague idea of what we wanted, but knew what we didn’t want. The ARCO team guided us through all phases of the design process. They were interested, flexible, knowledgeable, and innovative. They produced a design that is attractive, practical and incorporated into the landscape. We are delighted with the end result. The ARCO team continued to assist us after the design phase and during the build and were clearly dedicated to getting the best result for us. I have no hesitation in recommending ARCO to anyone thinking of designing a new home.

Carl, Currumbin Valley

It was a real pleasure working with ARCO Designs on the renovation of our rainforest house in the Currumbin Valley. Will’s well-deserved reputation as a leading designer of sustainable housing on the Gold Coast was matched by the knowledge and passion of Mariana and Rita throughout the entire process. Thanks to them, this is how building design should be done – authentic, creative and sustainable.

Sonja, Arundel

Will and the team were FABULOUS – smart, attune to our preferred style, flexible and highly economical.

Our new deck area and pool/spa were fabulously designed on a not so easy block. This was followed by a spacious ‘fit for us’ house extension that we are now moving into.

Brilliant mids and super people. HIGHLY recommended!

Lancia and John

“We engaged Will Collins to provide us advice and ideas on several existing homes we were considering buying on the Gold Coast. He helped save us from purchasing a dud and on the second home, gave us invaluable feedback and ideas on how to improve the property without spending a fortune. Will has a great eye for detail and is very generous with his time. Best few hundred we spent buying our new home.”

Oryana and Yuvi

“We just recently moved into our new home, designed by Arco. They were fantastic to work with from start to finish – excellent service and communication. They really listened to our brief and what we were looking for, creating a beautiful family home for us. Our build wasn’t a straight forward one either, the block had challenges in that it was steep and there were access issues. We feel that Will and the team really overcame this, delivering just what we were looking for and hitting the design button on the head. We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Arco Designs to anyone looking for a quality design, that is stunning, while still completely functional and catering for the environment you live in.”

Catherine, Minnie Waters

“We recently engaged Will Collins and Mariana Claro to transform a 30 year old basic two story brick beach house into a beautiful space that takes full advantage of the views, breezes and sunshine. We could not have been happier with both the design process and the results. Will and Mariana were both professional to work with and receptive to our goals, flexible in working with our ideas whilst also making clever and creative suggestions that we had not considered. As the house is in a slightly remote location, much of our follow up communication needed to be by phone or email and I was impressed with the speed with which they responded to both myself and our builder. I have no reservations in recommending both Will and Mariana.”

Chris Walton, Managing Director, Landmatters CV Pty Ltd

“As developers of The Eco Village at Currumbin we have found the design input given by Will Collins to be excellent. Will has, on many occasions, offered valuable suggestions for sustainable solutions to design and construction needs.His knowledge of the sub-tropical climate and how to design for it is very sound and his designs always incorporate sensible and creative ideas that enhance a homes’ comfort.

Will has designed over 30 homes within The Eco Village at Currumbin to incorporate no airconditioning thus including good orientation, fenestration and climatic outcomes.He has at all times been helpful in supplying information relating to design and construction techniques to us as developers and we have thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with him on the many occasions we have.”

Clare and Denis – Pavilion Residence

“We feel grateful for having been introduced to Will as our building designer. His ability to blend our vision with his own brilliance in eco sustainability resulted in a house design much admired and with a special ambiance.”

Sally and Tyler – Eco House

“Not being the most savvy people to building design terminology what we needed was someone who was clear and concise and talked in a language we could understand. Will’s approach to building design and development far exceeded all our expectations and assumptions. Will delivers an outstanding product in a professional, timely and friendly manner. At all times we felt comfortable and in good hands.”

Kerry Shepherd, Owner Award Winning Home

“On the design of our home in The Eco Village we needed a compact home that focused on efficient use of space due to budget constraints. We ended up with a 2 bedroom home of 101sqm internal space and 75sqm decks that utilise the outdoor features that are accessible no matter what the weather. The internal space becomes the external and the area almost doubles so very easily just by opening doors. We have lovely views from every angle also, and the home was affordable for us to build. The house works well with sun access during winter but the angles also work well to exclude summer sun. Will’s 3D modeling abilities made it easy to see just how the house was going to work aesthetically and thermally even before it was built.

Collaboration with Will was enjoyable as he listened to our needs and converted them to an outstanding house design. Our home won the HIA Greensmart National Award “Building of the Year” for 2008 as well as Qld’s Energy Efficient Home of the Year and other industry awards. I recommended him to many other people in The Eco Village and would do so again and again.”

Nick McDonald, Mactech Constructions Pty Ltd.

“I’ve found the plans from Will Collins Design office to be the best I’ve ever used. They are clear, accurate and easy to read with all the necessary dimensions and notes to make it simple and easy for our building team and tradesmen to understand, enabling an efficient building process. Combined with his new 3D moving models that I can use on my laptop we know exactly what’s going on when on site. It takes the guess work out. I highly recommend will”.