About MDS

Based in Australia’s design capital, Melbourne Design Studios deliver sustainable and contemporary architecture, Australia-wide and internationally. We deeply care about our planet and its inhabitants and love to change the world through crafted, bespoke architecture with a low-carbon footprint or no carbon footprint. We are highly experienced in a range of projects, from private homes to commercial projects and fitouts, to institutional work like schools and universities.

MDS create award-winning architecture. We were proud recipients of the 2022 National Award for Sustainable Architecture from the Australian Institute of Architects for our “Hütt 01 PassivHaus“, a 2019 NABD Best Sustainable Design for ‘Biophilia – Slate House‘ and 2018 BDAV Best Project of the Year Australia-Wide award for our ‘No Two The Same‘ project, and many other awards. Our international experience, combined with our German architectural background, warrant an extremely high standard in design and technology throughout our work.

We love our clients and we love architecture. Our aim is to merge the two, by creating amazing spaces that suit the occupants. We listen to you, and we listen to your land. We connect and consult, then we design and draw and propose, and then listen again. In the end, we resolve and realise so your visions become reality with our help.

We love our planet. This means anything we create is Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD), or what many call ‘green architecture’. Our work is purpose-driven and naturally green, and uses natural & healthy materials, passive solar design, passive house, active ESD systems and many more eco-architecture initiatives, all helping to create a carbon zero future.

We advocate living a green lifestyle. We choose products and suppliers accordingly, preferring bike travel over cars, and have been a dedicated CERES food host for many years. We would love to work wth you on your next project thriving for a carbon zero world. We can offer to guide you through all stages of architecture and interior design, from feasibilities and first sketches, right through to completion. And – while not absolutely necessary – we certainly love working with clients that want to invest into a carbon zero future. Are you ready for us to help you ?

FOR HOME OWNERS OR PASSIVHAUS ENTHUSIASTS

Our core areas of expertise are all stages of architectural consultancy, building design and interior design. This goes from first sketches and ideas right through to technical drawings, contract administration and completion. MDS can assist with:

Creating your new home
Award-winning single dwellings, Alterations & Additions, Interior Design
Passive House Consultancy & Passive Solar Design
Beach Houses, Holiday Homes, Eco-homes
Sustainability consultancy

With our in-house expertise in sustainable design, we know about the latest ‘green trends and techniques’ from Europe and Australia. We offer specialised:

Carbon Zero Architecture & Advice
Certified Passive House Designer & Consultancy
House Energy Ratings under NatHERS
Sustainable design assessments, incl. SDAPP, using the STEPS approach and our in-house expertise, etc

FOR BUSINESSES & INVESTORS

Working in both Australia, and Internationally, the team at Melbourne Design Studios have completed:

Award-winning Headquarters
Carbon Zero Office fit outs & Interiors
Shops, Retail & Exhibition design
Multi-Residential developments, Apartments, Townhouses, Subdivisions
Feasibility studies (Pre-purchase and Post-purchase)
Commercial & Mixed-Use Developments, Aged Care, Resort Living & Hotels
Master Planning & Urban Design

… and additionally

Full Project Management Services
ESD Consultancy for design & compliance purposes, including SDAPP, BESS, NatHERS etc
3D Imagery for Town Planning and/or Marketing

We can offer you our ‘one-stop-shop’ service package, including (but not limited to) landscape design, corporate identity, development, PR and more.

We can tailor a package to suit your needs! Let us help you today.

FOR INSTITUTIONS

We would love to offer you our experience and expertise in

Community Projects
Passivhaus or Low-Energy Schools
Universities
Kindergartens
Museum & Exhibition Design
Language Learning Centers & Cultural Institutions

The MDS team have successfully completed many such projects, and we’d love to be involved in yours. Beside the ‘feel’ of the spaces, that is so important for the end user, we put particular emphasis on social and environmental sustainability, often working with local materials like rammed earth (where appropriate), and/or creating healthy and inspiring spaces using the passivhaus approach.

Get in touch today to discuss your project and find out if we are a good match for you.

FOR ARCHITECTS & DESIGNERS, AND FOR PASSIVHAUS ENTHUSIASTS

At Melbourne Design Studios, we love an inter-disciplinary think-tank approach. We are passionate about design and we focus on excellence. Our specific services include, but are not limited to:

ESD Consultancy including SDAPP/STEPS, NatHERS Energy Ratings and advice, Passive House Consultancy etc
Carbon-Zero & Passive House Advocacy and Advice
Vectorworks Training & BIM Consultancy
Collaboration & Documentation support
Through our partners at “Hutt – Sustainable Building Supplies” we can quote and offer you specialist eco-materials at competitive prices for your sustainable project, e.g. Windows in different price ranges, from thermally broken aluminium to high performance Passivhaus windows, Wood-Fibre insulation: breathable, sustainable and efficient, CLT (Cross-Laminated Timber) and more.

Please get in touch to discuss any queries or ideas you might think of.

Marc Bernstein-Hussmann, Director.

Marc is an Australian architect with a German background, and a strong expertise in contemporary and sustainable architecture, all things Passive House and Carbon-Zero Architecture. He loves his 3 kids, and enjoys coming to work on his pushbike.

Marc is a Member of the Australian Institute of Architects and the Australian & International Passivhaus Associations, and he sits on the Sustainable Architecture Committee at the RAIA. He also used to sit on the Board (Committee of Management) of Design Matters National Association (formerly the Building Designers Association of Victoria (BDAV)). He is well known for his holistic approach to and expertise in sustainable design. Marc has won a large number of awards for his work, and he has extensive international experience in commercial and residential architecture, as well as in shop design, interior design and exhibition design.

Marc’s Linkedin profile

Felicity Bernstein, Chief Creative Officer (CCO)
Head of Project Management & Interior Design

Felicity is the heart and soul of MDS, and when not in the office, she is usually busy doing craftwork and projects with her teenage children.

Felicity has vast experience in large scale residential and commercial projects. She has led teams on mixed use development projects of up to AUD$80million. She holds a German degree in Architecture (dipl.-ing. (fh) arch). Felicity’s speciality is to ensure design consistency, from the initial sketch up to the selection of the curtain fabric. She makes sure our interiors are well integrated within our architecture, and she is passionate about our work and quality.

Beside her role with MDS, Felicity is also CEO of Hütt. She was also a founder of designerSoft, a company that advises, trains and helps architectural practices with their CAD management and BIM strategies in Vectorworks; our preferred CAD & BIM solution. designerSoft has since merged with and is now part of Melbourne Design Studios.

Felicity’s Linkedin profile

Marci Webster-Mannison, Head of MDS Queensland & NSW

Marci is our specialist in institutional, sustainable and cost-effective architecture. She runs around a lot, and has her base in Brisbane. She has three decades of architectural practice, spanning both the private and public sector, including planning, institutional, commercial, retail, and residential work in NSW, ACT, Queensland and Victoria.

She is the recipient of a Special Jury Award (RAIA) for state of the art, ecologically inspired architecture, and her projects have won over 25 design awards at a local, state, national and international level.

One of her best known projects is the design of the Thurgoona Campus of Charles Sturt University. It is a model of environmentally sensitive, yet cost-efficient design practice on a neighbourhood scale, with buildings articulated in rammed earth and recycled timber and conditioned by unique passive solar heating and cooling systems.

We are glad to have Marci on board, and she’s integral to the successful delivery of insititutional projects here at MDS.

Marci’s Linkedin profile