Bird de la Coeur Architects is a boutique firm based in South Melbourne and specialising in multi-residential buildings – ranging from high-end apartments for the private sector to social housing for government organisations and high-end aged care housing – and one-off houses.
Founded in 1996 by Neil de la Coeur and Vanessa Bird, Bird de la Coeur has grown from a three-person operation to a practice with a portfolio of completed multi-storey buildings across Australia. However, our studio-based practice has remained the same. We have a passion for design research, which comes out of the directors’ personal approach to each project. The compelling idea for each project stems from our conversations with clients. Asking questions and listening continue to be basic architectural devices.
Our work has been awarded many prizes, including Australian Institute of Architects’ Awards, Good Design Awards, Premiers’ Design Awards, the National UDIA and SA highest award 2012 UDIA SA President’s Award and UDIA SA High Density Award 2012, the Dulux Colour Awards Grand Prix highest award in 2013, the ‘Grand Prix’, the State Government of Victoria’s highest Award in the Victorian Coastal Award for Excellence 2004.
We have Carbon Neutral Certification after committing to Architects Declare with the Carbon Neutral Institute.
What our clients say
Bird de la Coeur has a large group of repeat clients. They say we provide them with a personal and a holistic service. They value the knowledge and experience that we apply to ‘unlock’ sites and their potential. They say we are organised and drive the program. We are big enough to provide a quality, knowledge-based service, yet small enough to provide a streamlined personal service. For want of a better term, we call that a boutique service.
