About Us

Practice

A community is defined by its people and is centred around a dynamic hub which residents can call their own. This was the driving philosophy adopted by Stephen Johansson two decades ago, when he formed Facility Design Group.

Stephen identified a clear need in the marketplace – the need for a cost-effective and vibrant community centre, with the emphasis on sport and aquatic activities. He was sure to develop these facilities with the needs of the locals firmly in mind, and that any budgetary constraints are adhered to Today, hundreds of satisfied clients are testament to the success of this approach. Building healthy communities is a rewarding outcome for the FDG Team.

Culture & Team

Although Stephen has been at the helm of the business for all these years, he does not believe in managing from a distance. Instead, he personally ensures that FDG’s projects work in practice, and truly make a difference in the communities they serve.

Passionate Sustainability

Our environment is everchanging, our built environment needs to constantly adapt and change too. All contemporary materials retain so much embedded energy we need to constantly learn, evolve & search for new ways to be more sustainable. Keeping abreast of new methodologies and technologies that reduce our impact and carbon footprint on our locale is imperative. The facilities we design are massive consumers of energy and water and we are forever searching for new innovations that will direct our complexes toward resilience, neutrality and zero emissions.

Driving Culture

The company’s culture is driven by Stephen’s desire to design ‘easy to navigate, functional buildings’ that resolve the stakeholder’s brief and operational expectation, while firmly targeting the project budget. Simple and accurate construction documents are KEY to this culture, and essential for successful project delivery. Although BIM (Building Information Modelling) is now very much entrenched in architectural design and documentation, FDG were early in embracing BIM in particular REVIT and are now considered very experienced practitioners of more than 30years collectively in this platform.

Unique Perspectve

FDG team leaders assess any design challenge by being practical from the project launch. Core decisions made at the outset about structure, building fabric and employed technology will then help to drive architectural design.

  • Stephen Johansson

    Principle Architect / Managing Director

  • Andrew Teodorowych

    Associate Director

  • Eddi Balatti

    CAD Manager

Vision

The future is exciting. Stephen and the FDG team are eager to develop projects that challenge sustainable inputs conceived by Facility Design Group. The company is constantly exploring new innovations, from building fabric to plant and equipment, to compliment FDG’s investment in solving the client’s brief.  True sustainability is holistic and very much includes the human operation and function within, to perpetuate the communal life of the building.

FDG will always seek to include the input of the client, from the beginning to the handover and this is a hallmark of the FDG delivery. It’s a real and distinct advantage and provides the client with TRUE OWNERSHIP of their building. Every project is a collaborative effort between client/community and the whole design team.

Further Projects

Point of Difference

Stephen Johansson founded this practice some two decades ago, to fill what he perceived as a gap in the provision of cost-effective sports and aquatic facilities. Stephen has many years in the industry as a licensed builder, to compliment his architectural training. This unique skill set has given FDG a solid reputation for successful delivery of projects, small and large and has led to the development of practical solutions for the many design issues that arise. It’s earned FDG a healthy respect within the construction industry community.

Stephen believes that architecture and construction should be treated as one. The architect must fully understand the systems, materials and methodologies of assembly, in order to achieve a great outcome.

Advantage

This puts Facility Design Group ahead of other practitioners in this sector. Their practical reputation is respected throughout the industry, and their services are actively solicited by companies, communities and local government institutions alike.

Portolio

The portfolio of projects delivered over the last two decades is truly impressive for a firm as small as Facility Design Group. The company has built an enviable reputation for streamlined delivery with a critical eye on budget.

Teamwork

FDG has built a team of specialised sub-consultants that work on all projects, and who are all familiar with each other’s role. This creates a level of trust and familiarity during the design process and helps to deliver an efficient and accurate level of documentation that’s unmatched by any competitors. The level of positive feedback given by builders is testament to the delivery strategy developed by Stephen Johansson.

Expertise

Facility Design Group provides a number of core related services:

Master Planning and Business Modelling. This is considered essential to many projects to ensure that future opportunities for site and staging are not compromised. Ongoing operational expenditure is a very important aspect and must be understood by the client.

Full Service

FDG’s service is based on the complete process, from application through to full tender documentation.

Constructon Services

This includes contract administration and project management during the build.

Constructon Management for and on behalf of the Client

FDG has built three aquatic centres over the years – providing great value to the councils involved. Broken Hill Aquatic Centre, Sapphire Aquatic Centre and Moss Vale Aquatic Centre are testament to the construction knowledge and skill set of the FDG Team.

The project start up is a critical element of the design process. It’s important to extract a good brief, which requires the ability to listen and pose the right questions to the client. This helps to promote thought and develop the brief fully. The nature of this process will often lead to an initial concept that solves the design challenge in a very efficient manner. FDG believes that too many options would only confuse the Client.