Meet the TASS Design Team
The Creative Minds Behind Every TASS Home
At TASS, every home is born from a story – yours, and it’s the people behind the design who bring that story to life. Our design team goes far beyond technical drawings, they are the heart of the TASS process, listening, working closely with you, and shaping spaces that reflect not only how you live today, but how your life will evolve tomorrow.
This month, we’d like to introduce you to the creative minds who bring vision, care, and technical expertise to every home: Matt, Maddie, Oliver, and Josh. They are the driving force behind the thoughtful, purposeful spaces we create.
A Collaborative Practice Rooted in Purpose
At TASS, no two homes are the same. Every project starts with a conversation and evolves into a space that’s a perfect fit for its owners and context. Our design team brings diverse perspectives, ensuring that every detail—from the first sketch to the final touch—is crafted with intention and clarity.
We’re a collective of thinkers, creators, and problem-solvers. We thrive on collaboration and have a deep respect for the input and feedback of our clients. By working as a cohesive team, we ensure the design not only meets but exceeds your expectations.
“We don’t impose style—we uncover meaning. Every home is shaped not by our vision alone, but by the lives of those who will live within it.”
— Ben Tass, Director
Matt Stortz
Architect
Matt is TASS’s Architect, known for his ability to blend creativity with precision. With a strong background in high-end residential design, Matt brings a unique skill set to every project, balancing artistic vision with practical considerations. His design philosophy is grounded in creating homes that are not only beautiful but deeply aligned with how people live.
Questions for Matt:
- What role does collaboration play in your design process, and how do you work with clients to bring their vision to life?
Collaboration is central to the design process as it is, after all, the client’s home. Our aim is to create a design that not only enhances their lifestyle today but also supports their needs well into the future.
From the beginning, we invest time in understanding how our clients live, what they value, and what they envision for their future. Through open discussions, site visits, and a collaborative design process, we ensure their needs and ideas shape the outcome. Ultimately, our goal is to deliver a design that feels instinctively right for the people who will live in it—a home that works beautifully from day one and adapts gracefully over time.
2. How do you approach designing spaces that evolve with the changing needs of the people who live in them?
Designing for evolution takes careful thought. While it’s impossible to predict every change, we aim to anticipate future needs—whether that’s improved accessibility, flexible spaces for adult children or guests, or provisions for aging in place. By creating rooms that can adapt in function over time, we help ensure the home continues to support the people living in it, no matter how life evolve
3. What’s one project you’ve worked on at TASS that stands out to you, and why?
Each project we work on at TASS is unique and rewarding in its own way. We are really lucky to collaborate with clients who are passionate about creating thoughtful, lasting homes. One project that stands out involved reconfiguring a large existing dwelling to better reflect the client’s current and future lifestyle needs.
The design required removing a significant portion of internal walls to open up the space and create a stronger connection to the outdoor allowing the clients to keep an eye on their children while going about daily tasks. The challenge was ensuring these major changes stayed within budget. Through careful planning and an integrated approach to buildability, we maintained the design intent while making sure the structural interventions were logical and cost-effective, ultimately delivering a layout that felt both open and purposeful.
Maddie Wallace
Interior Designer
Maddie is the Interior Designer at TASS, bringing nearly a decade of experience in both residential and commercial design. Her approach combines functionality with artistry, ensuring every interior is not only aesthetically pleasing but also purposeful and intuitive. Maddie’s passion for sustainable design and her deep understanding of spatial flow guide her as she works to create spaces that truly enhance the lives of those who experience them.
Questions for Maddie:
- How do you ensure your designs are both functional and beautiful?
I approach every project by balancing form and function from the very beginning. It starts with understanding how the space needs to work – the client’s lifestyle, movement patterns, storage needs, and how each area connects. Once that functionality is mapped out, I layer in the aesthetic: materiality, lighting, colour, and detail that reflect the client’s personality and the architectural context.
2. Can you describe a time/project when your interior design work truly transformed a space and the client’s experience?
Interior design has the power to transform not just how a space looks, but how it feels and functions. One project that really stands out involved a young family renovating their forever home. The original layout was disjointed and dark, and they felt the house didn’t reflect their lifestyle or personality.
We reimagined the layout to create a more open, connected flow between the kitchen, dining, and outdoor areas, perfect for how they live and entertain. We used soft textures, layered lighting, and natural materials to bring warmth and calm into the home, which was important to them.
The most rewarding moment was hearing how much more relaxed and inspired they felt in the space. They told me it felt like ‘coming home’ in a way they’d never experienced before. That’s when I knew the design had done its job, not just transforming the space, but enhancing their daily life.
3. What elements do you consider when designing interiors that support the long-term needs of the client?
When designing for long-term needs, I focus on flexibility, durability, and timelessness. I start by understanding how the client’s lifestyle might evolve – whether that’s a growing family, working from home, or ageing in place – and ensure the layout can adapt over time.
Josh Jones
Pre-Construction Manager
Josh is the Pre-Construction Manager at TASS, ensuring that every project begins with a solid foundation—both literally and figuratively. With years of hands-on experience in carpentry and construction, Josh’s technical expertise plays a key role in the early stages of every project. He works closely with clients, suppliers, and the design team to ensure that every project is well-planned, with no detail overlooked before construction begins.
Questions for Josh:
- How do you ensure a smooth transition from design to construction?
It’s all about planning and communication between our design, estimating & site teams. By reviewing the architectural concept designs early, we can flag any potential challenges, practical considerations and efficiencies. This close collaboration allows everyone to be on the same page well in advance, ensuring that there are no surprises throughout the construction.
2. What role does your experience in carpentry play in the pre-construction phase?
A significant part of what I do is foreseeing potential challenges long before they arise on the construction site. My background as a carpenter is absolutely fundamental to my role in pre-construction as it gives me a hands-on understanding of how things are actually built. When I look at a design, I’m not just seeing lines on a drawing; I’m visualizing the sequence of work, the materials involved, and the practical challenges the team might face on-site. This allows me to identify potential design flaws, material conflicts, or inefficient details that might not be obvious to someone without the same experience. It helps me ensure that our plans are not just aesthetically pleasing but also efficient, structurally sound, and cost-effective to construct.
3. Can you share a specific instance where your detailed planning helped prevent potential issues during construction?
There’s a particular project that really stands out, highlighting the value of our pre-construction process. It was a custom home planned for a very exposed site, right on a clifftop overlooking the ocean, with the site being prone to experiencing some serious wind.
When reviewing the structural engineering drawings, I noticed that the structural engineer had unfortunately specified an incorrect wind region for that exact location. This wasn’t a minor error either. Every structural calculation, from the foundation design to the bracing requirements for the walls and the roof tie-downs as well as the structural members, were all detailed based on significantly lower wind loads than what the property would actually be subjected to. Had we proceeded with construction as per those plans, the integrity and safety of the house would have been severely compromised when faced with the high winds common in that coastal environment.
Because our detailed planning process, we were able to identify this critical design error early on. We immediately collaborated with the structural engineer to get the plans revised, not only preventing substantial, costly rework and delays on site, but more importantly, it ensured that the home would be structurally sound and safe for our clients.
Oliver Farrugia
Estimator
As TASS’s Estimator, Oliver bridges the gap between vision and reality, ensuring that the designs we create are not only feasible but financially viable. With a background in carpentry and finance, Oliver brings a unique combination of hands-on construction experience and financial expertise to every project. His ability to balance design ambition with cost constraints helps deliver projects that exceed expectations without compromising on quality.
Questions for Oliver:
- How do you ensure that the client’s vision aligns with the practical realities of a budget?
Understanding what people value within their designs and what they’re looking for their home to enhance within their lives helps inform any value engineering suggestions made. This understanding is developed through getting to know the clients, as well as regular collaboration with our Architect & Interior Designer. Once I have an understanding of what the aim is, I can look at areas which can potentially be reduced to make sure the core design intent is retained.
- What is the most challenging aspect of the estimating process, and how do you overcome it?
Ensuring every element has been estimated & included, as well as helping to make sure the clients will get the home of their dreams within budget!
By being methodical & process driven throughout each step of the estimating process ensures everything is accounted for, and collaborating with the clients, architects, interior designers, trades & consultants makes sure we achieve the design & budget goals.
- Can you share a project where your work as an estimator helped refine the design for better outcomes?
It’s difficult to single out just one! Every project we undertake involves Estimating from a very early stage, so each project has decisions made from concept stage, that are not only influenced by design, but also by budget. From the outset we help to pinpoint the major cost centres of a project to help clients identify areas they may like to upscale, or potentially scale back in if necessary.
One of our Annandale projects required a modification to their Construction Certificate to allow for a staged build, due to budgetary constraints, so that was quite a Consultant heavy solution to help our clients achieve their goal. Another of our Marrickville projects required multiple revisions, options & staging ideas to help decide which areas of their project they’d like to prioritise.
The projects were Annandale & Marrickville.
Integrated Architectural Design + Build: A Seamless Approach
At TASS, we believe in integrated design. Our architecture, interior design, and construction teams work under one roof, from day one through to delivery. This integrated approach ensures:
- A focused team across fewer projects, so your home gets the attention it deserves
- Faster, more informed decision-making
- Designs that are cost-accurate from the very beginning. No surprises along the way
- A single point of contact throughout
This collaborative process not only leads to a more efficient workflow but also ensures that design intent is maintained, from the first sketch to the final brick.
See how this approach has shaped projects like Balgowlah and Marrickville.
Design That Feels Personal
Great design isn’t just about space, it’s about how that space supports the lives of those who live within it. At TASS, our team listens, learns, and then designs homes that are built for real living. We understand that your home should be as personal as your story, and that’s why we begin every project by understanding your needs, values, and vision for the future.
Whether it’s refining spatial flow or responding to the way you live, we’re dedicated to designing homes that feel intuitive, comfortable, and connected to your life’s rhythm.
Want to meet the team behind your future home? Reach out to our studio today!