About Monet Madison
Gold Coast Architect - Residential Design & Apartment Renovations
Monet Madison is a Gold Coast architectural practice led by principal architect Jamie Gordon. We specialise in residential design — new homes, apartment renovations, and pre-purchase advice for those buying property or purchasing “off plan”— for clients across Surfers Paradise, Mermaid Beach, Southport, Main Beach and the broader Gold Coast region.
We are a small practice by design. Every project is handled personally by Jamie from the first conversation to the final handover drawing. You won't be passed to a junior after the initial meeting, and you won't receive a generic documentation package. What you'll get is considered, detailed architectural work — and a clear, fixed fee before anything begins.
What we do
Monet Madison offers a focused range of residential architectural services, all priced transparently with fixed fees agreed before work begins.
Apartment renovations
We prepare all architectural design and documentation required for body corporate approval and building approval — from straightforward cosmetic renovations through to complete apartment redesigns. We work regularly with body corporates across the Gold Coast and understand what their documentation requirements look like in practice.
New home design
Full residential architectural service from initial brief through to construction documentation. We work on new builds across the Gold Coast and Hinterland, with particular experience in sites that present challenges — steep blocks, constrained footprints, coastal setbacks, and council overlays.
Pre-purchase apartment review
Before you sign a contract on an off-the-plan apartment, a $300 desktop review by a registered architect can identify floor plan problems, unfavourable orientations, and future developments that could affect your investment. It is the most cost-effective architectural service we offer — and often the most valuable.
Design & Document Pre-Purchase Contract Variations
We assist to design and document pre=contract variations to “off Plan” unit purchases, to ensure your required amendments to the contract are properly co-ordinated and implemented. This includes confirming the changes are included in the Developer’s construction documentation. Whether minor changes to finishes or more major redesign of the unit floor plan.
Extensions & modifications
Existing homes that need more space, better light, or a reconfigured floor plan. We assess the existing structure, listen & understand the brief, and design modifications that work with the building rather than against it to achieve budget oriented design outcomes.
View our full service range and fixed fees at monetmadison.com/services.
Work with us
If you have a project in mind — whether it's a renovation, a new home, or a question about an off-the-plan purchase — we're happy to have an initial conversation at no charge.
We work best with clients who value careful design, clear communication, and a straightforward professional relationship. If that sounds like you, get in touch.
Book a consultation
Or call Jamie directly: (+61 7) 5597 2456. Email: jamie@monetmadison.com
Jamie Gordon — Principal Architect
Jamie has lived on the Gold Coast his entire life. He grew up watching the region transform from a quiet coastal town into one of Australia's fastest-growing cities — and for more than 30 years, he has been designing the homes and apartments that sit within that landscape.
His family has deep roots here. His grandfather established a business on Nerang Street in the mid-1940s, and that connection to the Gold Coast — its character, its communities, its building regulations and body corporate culture — informs every project Jamie takes on. When he tells you he knows this city, he means it in a way that goes beyond professional experience.
Jamie's design philosophy draws on the principles of modern Japanese architecture — logic, order, material honesty, and restraint. The best spaces, in his view, are the ones that feel entirely inevitable: nothing added that shouldn't be there, nothing removed that should. This approach translates practically into highly detailed documentation, considered material selections, and designs that perform well over time rather than simply looking striking at completion.
How we approach design
Good architecture is rarely the loudest thing in the room. Our work is guided by a belief in logic and order — spaces designed around how people actually live in them, not around how they photograph.
This means we spend a significant amount of time at the beginning of every project asking questions: how do you move through your home? Where does the morning light fall? What do you need within reach of the kitchen, and what should be as far away as possible? The answers to those questions shape every design decision that follows.
Materials matter to us. We favour natural materials — timber, stone, concrete — used with honesty about what they are. We are not interested in surfaces that pretend to be something else. The Japanese term for this approach is
The Japanese design tradition calls this ma — an attention to negative space and the relationships between things, rather than the things themselves. It is a principle that travels well across cultures and building types. You will find it in every project we complete, whether a penthouse renovation in Surfers Paradise or a modest pool pavilion in Ashmore.
The team
Monet Madison is a small, close-knit practice. Each team member contributes to a different aspect of the work.
Why Gold Coast architecture requires local knowledge
The Gold Coast building environment is not like anywhere else in Australia. A city built rapidly over 50 years, it has a building stock that ranges from 1960s beach houses to 40-storey high-rises, governed by a combination of Gold Coast City Council requirements, Queensland Development Code, and the by-laws of hundreds of individual body corporates — each with their own documentation standards and approval processes.
Knowing how to navigate that environment is not something you learn from a textbook. It comes from years of submitting applications, attending body corporate meetings, understanding how specific complexes operate, and knowing which council overlay applies to which street.
That local depth is what Jamie brings to every project. And it is why clients who have worked with practices based outside the Gold Coast — or with generalist firms that take on residential work alongside larger commercial commissions — often find that working with a locally rooted specialist changes the experience significantly.
How a project with Monet Madison works
We follow a consistent process for all residential projects. Here is what to expect:
Initial consultation (free). We discuss your site, your brief, and your budget. This is the conversation that tells us whether we're the right fit for your project — and tells you what working with us will involve.
Fixed-fee quote. Within one business day of the initial consultation, we provide a fixed-fee proposal covering the full scope of work. No open-ended billing, no hourly surprises.
Design phase. We develop the design concept in close consultation with you, typically across two or three review rounds. This is where the floor plan logic is worked out, the material palette is established, and the design intent is confirmed.
Documentation. We prepare the full drawing package required for your project — body corporate submission, council application, tender drawings, or construction documentation, depending on the scope.
Approvals support. We manage the submission process and respond to any queries from body corporates or council on your behalf.
Construction administration (Gold level). For clients who want continued involvement during the build, we conduct site visits, review work against the drawings, and respond to builder queries through to project completion..
Selected projects
A sample of recent completed work. Full project photography and documentation available on request.
Mustique Penthouse Renovation — Surfers Paradise. Complete redesign of an existing penthouse apartment. Architectural design, body corporate documentation, and construction administration.
Arthur Street House 1 & 2 — Mermaid Beach. Two consecutive residential projects on the same street. New home design and full documentation for construction.
Tamborine Street House — Residential new build. Design response to a constrained site with significant level change.
Ashmore Pool Pavilion — Residential addition. Freestanding pool pavilion designed as a considered complement to an existing home.
Isle of Capri House — Residential renovation and extension to an existing waterfront property.
View the full portfolio at monetmadison.com/portfolio.
People
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Principal Architect
Jamie has lived on the Gold Coast his entire life. He grew up watching the region transform from a quiet coastal town into one of Australia's fastest-growing cities — and for more than 30 years, he has been designing the homes and apartments that sit within that landscape.
His family has deep roots here. His grandfather established a business on Nerang Street in the mid-1940s, and that connection to the Gold Coast — its character, its communities, its building regulations and body corporate culture — informs every project Jamie takes on. When he tells you he knows this city, he means it in a way that goes beyond professional experience.
Jamie's design philosophy draws on the principles of modern Japanese architecture — logic, order, material honesty, and restraint. The best spaces, in his view, are the ones that feel entirely inevitable: nothing added that shouldn't be there, nothing removed that should. This approach translates practically into highly detailed documentation, considered material selections, and designs that perform well over time rather than simply looking striking at completion.
Jamie Gordon is a registered architect with the Board of Architects of Queensland & NSW Registration Board. BOAQ # 2829 NSWRB # 7837. Monet Madison Design is based at Unit 1 / 183 Currumburra Road, Ashmore QLD 4214.
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Project Architect
Sylwia holds a Master of Architecture from the Silesian University of Technology in Poland and has worked across residential and commercial projects since relocating to Queensland in 2005. She specialises in high-quality 3D visualisations, parametric modelling in Revit, and technical documentation. Her attention to detail in the drawing package directly affects the quality of builder quotes and the smoothness of the construction phase.
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Interiors & Administration
Noriko grew up in Sapporo, Japan, and brings a first-hand perspective on Japanese spatial design and interior culture to the practice. She manages client communications, project administration, and contributes to interior material selections — ensuring the detailing of each project reflects the same level of care as the architecture.
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Administration
Laura is developing a new strategic direction for the practice, with a focus on digital operations and business systems. She contributes to how Monet Madison communicates with clients and manages the practice behind the scenes.
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Manager
Monet oversees day-to-day studio operations and is closely involved in the client experience — from first enquiry through to project handover. She reviews briefs and design presentations before they go to clients to ensure the work is clearly communicated and aligns with the practice's standards.
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Illustrator
Kohaku is the newest member of the team, developing her skills in design illustration and masterplanning. She has a strong eye for colour and a growing interest in site-level urban design. She works under Jamie's supervision and is building toward a formal architectural qualification.