All projects start with the client's desire to create something better!

Our role is to discuss your goals, ideas, aspirations and budget and help you assess your options.

Stage 01 of the process is really about distilling down your priorities and getting to heart of what you hope to achieve. Once we understand this, the following work stages are about how we navigate statutory authorities, planning policies, practicalities of construction and above all, compose a well considered design to deliver your vision.

During this stage we will identify the need for any approvals and advise if any other consultants are needed to accomplish the brief, most commonly a Structural Engineer and Planning Consultant. Depending on the siting of your project, it is not uncommon to require input from other specialists such as a Heritage Consultant, Arboriculturalist, Party-Wall Surveyor, Building Services Engineer and Audio Visual Consultant.

We will note and record any specific site constraints which will likely inform design decisions further down the line, along with a comprehensive photographic survey.

We will begin to loosely sketch ideas, but whether your project involves an existing building or if it is a new build, a measured survey is nearly always required. The appropriate measured survey method will depend on the extent of work you require. A measured survey can be either a 3D scan of your site by a surveying company or a laser point survey undertaken by us.

From the survey we can begin to test our ideas at scale. To translate these ideas across to our clients we typically produce 2D drawings, but can produce 3D computer models or physical models depending on what the brief requires.

Once we land on a concept proposal to move forward with, we will then review procurement options with you (the method of how the project will be tendered and constructed), as this will determine the level and quantity of information to be produced in the following work stages.

At this stage the conceptual looseness of the previous work stages is tightened up and a more formal design proposal is prepared. We will have answers to all the big questions of build-ability, materiality, scale and proportion and will be ready to submit the design to the Local Authority for Planning Approval.

For the planning process a Design and Access Statement will be produced, where we outline the reasons behind the design decisions taken to date. We will explain how the design meets the client's brief, as well as considers the requirements of local and national planning policies and guidelines.

If your project is protected by English Heritage via a Graded Listing, or if it lays within a Conservation Area, a Heritage Assessment / Statement will also likely be required, along with any necessary environmental reports and assessments.

If desired, we can also create 3D models and rendered views to help you better understand the design proposal, before we begin drafting detailed drawings in stage 4.

Depending on the level of design input needed, project drawings will be drafted from overall General Arrangement (GA) Drawings at 1:100 scale down to joinery details at 1:2 scale. GAs give an overall description and layout of the proposed works. Other smaller scaled drawings describe the works in more detail.

As traditional architects, we will carefully detail the building envelope (walls, roof, floors) and work inwards, detailing finishes and joinery.

We typically draw each room within the project, elevation by elevation. At this scale we can pick out any room specific information that needs to be translated to the contractor to ensure they have a full understanding of the proposed works. This includes brassware, sanitaryware, appliances, specialist finishes or joinery specifications.

We can produce either a full written specification or schedule of works and can recommend builders to tender for the works. Following your contractor selection we, or preferably your Quantity Surveyor, can set up a construction contract to be administered throughout the construction phase of the works.

As your architect and lead consultant we will monitor the contractors work to ensure this aligns with the design proposal. We will react to any changes in scope and coordinate information from design specialists and sub-contractors.

A Contract Administrator (CA) will administer the construction contract and certify regular payments to the contractor in conjunction with the Quantity Surveyor (QS). We can perform the role of CA or this can be undertaken by the QS, leaving us to focus on design and construction.

The fewer design changes made during the construction phase will result in greater cost and time certainty. A competent contractor is trusted to follow and execute the design scope. We are there to help them complete the scope and answer any queries that may arise along the way. We are not appointed to manage the contractor and their programme.

If you prefer to engage the builder directly, we can still be available to advise and support you if you needed.

Following the completion of a project is not uncommon to experience some minor defects that arise during the first year.

Most contracts we administer / work under, will have a 12 month defect liability period. During this time a percentage sum of the construction value is retained and will only be released once the contractor has returned to site and made good these defects.

The reason why most defects present themselves during the first year is because it generally takes four full seasons for a building to cycle through any periods of expansion and contraction due to site and atmospheric conditions and any periods of mechanical use, for example using the central heating system during the colder months.

We will be available after handover and during the Defects Liability Period to answer queries and liaise with the contractor in preparation to make good the apparent defects.

Upon the making good, works are reviewed and a final certificate is issued, concluding the construction contract and releasing the retention sum. The process is now complete.