my services

An architect’s involvement can range from strategic advice at the very beginnings of an idea to the contractual detail of a complex job on a building site. There are many steps along that road and I am always happy to discuss an engagement for one or all of them.

Consultation

Whatever stage you are at, it always begins with a conversation.

Sound, independent, professional advice on the next steps that should be taken. Choosing to build something at all is often one of the biggest investment decisions we ever make - it needs to be well made.

What you build, where and how form a critical and often quite complex set of issues. Resolving them well demands an insight into the people involved and the character of a site or an existing building as well a thorough understanding of building construction and the industry that delivers it. I can help with that.

Design

There are several stages to the design of a building, ranging from thumbnail sketches to highly detailed drawings and specifications for construction. Sometimes people simply want help to find the right direction of travel, road-testing some initial ideas while others may need assistance at the more technical end of things. In between lie the constraints of planning, listed buildings and building warrants where you might require some quite specific advice.

Generally though, it is an engagement with the process as a whole that will deliver the best outcomes - effectively thinking the problem through from both ends, from that big overall intention to the nitty gritty of how to actually build that crucial bit. A good, experienced architect has the breadth and depth of knowledge and skills to find and communicate that solution.

Construction

Ultimately, architects don’t design drawings, they design buildings. All the words, numbers, drawings and models are just the tools we use to communicate with each other along the way, until the day we can stand inside the thing and it is done.

Understanding how things are built, the constraints of the site, the properties of the materials used and an appreciation of the abilities of the people who will do the work are fundamental to designing well. Long experience of contracts and building sites ultimately feeds back positively into the way you design on the drawing board.

The ability to then retain that thread of thought and intention right until the end - not to “lose the plot” amidst the sometimes muddy complications of a building site - requires a calm, clear head. As an architect you are in some ways the referee of a contract between a client and a builder and to do that job well, maintaining a spirit of good will and cooperation takes experience, mutual understanding and respect.