Our Residential Architectural Design & Planning Process
Construction work, be it an extension or something more elaborate is not an everyday undertaking and can be a confusing process to navigate. We are here to simplify the process and guide you through the various stages so you are able to concentrate on what is important to you, the design.
We offer a range of services including but not limited to feasibility studies, initial concept design, permitted development applications, planning applications, listed building applications, building regulations submissions, construction drawings, detailed design drawings, specification and schedule documents as well as CDM services.
Not all projects will require the full range of services; we are happy to work stage by stage if preferred and project appropriate. Below is a brief overview of a typical project programme.
Stage 1 Understanding Your Requirements.
Introductions, coffee and cake, getting to know you. This initial stage is dedicated to fully understanding your brief, aspirations for the project, specific requirements you may have and the feasibility of the project.
We develop, refine and agree the brief prior to moving forward, setting out roles and responsibilities. We will explain each step and guide you through the process.
Stage 2 Concept & Architectural Design.
Taking the newly established brief, we develop initial design ideas. To enable this, we undertake a measured survey of the existing building and produce a set of ‘as existing’ drawings. Dependent on the complexity of the building we may opt to undertake this ourselves or recommend these are produced by a third-party surveyor for more complex structures or when the building is of special interest or in a sensitive location.
We assess the project constraints such as site boundaries, adjacent buildings, below ground services (where possible), legislative and environmental restrictions and technical requirements. Using various media such as pencil drawings, models and conceptual sketches, we compile considerations for discussion.
With more complex, unusual or listed building projects we may suggest making a pre-application submission at this stage to ascertain whether the project will be considered acceptable by the Local Authority prior to progressing the design and making a full planning submission.
Stage 3 Planning Permission Approval & Developed Design.
We take the agreed scheme and move the design details forward: developing the exterior designs, refining the interior spaces, integrating architectural elements, and confirming basic structural and service requirements.
Additional consultants are often required at this stage to provide supporting documentation. These may include Heritage Consultants, Ecologists or Arboriculturists. Each project is unique, and we will advise on the specific requirements for your design. Co-ordinating these third parties on your behalf, we collate the design information and make the planning submission to the Local Authority. Once registered, we will monitor and liaise with both you and the Local Authority through to determination.
In some circumstances the Local Authority will impose ‘Planning Conditions’. These often accompany approvals for works in sensitive areas or to listed buildings. We cannot predict what these may be though can certainly oversee their sign off if requested.
Stage 4 Building Regulation Approval & Technical Design.
Following planning approval, the design drawings are developed into a comprehensive set of technical drawings and documents used for pricing by your preferred contractor as well as Building Control submission and sign off.
Whilst the technical requirements of construction are considered throughout the design process, it is at this stage that we decide which form of construction is appropriate for your project, make decisions regarding building performance, and incorporate any specific technology you may require, such as audio or intelligent lighting.
Building Control approval is a mandatory requirement. We strongly advise a full plan check is undertaken to allow agreement of the specification prior to obtaining prices from any contractor. We will manage this process on your behalf by co-ordinating all other consultants such as Approved Inspectors, SAP Consultants and Structural Engineers.
Stage 5 Detailed Design, Specification & Construction Drawings
If a project is particularly complicated, unusual, or requires specific detailing, we can provide a more in-depth ‘Detailed Design’ technical package to support the Building Regulation submission.
This is very much project specific and involves the production of large scale detailed drawings at 1:2 or 1:5 scale showing precisely how the specific elements are intended to interact.
This is useful when additional guidance is required by building contractors or where we want to be completely sure a specific architectural detail will be built, appear and perform as we expect.