Architect’s Advice

If I was to pick just one thing that’s essential to a successful project, it’s communication. This is true from the very beginning, with the client communicating their desires to the architect, the architect confirming the brief then developing the design for planning departments and contractors. If I was to pick just one thing that’s…

Before you build a new home, you need land to build it on. For many people, this is far as their dream gets. Finding the ideal plot is difficult and the mistakes are costly, so don’t even start looking until you’ve read these four tips. Don’t Look for Land, Look for a Property Whether you’re…

Architecture is half art and half business, and you have to be good at both to succeed. An architect must be able to master the constant tension between the artistic value of the design, the value of the transaction itself and the final market value. It all starts with understanding a client’s priorities. If someone…

Last week, I talked about the challenges of making a period home stay warm. Now, I want to talk about a very different heat-related problem: making people believe that contemporary styled builds aren’t cold. Even though increasingly strict regulations demand that any new build achieves a high standard of thermal efficiency, people still accuse contemporary…

We love period properties. Their elegance and sturdiness have secured their place on our streets and they are essential to the character of our towns and cities. But it can be much harder to enjoy them in winter, when cold winds waste no time exposing every gap in the floorboards and every uninsulated wall. For…

Looking back at 2015, I can confidently say it’s been a good year. We’ve cut the ribbon on some of our best projects yet and have found a new home for our practice. But one thing has stood out as a near constant sore point for me, my staff and my clients: planning departments. Years…

Lady Carr-Ellison is one of our most distinguished clients. A few years ago, we completed a substantial kitchen renovation and extension to her beautiful Victorian house in London. Despite being overjoyed with our work, I’ve yet to convince her that we can build just as well underground as we can above ground. We asked her…

No doubt many of you have been shocked by the recent incident in Barnes where part of a Georgian townhouse on The Terrace collapsed during works to excavate a new basement. Obviously this is tragic for the owners but such a collapse also endangers adjoining properties. Though the details on the cause of this collapse…

Empty space is full of possibility. You can’t help your imagination from going wild when you’re presented with bare walls and floors. Sofas, tables, art, rugs, fittings, lighting, fridges, tiles, worktops, sinks, baths… Your mind fills and fills the space with all your favourite things – each one with a price tag. I’m as guilty…

The hardest part of my job is telling someone their dream home isn’t possible. It’s a conversation that happens far more than you may think. After all, we only show our portfolio of successful projects, you don’t hear about the people we have to turn away, either because they’ve underestimated the build costs or they…