Every project begins with a conversation. This early stage is about uncovering opportunity. Wherever possible, we start on site, immersing ourselves in the landscape, architecture, history and context while beginning to understand what you want the project to achieve.(1)

This first meeting is about listening carefully — to your aspirations, your ambitions and the realities of a place — while developing an intuitive understanding of its character and potential.

Through conversation, observation and analysis, we begin to understand what makes a place distinctive and how its particular qualities might inform the architecture. Just as importantly, this time together builds trust and a shared understanding of your ambitions and what the project might become.

Sometimes clients arrive with a clear vision; more often, the brief emerges through conversation, exploration and a shared understanding of what might be possible.(2)

Building on our first conversations, we work with you to shape a brief that is both ambitious and grounded — bringing together how you want to live, work or use a place with the opportunities of the site and the practical considerations that will influence your project.

Together, we consider what matters most, test assumptions and align ambition with budget and programme. We also identify the specialist expertise the project may need, giving the ideas that follow a clear and considered foundation.

Our research is deliberately broad, looking beyond the immediate requirements of your project to uncover ideas and influences that can inform its direction.(3)

It begins with the place — its landscape, history, architecture and constraints — but extends to the things that matter to you: the way you live, the art and books you enjoy, places you remember and ideas that resonate. Inspiration can come from unexpected sources; what matters is finding the threads that give a project its own identity.

From these influences and the brief, an architectural idea begins to emerge. We explore scale, space, material and atmosphere through drawings, models, visualisations and material studies. These are brought together in a Design Journal — a shared record of the thinking behind the project that allows ideas to be explored, tested and refined together.

As the design develops, ideas are tested, challenged and refined.

Working closely with you and the wider consultant team, we then begin to weave structure, landscape, materials, performance and cost into the design. Some decisions reinforce the direction already established; others lead us somewhere better.

As drawings and models become more detailed, materials are explored and key decisions are tested together. Our role is to bring these decisions together while keeping sight of what matters most to the project.

The Design Journal continues to develop alongside the design, bringing drawings, models, visualisations and material studies together in one place.(4) It gives you a clear record of the decisions being made and, as the proposals become more resolved, forms the basis for planning or permitting and the next stages of the project.

Developing a strong design is one thing. Securing permission for it is another.

Planning and permitting can be complex, particularly for ambitious projects or sensitive sites. We have considerable experience working in open countryside, Green Belt and National Landscapes, conservation areas and listed buildings, as well as constrained urban sites.

We work closely with planning consultants, heritage specialists, expeditors in the US and the wider project team to agree how best to approach each project. This may include pre-application discussions or early engagement with the relevant authorities, giving us an opportunity to introduce the thinking behind the project, listen to feedback and respond before a formal planning or permit submission is made.

Throughout, we coordinate the information required, lead discussions with the relevant statutory authorities and respond to questions as they arise. Our role is to present the project clearly and convincingly, giving you the best possible prospect of securing permission.

The quality of a building is often found in its details.

Working closely with the wider consultant team, we develop and coordinate the drawings, specifications and schedules needed for construction, bringing architecture, structure, services and building performance together. Materials and finishes are developed further, junctions are worked through and details resolved with the same care as the larger architectural idea.

How we take the project forward will depend on its scale, complexity and where you are building. We’ll help establish the right route and level of detail, working with quantity surveyors and cost consultants where needed to keep the design, technical requirements and budget closely aligned.

Choosing who will build the project is equally important. We work with carefully selected contractors and craftspeople, looking for the right balance of experience, quality and value for the particular demands of each project.