Our Approach
Each project is unique, and we craft our response to every clients’ individual needs.
A building project is rarely just about bricks and drawings. It’s an investment of time, energy, and imagination - often once in a lifetime. Our role is to make that journey feel steady, transparent, and collaborative.
We aim to guide you through each stage of the journey, allowing you to be as involved as you want, and develop a shared language to allow you to understand what your project will feel like, and how that space might guide the way you live, work, or gather.
After an initial consultation, we follow a tried and tested process which has been developed in-house to help you embark, understand and deliver your project.
It’s based on the RIBA work stages, but made simpler, more human, and easier to navigate.
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We begin by asking questions - about how you live or work, what you value, and how you imagine using the space. For individual clients, this might include how you cook, sleep, or gather. For commercial or development briefs, we’ll explore broader goals: timelines, budgets, legacy, or salability.
In every case, we start by listening - and often by gently challenging assumptions. Sometimes, the most thoughtful solution is the simplest. A building isn’t always the answer.
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This is often the most energising part - where the possibilities unfold. Together, we establish a clear idea or organising principle for the project. Is it about light? Views? Flow?
We begin sketching layout, massing, and materiality - using references, images, sketches, and physical or digital models. This is the time to explore, test, and be bold.
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Once we’ve agreed on the direction, the project starts to take shape. Materials and finishes are refined. The mood and feel of the spaces become more tangible.
We communicate this through drawings, visuals, and material palettes - helping you see what feels right and rule out what doesn’t.
At the end of this stage, we’ll submit for planning if required, and can produce an initial cost plan in-house.
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With permissions in place, we develop the technical details. This includes specifications, construction drawings, joinery, finishes, and fittings - right down to the smallest screw.
This stage can generate a substantial body of documentation, but it brings clarity, precision, and confidence moving forward and it is important for future certainty and financial planning.
It’s also where we often prototype elements, or work with fabricators to test ideas.
We’ll also help you source and select the right contractor, review their costs and draw up the appropriate contract.
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Once everything is in place, the project moves ‘on site’.
We stay closely involved throughout - or, in some cases, we’ll build or manage the construction ourselves - helping manage the contract, reviewing progress, quality and troubleshooting issues that occur on the project.
All with the intention of keeping things aligned on quality, cost, and time.
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As the project completes, we can help bring it to life - with furnishing, styling, and those final touches that make a space feel settled.
We’ll also handle the more practical aspects: final payments, resolving snags, and (if needed) helping to navigate the occasional dispute.
Constraints lead to engaging spaces
We find joy in the challenges - in awkward sites, tight constraints, and spaces with stories. To us, limitations aren’t barriers but prompts for more thoughtful, engaging design.
We guide gently but attentively, help you visualise not just what a space will look like, but how it will feel - and how it might shape the way you live, work, or gather.
The answer isn’t always a building
Our work begins with a holistic view: understanding your goals, rethinking what already exists, or breathing life into overlooked structures. We design with care - balancing efficiency, creativity, and budget.
Part of our responsibility as spatial designers is to ensure that space is used efficiently, cleverly, and that a budget is allocated conscientiously.