Communication is key in construction and design.
You want to extend or build - Think about and give time to design, it pays off in the long run!
Communication is key at all stages but none more so than during the start of the design process, often referred to by an Architect as the ‘Design Brief’. This will form a point of reference not only for the designer, but for all people involved in the project, but it is best adapted during the early stages of the design phases rather than the latter, thus incurring time and costs. Therefore, it is a good idea to spend some time during the design procedure in understanding the proposals and to think about and decide what would be best for you. Getting things right prior to the planning application can help with the focus on what you want rather than being swayed by what the builder interprerts, wants or finds easier to construct. The more information a you can give in the early stages of design, the more thought will go into solving problems and provide a successful the design with a more clear and structured design development and build process.
Describe your current property, what do you like and dislike about it?
What is missing, and what do you want to change.
What kind of spaces do you need?
How much time do you spend in the different areas of your home (indoors and outdoors)?
Do you have any particular preferences to the relationship between the rooms?
Would you be happy to reconsider the internal layout? Number of floors?
What type of storage do you require? Specific hobbies that require lots of storage space? Large wardrobe space?
What type of entertainment systems do you require? Music, TV, projectors, speakers throughout the house?
Are there any particular areas that are to be more private that others?
Would you like any room relationships or orientations e.g. room to room, a south facing sunroom.
Do you have any specific accessibility requirements, for example is anyone in your family disabled or do you have any regular visitors that would have special needs? (Remember, registered disabled adaptations are exempt from planning and building control fee’s)
How many people will be living/working in the property?
Any pets that will need to be accommodated?
Is there anything about the site that you particularly like or dislike?
Are there any views within the site that are particularly important to you?
Do you have any specific ideas or plans for the outside spaces that you would like us to consider?
How much time and energy would you be willing to invest to maintain your home?
Do you have any ideas about design and/or materials?
Do you have any images that show a style you like? contemporary, traditional, minimal etc.
Are there any particular design features that want to keep or replicate?
Do you have any specific materials or surfaces in mind that you would like to included in the project?
Do you have any specific considerations toward sustainability and energy efficiency, any preferences i.e. solar panels, Ground or air source heat pumps etc.
Do you have specific time requirements for the project to be complete?
Will the drawings need to be understandable by non experts?
Do you have a budget you are working to? What is it?
Local authority regulations, planning requirements and conservation restrictions can have restrictions on design and buildings, as can the history of the site or building. A local designer will know the requirements for your area but research will need to be carried out.
Also services like Water, Gas, electricity etc. on and around the site will need to be established and could restrict development.
Hope this helps, call me for an informal chat about your ideas.
