Architectural Approach
The success of every architectural project rests on good communication and a collaborative approach. Every project begins with getting to know the clients and stakeholders, to understand their specific circumstances, needs, hopes and aspirations. The dialogue continues through the use of sketches and other drawing formats to agree more comprehensive design proposals and make statutory consent applications. As projects move to the more advanced tendering and construction phases, the dialogue expands to include specialists and contractors.
Every enquiry we receive carries the exciting prospect of a new relationship and we love meeting clients for the first time. An initial consultation begins a dialogue, which we nurture throughout and beyond the project. We meet our clients regularly, at their homes or in one of our studios, and of course stay in touch via email and over the phone.
Dialogue can take many forms. In addition to verbal and written communication, we often find it helpful to exchange reference images with clients to understand their tastes. Of course, we also use drawings. We love the intimacy of sketching as a quick and effective means of communication. Some clients come to us with their own drawings, which can be an effective way to convey their initial thoughts. Once a measured survey is completed, we can test these using scaled drawings, moving from hand-drawn concept sketches to those prepared in AutoCad.
The next iteration of our drawing process is often to produce a virtual 3D model of the design in SketchUp. Many of our clients enjoy popping into one of our studios for an interactive session, exploring their building on our large display screen and seeing how the light moves throughout the day.
Planning Applications are often judged on the basis of design quality, and we have found that good quality drawings are the most effective way to demonstrate this. We use combination of software, including Photoshop, to keep presentation standards high, leading to a high success rate on even the most ambitious projects.
The standard of technical drawings is also kept high through dialogue with contractors on the information they find most helpful.