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Architectural Design

Architectural Design

What we do

Headed up by RIBA III and ARB accredited architect Saeadeh Birjandi, our architectural team create exceptional living spaces, beautifully designed & meticulously planned to maximise contemporary living requirements. We tailor each individual scheme to suit your style and budget while emphasising your own personality, taste and design flair.

We excel at the design of exemplary homes, with each project giving us a chance to create something original and spectacular. While this inevitably involves careful and complex coordination, we have designed a straightforward and customer-friendly process. We use a RIBA-based staged approach, set out with key, tangible milestones, allowing our clients to fully engage in and enjoy the design process, without having to worry about appointing and individually managing a host of independent consultants, or future ambiguous fees.

Our design team bring a passionate and sensitive approach to all our projects. We work collaboratively with our clients to help develop and uncover the full potential of their brief, finding the unique opportunities that exist within it. We are passionate about the implementation of innovative design ideas and transforming our client’s homes, with each of our projects carefully and innovatively crafted to find the perfect solution to an individual brief, property and budget.

Kingswood Road – View

Our in-house construction service allows us to design with the benefit of real-time “behind-the-scenes” analysis of live construction projects, ensuring we are designing while taking the crucial “buildability” of our schemes properly into account. Many architects can draw up a dream design, but we ensure our designs are not only inspirational but also practical and economically viable.

Our methodology is to work with our clients to make all critical decisions and choices in advance of the build going live. We typically work to a 5% contingency on projects where we have developed a fully detailed and itemised specification.

The Process

RIBA 1 – DESIGN BRIEF & SURVEY
1
Feasibility

The initial step is for us to fully understand exactly what you want to achieve. We carefully listen to your requirements so that we can design a solution that fits within your budget. After an initial site visit, we prepare a detailed design fee proposal & initial consultation cost estimate. Upon instruction we conduct a full measured survey of the property.

RIBA Stage 0 & 1

2 WEEKS
RIBA 2 – CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
2
Design

This conceptual stage is a very enjoyable and collaborative process where we work with you to refine the optimum layout for your needs. We offer a full architectural CAD drawing service supplemented by 3D visuals, from basic sketch up to detailed CGIs, to help you fully visualise the proposed scheme.

RIBA Stage 2

4–6 weeks
RIBA 3 – PLANNING & DEVELOPED DESIGN
3
Design
Once the concept design is signed off, we submit the required planning or permitted development applications & manage the planning process during the statutory ten-week process. We pride ourselves on maintaining over a 97% success rate for planning applications & have successfully designed and submitted hundreds of complex planning schemes for properties of every shape, scale and hue.

As the developed design stage commences we put the team of consultants together to enable the project to be considered and coordinated efficiently. A collaborative approach is a key as­pect at this stage. We take on the responsibility of coordinating and incorporating all consultant drawings and information packages.

RIBA Stage 3

10 WEEKS
RIBA 4 – TECHNICAL DESIGN
4
Design
Design co-ordination is an essential part of pre-construction. We prepare a detailed tech­nical drawing package for construction & build­ing control approval, integrating the structural engineer’s drawings and any other third-party consultant information. Our methodology is to work with our clients to make all critical de­cisions in advance of the build, saving you time and money during construction.

When the construction pack is complete we is­sue the tender set for finalised costing.

RIBA Stage 4

6–8 weeks
Design Stage 2 – Party Wall Awards
5
Design

In most cases structural works will involve a party wall agreement. We will recommend a surveyor who will issue the relevant notices as early in the process as required. As this can be a long lead item we generally recommend starting this process as early as possible in the design phase.

10–12 Weeks (concurrently)
Design Stage 2 – Interior Design
6
Design

When you are spending significant sums on a project the finishes are crucial. We offer a full or hourly rate interior design service that seamlessly integrates with our architectural design process, to help you specify finishes, sanitaryware, colour schemes, fixtures & fittings as required.

Click here to learn more.

8–12 weeks (concurrently)
Arlington Gardens – View

Services & Fees

Our design fees are extremely competitive for the service we provide. We do not believe in hidden fees or complicated, ambiguous percentage-based fee models. We have three set stages up to tenderwhich are based on clear deliverables and the RIBA plan of work. Meaning our clients know the full extent of our fees from the outset, but are only asked to commit on a stage by stage basis. 

 

Where Zulufish are engaged to undertake the build, all subsequent project management fees are covered within the build price, making the design & build route a very cost-effective choice against a traditional Architect / Contractor model.

To learn more about the Design & Build service click here.

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