Architecture

Croft Architecture can provide you with all of the architectural services that you require, for any stage of your construction project. We will typically advise on consultants, co-ordinate and lead your project team through our design processes to manage time and budget constraints while incorporating innovative and imaginative design solutions to bring added value to your project and maximise your investment.

Preparation

Consult us at the earliest stage so that we can get to know you, what you want from your project, your goals and aspirations and how you will get the most enjoyment of space.

Through our briefing process, we will establish a clear brief and a realistic budget. This means that we can focus our attention on what is important to you, and to ensure that we quickly arrive at an architectural design that not only fulfills your needs, but will be a delight to experience, affordable and add real value.

Developing the design

We will work with you in developing your designs from your personal brief. We will bring together all of your requirements and imaginatively synthesize them in a way that produces elegant, expressive and beautiful designs.

Your designs will then be developed to refine and add more detail and finalise the general external appearance of the designs.

The Approvals Process

Not all projects require approvals, and some require a number of applications and approvals not mentioned here. By advising you on what the statutory requirements are at the outset, we save you time and money.

The two major approvals required in many projects are Planning Approval and Building Control Approval.

Planning Applications

Your local planning authority consider all of these issues and take advice from statutory consultees, as well as inviting comments from the neighbouring property owners so that they can consider how well a design responds to its relevant context.

Our familiarity with the planning process enables us to anticipate and advise you of the issues that will be considered. We will therefore save you time and money by resolving the planning issues as part of the design development process.

Building Control Applications

Building control applications are considered by the local authority or privately by registered ‘approved inspectors’. They will consider how well the proposal functions technically as a solution and they are not concerned about the appearance of the proposals.

Typically we justify to the Building Control Officer through technical proposals that:

• the design proposes a safe and secure building for the occupants,
• the design is accessible for persons of a wide range of physical or mental disabilities,
• the design minimises the use of energy and other resources,
• the design provides a durable and healthy environment for occupants.

We pride ourselves on providing the best quality solutions for a sustainable, durable, healthy and contextual design proposal in accordance with our core values to provide you with a level of service that gives excellent value for money.

Construction Phase

Following the completion of the design phases, our services for the construction phase ensure that your risk is managed and minimised, and that the project is administered in a professional and timely manner which gives you the greatest peace of mind.

Our systematic construction phase services will:

• guide you through the construction phase of the project,
• assist your selection of suitable building contractors,
• obtain prices from contractors on an equal pricing basis,
• set out the terms for the building contractor’s appointment,
• monitor progress and standards of construction on site,
• inspect site safety standards and measures,
• co-ordinate other professionals and consultants to oversee the project to a successful completion.

From experience we know that our continued involvement through the construction phase of a project provides our clients with more control, expert advice for when the unexpected occurs, and a greater likelihood of the project meeting the client’s budget and timescale constraints and other measures of success.

“At Croft Architecture we ensure that the quality designs that we produce are realised through quality in construction.”