Services

I’m a sole practitioner, and I work across only a few projects at a time, so if you hire me, it’ll always be me that you deal with and I will provide you with services bespoke to you.

I mostly take projects from start to finish – from design to planning to tender to build and completion – but if you’d like to hire me just for one stage of that – eg just to planning – that’s fine too.

I’m an architect, but there are lots of other things I can help you with too – please find a full list of my services below:

Pre-purchase architectural advice
3D drawings
Measured surveys
Planning Permission Applications
Permitted Development and Lawful Development Applications
Listed Building Consent Applications
Conservation Area Applications
New Build House Designs
House Refurbishment Designs
Side Extension Designs
Loft Extension Designs
Garden Designer
Kitchen Designer
Furniture Designer
Measured Surveys 3d and 2d
Building Control Applications
Principal Designer
Conservation Area Reports
Sustainable Design and Construction Statements
Technical Drawings
Tenders
Contract Administrator
Construction visits
3D drawings
Visualisations.
Sculptor
Public Art

How to Get Started

The full terms of my appointment can be found within RIBA’s Standard Agreement, which will be sent as part of the formal letter of appointment prior to commencement.

I work on a fixed fee basis – rather than simply taking a percentage of your overall budget – meaning that should you decide to splash out on a very expensive kitchen, rather than a cheaper one, my fee would not increase.

Apart from that, the only time extra fees will be required is if the brief changes, or redesigns are requested once we’ve signed off a stage. But that’s something that we’d discuss before any extra work was undertaken.

STAGES OF WORK (RIBA)

Embarking on changing your home can be a daunting process. Some people say it can be the most stressful thing you ever do! I have been doing this for over 25 years now, so I will help remove as much of the stress as possible.

To help tackle this big beast we break the project up into manageable stages. I use the stages recommended by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). At the first stage we tackle the bigger picture and then as each stage progresses we increase the detail.

Here is a list and explanation of each of these stages:

RIBA STAGE 0: STRATEGIC DEFINITION

Yes, there is a stage 0! Stage 0 is about determining the best means of achieving the client’s requirements. An open mind is required because there’ll be lots of different options at this stage for how best to create your dream home.

Stage 0 should be strategic in nature, defining the Business Case and Client Requirements. Depending on the circumstances, the stage can range from being a very quick review to being a long and protracted process involving many consultants. For Stage 0 to deliver the best outcome for the client, the crucial consideration for the client is what skills need to be brought to the client team. Different projects, each with a unique site and brief, bring different challenges and so require different skills. Developing the Business Case might require strategic thinking, management consulting expertise, whole life analysis, sustainability guidance, financial modelling or design thinking. Selecting the right team to deal with the strategic considerations is crucial. Once the outputs from the stage proceed to Stage 1, a building project has been set up and different skills will be needed.

At this stage you may not have even purchased your house. I regularly help clients to find a house that will work for them, and has the potential to be turned into their dream home.I am happy to advise clients on the pros and cons of a house or a site. Here is a quote from a client, whose house I helped to find:

“Peter Morris was invaluable in helping us find the perfect property to buy. He provided practical, expert advice on every aspect of the process—from choosing the right location and assessing the property’s orientation to identifying potential construction issues and navigating planning regulations. Peter also guided us through the financial side of things, helping us understand the true costs of the proposed development. His comprehensive support made the entire experience smoother and more informed and we are really happy with the house we bought. I highly recommend Peter for anyone looking to purchase a house.”

Kate Reed, (client)

RIBA STAGE 1: PREPARATION AND BRIEFING

I will ask you to write a brief for the project’s goals. It doesn’t need to be big, it can just be one or two pages of A4. The purpose of the brief it to set out the important goals you wish to achieve. This will help me produce my designs. We can also use it as a live document to record changes in the brief. It is a useful thing to write it down because we can refer back to it as we proceed, to check everything is being achieved.

Stage 1 is about developing the detail of the brief and making sure that everything needed for the design process is in place before Stage 2. This includes ensuring that the brief can be accommodated on the site. A measured survey will be carried out at this stage if it is required. We will have weekly meeting, ideally on the same time and day, so we can keep a good pace on the design. We will have weekly meetings, ideally on the same day and at the same time each week, so we can keep the design process moving at a good pace. It’s best if possible to meet on the site so we can all understand the design spatially. I will also use 3d drawings to help you understand designs. Some clients find it hard to understand the designs at this stage, so I utilize these methods to help you and me!

RIBA STAGE 2: CONCEPT DESIGN

Stage 2 is about getting the design concept right and making sure that the look and feel of the building is proceeding in line with the client’s vison, brief and budget. The key challenge of this stage is to make sure that the tasks that are undertaken are geared to meeting the stage objectives. Going into too much detail too early can pivot the design team’s effort away from setting the best strategy for the project; but if there is too little detail, Stage 3 becomes inefficient.

RIBA STAGE 3: SPATIAL COORDINATION

The purpose of Stage 3 is to spatially coordinate the design before the focus turns to preparing the detailed information required for manufacturing and constructing the building. The information at the end of this stage needs to be coordinated sufficiently to avoid all but the most minor of iterations at Stage 4 and to make sure that the planning application is based on the best possible information. The appropriate planning application will then be made for the whole design. In some instances the application may require a conservation area report, and/or a Sustainable Design and Construction Statement – it will depend on where your house is, and how much work you’re planning to do.

RIBA STAGE 4: TECHNICAL DESIGN

Stage 4 is about developing the information required to construct the building and for Building Regulations Approval. This requires information from the design team and the specialist subcontractors employed by the contractor, regardless of which procurement route is used. After consulting with the Structural Engineer, I will work with you to compile a full package of detailed drawings and a schedule of works suitable for the Building Regulations application and tender. We’ll then send out the tender documents to builders and ask them to provide fixed prices for the work.

Please note that we won’t have a detailed breakdown of costs for the project until the end of the RIBA Stage 4 tender process, but I always suggest to my clients that the best thing is to include everything that you might potentially want, and then once we have individual prices for each element of the build, we can always strip out anything you feel isn’t necessary – or we can do the work in phases, if the numbers come out too high.

STAGE 5: MANUFACTURING AND CONSTRUCTION

Once the build is underway, I will provide the day-to-day flow of information to and from the site, and make sure everything is being constructed as per the drawings. I will deal with any construction issues that arise and keep you informed of everything, I’ll deal with the contract administration and will hold progress meetings when required.

STAGE 6: HANDOVER

Stage 6 starts with the building being handed over to the client, with after-care initiated and the Building Contract concluded.

After the building has been handed over, the construction team rectify any residual defects as promptly as possible. Usually 6 -12 months after Practical Completion, the Final Certificate will be issued, which concludes the contractual involvement of the design and construction teams. Although Stage 6 commences after the building has been handed over, several tasks may need to commence during Stage 5 to ensure that the handover of the building is as efficient and effective as possible, such as training the users on how to use the Building Systems.

STAGE 7: USE

On the majority of projects, the design team and construction team will have no Stage 7 duties to undertake. However, both teams will be interested in receiving ongoing feedback, to help them understand how they might improve the performance of future buildings.

Post Occupancy Evaluation services are commissioned to determine how the building is performing in use to help fine tune the building and inform future projects.