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Recent changes to the Building Regulations and how they might affect your extension

Roles and requirements under the Building Safety Act (BSA) 2022 I am sure that you are all aware of the horrific scenes at Grenfell Tower and discussions about building safety that were prompted by the aftermath. The main result of this investigation has been a new Act of Parliament, called the Building Safety Act, which came into force on 1 st  October. This has sought to ensure the process that we use to create and construct buildings is properly managed, monitored and complies with Regulations in a clearer way.   In practice, if all those involved in the building process are competent and communicate properly, this may not make any difference to the thinking, building and process that we currently undertake. However, it will require us to be able to demonstrate that this is happening. It applies to every size of building project that falls within the Building Regulations approval requirements, from skyscrapers to garage conversions.   The Act has defined some roles and responsibilit
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How much will my building project cost?

  Why your architect can't give you a simple answer "How much will it cost?" It's literally the million dollar question - though my clients are usually hoping for an answer that doesn't run to seven figures in sterling or dollars. Architects are not costing professionals, though they'll have an idea of typical costs in your area, based on experience. They'll have asked broad questions about your budget before getting to work on designs. But it's difficult to establish costs accurately at the outset of a project, in a variable market with many factors that can affect cost considerations. If you want to get an accurate costing for a project, you could employ a quantity surveyor - a building cost specialist. Some quantity surveyors will give you a broad-brush estimate for the build cost that you can use as a benchmark for comparison with tenders. If you want very accurate prices, they can also do a more detailed assessment, but this can cost a lot. Your a
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It’s the most wonderful time of the year… for domestic extensions

  Five tips to make your space go further over Christmas   I’m really enjoying the 2021 House of the Year Award nominations on Channel 4 this month. The RIBA (the architecture industry’s professional body) will announce the winner on December 8th. I love the fact that this year, so many of the nominated houses are renovations and extensions rather than new builds – and I really hope that one of them wins. To me, this is far more reflective of UK householders’ experience of architect-designed spaces.    Most of my work is in domestic refurbishment and extension: there’s a massive demand for these services because it’s often far better value to extend and improve your existing home than to incur the many costs of selling and buying. If you like where you live, it makes sense to improve your current house rather than buying another one down the street.   I’m also bracing myself for one of my busiest times of the year for enquiries – January! It’s traditionally a time for new starts and re
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Sustainable design is not just for new builds

You can make your renovation or extension greener without breaking the bank   Environmental efficiency matters more and more to my clients - it's an increasingly important factor of design. As energy costs rise, the cost of running leaky, cold and uninsulated buildings becomes untenable financially. We are culturally becoming more aware of the need to protect our planet for future generations. We need to consider also the energy used in creating the materials used in our buildings as well as the energy used to heat them. The media spotlight is on architects and constructors working on new buildings. The government is currently consulting on a significant increase to the standards required for the environmental impact of new buildings. The levels required of new housebuilders are critical to meeting the proposed targets.     However, existing buildings make up a much bigger proportion of the impact on energy use. As an architect who works more often on improving and renovating exist
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Enduring architecture

Photo by Anne: Havre des Pas, Jersey, 29th August 2019 Standing the test of time by the sea One of the pleasures of my job is that when a project is completed, I know that the building I see before me could be there for decades or longer. Some of the buildings that I work on have been around for centuries. But what makes a building withstand the tests of time? On holiday over the summer, I was inspired by a building originally constructed in 1895. It is a lido, built as a fashionable addition to a seaside resort in the late Victorian era, yet it feels modern and relevant to today’s holidaymakers and local residents alike.  I asked myself what characteristics contribute to its enduring effectiveness: 1. Flexibility and function The lido’s function is very specific: it forms a skeleton for activities that don’t differ so much today from over a century ago. Watching the sea, changing for swimming, having a drink, sitting around to observe the swimmers. The main bod
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Doing it yourself – my own experience at the sharp end

8 things I learned from renovating and extending my own home It’s nearly five years now since the dust settled on a complete refurbishment and extension on my own house. But I still recall the experience regularly when I’m talking to clients about the process and complexities of extending a home. To accommodate the needs of my growing family (their physical size rather than an increase in numbers!) our choice was to move or to extend. This wasn’t the first extension I had made to my home, having built on an office for my business several years before.  But it would have a far greater impact: to allow a larger bedroom for my son, we had to rework a large part of the house and move the stairs to gain access to a new first floor space over the garage. In addition, we needed to be able to stay living in the house while the work was done, and my office had to be functional at all times to keep the money coming in to pay for it! My design didn’t create a huge area of extra space, b
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The sheer pleasure of good design

From the Royal Festival Hall to Windermere... Recently I visited two iconic buildings for non-work-related reasons. What a pleasure it was to be reminded of the difference that good design makes, as an ordinary user of these spaces. Firstly, I attended a concert at the Royal Festival Hall. This is a building nearing its 70th birthday, yet it felt as fresh, new and successful for its current audience as it must have done when it was first built. This struck me because of the easy flow around the building, the light and airy spaces, and simple access between them. It gave the impression of a calm and unhurried space, an oasis in the hustle and bustle of one of the busiest cities in the world. When I took my seat in the auditorium, the thought and consideration in the seating layout, materials and viewpoint was obvious. The natural wood of the interior seemed supremely fresh and contemporary. The sound was clear and immersive. I particularly admired the attention to small
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