Architecture with a capital A

Architects Fees, Construction Costs and Feedback

2012-01-30T23:25:00.004Z

The single most popular page on my website describes the Architects Fees I charge. Clients regularly tell me that it is refreshing to see an Architect's Fees in advance. I also publish a guide to the usual costs and time-scales for House Extensions and New-Build Houses.

I have also blogged in the past about the advantages for Architects in publishing fees and information about the cost of construction, particularly when dealing with clients who have never hired an Architect or built anything before. That blog is the most popular one out of the 45 posts I have written to date. It seems everyone wants to know about Architects fees.

Given the popularity of the information I post on the web, I have decided to ask for some information in return. I have created a survey regarding the fees, costs and timescales I publish on my website. There will be a monthly prize of a £20 John Lewis voucher, open to any entrant from the UK.

In my view, the biggest problem any business faces is working out what to charge: if the fees are too low, you run out of money. If the fee are too high, you run out of customers!

I am keen to hear your views.

Borrowing To Build A House? - Read This First !

2012-01-25T21:41:00.003Z

Any homeowner will be familiar with the process of buying a home and most people have a general understanding of mortgages. Building a new house is a different kettle of piranhas however. It is a difficult and prohibitively expensive process, therefore very few people actually build their own home. Just think to yourself; how many people do you know who bought a house? And how many do you know who built one?

Because it is so rare, most people are unaware of what is involved. While I am just an Architect and would always advise someone to seek expert opinion from a financial advisor or a lawyer, there are several issues I have seen my clients confront.

Maximum Budget:

It has been my experience that, regardless of how wealthy the borrower is, the bank will set the upper limit on how much money may be spent on construction of a new house. they do this using a simple calculation, for example;

Cost of site = £100,000

Likely sale value of finished house = £500,000

Maximum construction budget (sale value - site cost) = £400,000

Understand this isn't the amount of money the bank will lend, it's the overall amount of money they will allow to be spent. In total. Regardless of the personal wealth or assets of the client.

This ensures that if the bank has to repossess the house during construction, they will make back the money required to finish construction when they sell your home.

So if you want to build a multi million pound home, these are your choices; Either buy a site in a very desirable location and borrow to build or pay for the house entirely in cash without borrowing a penny.

Loan to Value:

Even before the recession, at the height of the property bubble, lenders did not throw money at developers and private clients. 75% loans were the norm then and now. The bank will also not lend money to purchase the site, that must be paid for in cash. Neither will the bank lend money to pay professional fees; lawyers, stamp duty, planning application and Architects Fees must all be paid in cash.

The real nightmare scenario happens if property values fall during construction of the house. The bank will re-examine the loan to value ratio, which will have changed; if the value has dropped, so must the amount of loan. But the builder still needs to be paid and the cost of materials and labour wont fall overnight. This means the client must find the money themselves, in order to finish the house.

CML:

The Council of Mortgage Lenders is the industry body that represents all lenders in the UK. They take a particular interest in one-off or self build houses. The story goes that in the downturn of the early 1990's many lenders repossessed homes that turned out to be vastly different, and inferior, to what they thought had been built with their money. When these lenders came to sell the repossessed homes, they lost a lot of money on them. It seems that back then, a self builder or wealthy client could self certify their mortgage application for a one-off house. With hindsight, this was an invitation to fraud.

To prevent this from happening again, the CML have introduced the Professional Consultant Certificate, which is designed to give independent oversight of the project. This is done at the borrowers expense, for the banks benefit.

The certificate can be signed by a Chartered Surveyor or an Architect. The certifier must have the correct Professional Indemnity Insurance and must agree to keep that insurance for a minimum six years into the future. The certificate is intended to act as a guarantee to the lender that the house is the same as on the approved plans, is built in the correct location and constructed to acceptable standards. It is not a replacement for the NHBC or similar schemes.

The lender will require an insurance backed warranty before handing over any money for the build. In practice this will be done in stages, following an inspection by the certifier.

I offer CML certification as a service to my clients, I usually charge around 1% the sale value of the home. This is to cover my increased insurance premiums into the future as well as my time in carrying out inspections.

If you are have spent years watching Grand Designs and dreaming of building your own place, I am sorry for bursting your bubble. On the other hand, if you think you can deal with all of these issues, get in touch.

The Real Lost Generation

2012-01-15T18:26:00.000Z

Since the start of the Great Recession there has been much discussion about the lack of opportunities for younger Architects, particularly graduates. The architectural media have taken to calling this group the lost generation, because they are leaving the profession to earn a living elsewhere and, once gone, will find it very hard to return.

I have real sympathy with this group, particularly when I get sent CV's that almost beg for a chance to work. It was nothing more than good economic luck that I was able to establish my own career in good times and had no difficulty finding a job. This isn't the first time, nor will it be the last, that Architecture has lost a generation of graduates. This also happened in the early 1990's and is probably a symptom of every economic downturn.

There is a another, hidden, lost generation within the Architectural profession however, who's presence is seldom discussed and who's impact isn't fully understood. Unlike recession graduates, this generation is unique; having lived through a huge change of culture in the profession, without actually having participated in that change. Let's call them the Anti-CAD generation.

CAD, short for Computer Aided Design, is the generic name for any software programme that allows drawing to be done on a computer. CAD was introduced in the 1980's and coincided with the digital revolution, moving every paper based activity into the digital realm. This revolution has been so far reaching that most Architecture practices today are indistinguishable from any generic office, full of PC's. The drawing board is practically extinct in the todays profession.

The Anti-CAD generation will have entered the profession sometime before the digital revolution, making it's members at least fifty years old today. The youngest members of this generation would have been in their late-thirties when CAD was adopted as the industry standard. Most were at a stage where they were senior enough not to need to adapt, as there would have been younger Architects and technicians to do the drawings for them. This generation went on to found or take over the running of well known firms. They are today's generation of partners, directors and senior lecturers at universities. They are the leaders of the profession.

In the years before I started my own Architecture Practice, I worked for five different firms. They were all very different from each other but they had one thing in common, not one of my former employers could use CAD and some couldn't use computers at all. Not even email! One director used to compose all his letters in a single word document, each for different jobs or clients, one after the other on one file, creating chaos as he went. This may be my own individual experience but I know it's not unusual.

So how important is the method used to produce a drawing? does it matter whether an Architect is computer literate? Lets make clear that I am not saying every members of the profession over the age of fifty is a techno-phobic Luddite. I know many older Architects who have embraced digital media and who regularly teach me things, they don't qualify for membership of the Anti-CAD Generation. I'm also not trying to make a value judgment between digital drawing and hand drawing, for the record, I enjoy hand drawing. I always sketch out designs before drafting them using CAD (I use Q-CAD Professional as my drafting software) I also believe that it is best to learn to draft using a traditional drawing board first, later transferring the skills to a computer.

What I am trying to do is to identify an unprecedented situation in my profession, where a clash of culture has emerged because of a lack of shared experience on either side of the generational divide.

The real importance of the Anti-CAD generation is that they presided over this change of culture, from hand drawing to computer drafting, without participating in that change. For the first time, those who ran the business could not do the business. For centuries, the partners or directors of a firm could, if necessary, use a drawing board as well as their staff. This culture of continuity, where the master had greater skill than the apprentice, was challenged because the apprentice had acquired an entirely new set of skills the master did not have. The opportunities for inter-generational knowledge transfer were reduced as a result.

This lack of shared experience has been corrosive to mutual respect. Younger Architects can be very dismissive of older colleagues who don't interact with the digital world, this is a mistake and a lost opportunity to learn from more experienced professionals. Many older Architects I know need the skills younger members of the profession provide but at the same time appear to resent the situation. One elderly Architect I knew described it as feeling impotent. I cant imagine the chances of promotion being that great if the boss resents your skills to such an extent.

This is the real Lost Generation, a period from roughly 1990 to 2020, by which time the majority of the Anti-CAD Generation will have retired. I hope the next generation to lead the profession will have far more in common with those younger than them.

Demographics: Who Employs an Architect?

2012-01-11T21:01:00.001Z

Just out of curiosity, and for want of something interesting to do, I decided to work out the demographic break down of my clients over the last three years.

0f a total number of 105 projects, I discounted all commercial jobs and only counted repeat clients once. This left me with 80 domestic clients, which I broke into three groups; Single Men, Single Women and Couples – so far, so good.

It gets more complicated when thinking about age, as its not something I ask my clients. Also, how do you describe the age of a couple if there is a significant age gap between the partners? In short I had to guess at an approximation for age.

I realise all this isn’t accurate, but that misses the point.

The main group that has employed my services over the past three years are couples, accounting for almost three quarters of all my domestic clients. Of that group, 38% were in the 30 – 40 age range. These clients typically have young, and growing, families. They are the classic Improve Not Move client.

And what about the singletons? A much more even spread, with the majority being over 40.

So, if you ever wondered what kind of clients employ an Architect in Edinburgh, now you know.

3D Printing

2011-11-08T16:19:00.000Z

When I was an architecture student I used to make models all the time. Every project was built up in card, plastic and balsa wood, it is a great way of explaining a design. By the time I graduated I was really good at making models. Then I started working in the profession and haven't made a model since. The amount of time required to make a complex model is seldom justified by the fee. Before starting my own Architects Practice, I worked at three different practices in Edinburgh and any models I saw there were almost always of multi million pound developments and were outsourced, rather than made in house. Models of small, domestic projects are as rare as hens teeth but this might be about to change thanks to the availability of affordable 3D printers.

I have know about 3D printers since I was a student, they were complex and very expensive and mostly used to rapid prototype industrial designs; pumps, valves and the like. The initial cost of the printer could only be justified if the end product was mass produced. This is the opposite of the Architctural process, where each product is a unique prototype.

I heard about it again in a February 2011 edition of TheEconomist, it seems the boffins have been busy and come up with a variety of 3D printers for under £2000, putting them within reach of ordinary people and small businesses. The Economist believe this may herald a new industrial revolution, with designers making new and improved products available online for you to download and print at home. The idea of a grassroots movement that can change our fundamental assumptions must have been one of the biggest stories of 2011, with the Arab spring and the Occupy movement, but it is also generating big interest in the design community.

My own interest stems from the apparent ability of 3D printing to allow me to quickly and cheaply make models of modest domestic projects. I have researched the market and can see a number of viable options;

Maker bot

UP 3d

Bits from Bytes

This is a video of the MakerBot printing out a model of a Gothic Cathedral.

Despite being more expensive, UP would be my personal choice because it has the ability to print in higher resolution. Check out this video of one printing a ball-bearing race, for example.

As well as the immediate use in my business, this would allow me to pursue product design as a sideline. Given that it takes months and usually years to build even a modest project, having the ability to rapid prototype at home could lead to all sorts of new opportunities.

So if anyone feels like buying me a present, you know what to do.

The Great VAT Divide

2011-09-29T22:08:00.011+01:00

Since starting my own Architecture practice three years ago, I have worked almost exclusively on new-build houses, extensions and conversions for domestic clients. While each project is unique, there is one important criteria that divides all construction projects into two groups; those who pay VAT and those who don't.

Given that VAT is currently 20%, this could mean the difference, for some clients, between deciding to build or not. This would be bad enough if all construction projects were treated equally, but they are not.

If you build a new house, the builder can claim back all the VAT when the project is complete.

If your house is listed by Historic Scotland (or English Heritage) any new work is zero VAT rated.

However, if you own a normal house (as most people do) and you want to build an extension to it, then get ready to pay an extra 20% to the taxman for the privilege.

Given that building anything is expensive, most people will do it only once, therefore most people are unaware of the VAT rules that apply. When I explain the rules to my clients, some of them are outraged at what they see as an unfair tax that favours a wealthy minority at the expense of the majority of homeowners. I tend to agree and if more people were aware of the discrepancies, I suspect the rules would be changed.

I don't charge VAT on my own Architects Fees and I am not qualified to give advice on tax matters. I always encourage my clients to take expert advice from an accountant, or phone the HMRC helpline, if they are in doubt. I do think the system could be made simpler and fairer by having one universal VAT rate for all domestic construction.

The depth of confusion this causes is best illustrated in listed buildings, something I blogged about back in 2009, in summary, zero VAT only applies;

1.If the building is being used for residential purposes and not commercial.

2.Only work which is deemed an improvement or upgrade may be zero rated, repairs are not included in the work.

3. Only work which is specified in the Listed Building Consent is included in the scheme, each item of work described will be zero VAT rated when the application is approved.

Between this and the VAT rebate for new-build houses, it really does seem that the tax code is not the result of joined up thinking. At present the VAT rules penalise ordinary homeowners who want to accommodate their growing families. It also works against preserving our historic buildings, making it more tax efficient to completely rearrange a listed building than to repair it. This system is unequal in its application and I would prefer to to see VAT reduced to zero for all domestic work.

In the current economic climate, cutting any tax is difficult but I suspect there may be several benefits to placing house extensions on the same VAT rate as new-build houses and alterations to listed buildings.

Firstly, extensions usually cost less than building a new house and are easier to fund because banks can use the existing house as collateral. This makes house extensions one of the most common form of domestic building work and a bedrock of the UK construction industry. Most builders I know, who were building multi million pound developments a few years ago, are now building extensions worth £30k - £70k. This 'bread and butter' work is currently keeping many builders in business. Taxing this work places skilled jobs at risk, it also encourages unscrupulous builders who work for cash in hand. This is a double blow to skilled, well organised building companies; discouraging homeowners to build extensions and encouraging cowboy builders who give the entire construction industry a bad reputation.

Secondly, the social impact of house extensions are generally positive. It allows families to remain within communities where they are already established. Homeowners who extend add value to the existing housing stock and take pressure off the housing market. While most commentators agree the UK needs more new homes, it is cheaper and quicker to extend existing homes. This won't solve the housing crisis but it will reduce the need for larger, new houses.

Finally, the moral argument; those who can afford to build a new house or to own an historic, listed building tend to be wealthier than the ordinary homeowner. The current VAT rules favour the wealthy at the expense of the majority. There should be one rule for all.

Let There Be Light

2011-09-18T11:23:00.211+01:00

Back in early 2010, I was approached by a client who owned a sub-basement in Edinburgh's New Town. For those of you who aren't familiar, a sub-basement is one level under the regular basement! The floor level of the property was five meters below the street but because much of the New Town is built on a slope, the ground is higher on one side and lower on the other, so the rear of the property opened directly onto a communal garden.

The property was large, over 80 square meters and had several rooms, including a kitchen, utility, bathroom, living room and two large box-rooms. However, the Building Standards require a habitable room to have windows which provides both daylight and ventilation. The standards set a minimum size for these two requirements as a ratio of the rooms size, the bigger the room, the bigger the window.

If you are curious, the ratios are 1/15th for daylight and 1/30th for ventilation. So a room of 15 square meters (a reasonable double-bed room) must have a window with at least one square meter of glazing and at least half a square meter of that window must be openable to allow ventilation. This only applies to what the Building Standards call 'Apartments', "a room in a dwelling not used solely as a kitchen, store or utility room"

Under the regulations, the client's flat had only one Apartment, its living room, which had a patio door opening onto the communal garden at the rear of the property. The two large box-rooms on the street size of the flat had only one tiny window each, with about about as much glass as a microwave door and neither was openable to allow ventilation. Here were two potential bedrooms but, legally, they couldn't be used as such.

The client commissioned me to resolve this and, following a Feasibility Study, we decided to excavate two external alcoves outside the existing tiny windows. We could then install openable glazing of the correct size into each alcove and the box-rooms could be classified as bedrooms.

You can see from the cross section below, that this excavation was not straight forward. The proposed external alcove is highlighted in yellow.

For starters, the title deeds describe my clients land extending as far as the street but the surface of the ground was owned by the upstairs neighbour. We were able to secure the neighbours consent for the work, without which it might have been possible to get all the necessary approvals but we could never have built the alcoves without access over their property.

Secondly, there were structural concerns, to avoid accidentally demolishing five stories of 200 year old, Grade A Listed, World Heritage site, we decided not to widen the existing window openings. Known as cutting down a window, this is a trick of the trade that saves money, as well as structural gymnastics, by keeping the existing window lintel in place. The next problem was ensuring the new alcove didn't collapse under the weight of the surrounding ground. Finally, where would the rainwater go? We had to connect the alcove to the drainage system, otherwise it would flood!

The construction drawing below shows the level of detail required to make all of this possible.

Before any of this could be built however, there was the small matter of successfully applying for Planning and Listed Building consent.

During this process, details of the type of new sandstone were agreed. Because the original quarry from which the New Town was built has long since closed, a close substitute had to be found. Eventually it was agreed to use Peakmoor sandstone, from Derbyshire. We also had to get samples of the type of metal work we intended to specify and have this approved as well.

Curiously, there is no specific regulation for the type of metal grill that should be specified in this situation. I imagine walking over this in stilettos would be challenging but we consulted with the neighbour and got her approval before installing it.

When Planning and Listed building consent had been granted, we prepared and lodged a Building Warrant application. We worked with McColl Associates, Structural Engineer, who have experience in this type of project, to design the technical details.

The client was keen to have the project built by a competent building contractor but also wanted the construction cost not to exceed the anticipated increase in the value of the property. This is an almost impossible request to consider and it was only because the site was in such a prestigious location that it was possible to do so. Had property prices been lower, then the cost of construction would almost certainly been greater than the increase in value.

I organised a competitive tender process, asking five contractors to participate, with the outcome being judged on a mixture of references and price. Eventually S. Ewing and Sons won the contract.

Work took three months to complete and was only delayed for one week, due to the discovery of a larger than expected manhole direly next to one of the alcoves.

The alcoves were dug one at a time and safe access was provided to the upstairs neighbour at all times. All the digging was done by hand, as there wasn't enough room for machinery. The stone blocks of the external wall were much larger below ground level than was anticipated and required serious effort by the contractor to cut down.

During construction we discovered the drainage ran in the opposite direction than was originally thought but a solution as found to allow the alcoves to drain rainwater efficiently.

This project was also one of the first in Edinburgh to benefit from the new guidelines on double glazing in historic Listed Buildings. We were allowed to install Slim-Line double glazed, timber frame windows, where the glazing is only 6mm apart and resembles traditional single glazing.

This project, although modest, was one of the most technically challenging I have yet taken on and the result is good. The project was delivered within the time-scale and budget envisaged and the client is delighted. If anything is shows the value of consulting with an Architect before considering such a project.

Will There Be An Alternative Architectural Practice ?

2011-08-24T22:04:00.009+01:00

I read a recent article in The Economist about how the Great Recession is creating an opportunity for alternative law firms who have interesting business models.

It seems the downturn hasn’t reduced the need for legal advice, just the willingness to pay high fees for it. One firm highlighted in the article, Clearspire, allows individual sole-practicing lawyers to collaborate on complex projects using a technology platform that “mimics a virtual office”.

Clearspire provides the platform and finds the clients, the individual lawyers offer them fixed price estimates for each item of work required. The clever bit is that if the sole-practicing lawyer finishes the job ahead of schedule, the saving is split three ways; between Clearspire, the Client and the Lawyer. So everyone wins.

Clearspire make a clear case in their marketing that a very large proportion of the fees charged by traditional law firms cover non legal activities, specifically office overheads and partner's profits. The Economist article quoted one private-equity firm as having paid a quarter the going rate by using Clearspire instead of a traditional law firm.

Of course its one thing to market a business solely on costs, I suspect the strength of the Clearspire model lies in the centralising ability of one firm to advertise the skills of many sole-practitioners and providing them with the necessary admin services to ensure that work is carried out effectively. While the idea of collaborations between sole-practicing professionals isn’t new, a technology platform that facilitates the necessary oversight and administration is.

I wonder if Clearspire's platform could be adapted to other professions?

I wonder if this would allow Architects to deliver large office services at sole-practitioner prices?

I think some form of Alternative Architectural Practice is likely to emerge, given the decreasing cost and increasing availability of sophisticated online storage and services that could facilitate a true 'virtual architect's studio'. The Great Recession has recycled large numbers of younger, technologically literate Architects out of large firms and into their own businesses. I saw first hand what happens to the traditional Architectural business model when a recession hits. I and many others like me, lost our jobs and then set up as sole-practicing Architects. I value the independence and control this form of practice gives me though I wonder whether I will stay as a sole-practitioner in the long term.

If I won a prestigious project or one of my existing clients grew too large for me, would I stay on my own and turn down the chance to pursue more lucrative work? I know that if I did take on an office and staff, I would always have the Great Recession in the back of my mind. I have seen the same patten in other Architect's Practices; they set up following the last recession in the early 1990's, they grew along with the economy over the last 15 years and then had to downsize or fold after the credit crunch.

The idea of a completely new business model that connects sole-practicing Architects in a well thought out 'virtual studio', free to work alone or in groups depending on the project, has a strong appeal. This business model was not possible in the last recession but it is now.

It would remove at a stroke the worry of having to support the infrastructure of a large office. A business model like that could expand and contract as required. It would be able to take on a wider range of projects, as traditional architects practices will usually focus on work of a particular type and above a particular value.

I suspect there would be hurdles, both in technology and perception, but I think a revolution has never been more likely.

Architects Hourly Fees.

2011-08-07T20:54:00.023+01:00

No matter what business you are in, whether designing buildings or selling lollypops, the first goal must be to turn a profit. Of course to do that you have to set your prices correctly; too low and you will run out of money, too high and you run out of customers.

Many Architects calculate their fees as a percentage of the construction cost of the building, this presents several challenges;

It is very difficult to know at the outset exactly how much any building will actually cost, so until cost can be established, fees in the early stages of a project must be calculated in some other way.

Even when a client insists a budget must be strictly adhered to and fees be fixed against that budget, the initial design my still cost more and require several time consuming re-designs to bring it into line with expectations.

Percentage fees can raise suspicion in the client's mind that the Architect may conspire to allow cost to increase, thus inflating their fee.

Put simply, clients want cost certainty and Architects want project certainty and when pressed by a client to provide a fixed fee, a sensible Architect will protect their commercial position by adding a generous factor of safety to their estimate. They may also include several conditions in the small print, listing eventualities and items of work that would fall outside the scope of their services and therefore incur an additional fee. While all of this is good business practice it encourages an adversarial relationship with the client, with many Architects reporting they feel obliged to agree to potentially unlimited work on a strictly limited fee. I think this is an unsatisfactory and unnecessary situation.

Over the last two years I have offered my clients both percentage fees and hourly rate fees, with hourly rate being more popular.

Over the same time period I have been keeping a very detailed time-sheet on all work I carry out. By recording the project type and the amount of time spent at each stage of the process, it has given me the ability to accurately predict the amount of time a particular type of project is likely to take. Given the problems with fixed price, percentage based fees, I now only offer hourly rate fees.

By publishing a matrix, showing the range of hours required at each stage and for several types of project, I can give potential clients a degree of confidence in an inherently uncertain system and remove the potential for an adversarial relationship. I make it clear to my clients that the amount of time I spend on their project is directly related to the amount of detail they require from me. By dividing the project into clearly defied stages, I also give my clients the choice to have me involved in the later phase of a project and the likely cost associated with that decision. Finally, by basing all of this on real projects that I have carried out over the recent past, I can give clients comfort that this is not just an estimate; it is based on reality. I have broken down the design and construction process into seven distinct stages;
Feasibility Study, Planning Application, Building Warrant, Tender Process, Pre-Construction, Construction and Post Construction.

I have cross referenced these with seven distinct project types; New House, Complex Extension, Complex Alteration, Standard Extension, Standard Alteration, Standard Attic, Simple Alteration. These are defined here;

New House:
Obvious enough, a new domestic building in a green or brown field site. Likely construction budget between £200k and £400k.

Complex Extension:
A house extension that has at least three of the following features;

More than one storey tall.
More than two habitable rooms (bed room, living room, kitchen, etc)
All or part of the proposed building uses non-standard construction methods or materials.
The site is Listed or in a Conservation Area.
More than 50 Square Meters in size.
Internal alterations are required to the existing house as well.
Requires new underground drainage for new kitchen, bathroom etc.
Building up to the boundary with neighboring properties.
Requires extensive repairs to the existing house as part of the work.
Requires re-wiring / re-plumbing of the existing house as part of the work.

Complex Alteration:
Altering the layout of an existing building where at least three of the following features are present;

The existing building is in multiple occupancy or neighboring properties are in close proximity.
The existing building is not currently used for domestic accommodation and a Change of Use is required.
The proposed work involves using non-standard construction methods or materials.
The site is Listed or in a Conservation Area.
Requires new underground drainage for new kitchen, bathroom etc.
Multiple structural / load-bearing elements are being removed or altered.
Joining two or more, previously separate, properties into one.
Creating a new permanent stairs.
Creating multiple new roof-lights or dormer windows in an existing roof.
Creating new windows or doors in the external wall of the building.

Standard Alteration:
Altering the layout of an existing building where at least two of the following features are present;

Demolishing no more than one structural or load-bearing internal wall.
No change to the external appearance of the building.
No new underground drainage.
The existing building is used as a domestic property.

Standard Extension:
Building an Extension onto an existing house where at least five of the following statements are true, otherwise, see Complex Extension.

No change to the internal layout of the existing house.
Extension will be only one storey tall.
No new underground drainage required.
No public sewers, power lines, gas or electric mains will be disturbed by the extension.
No more than two habitable rooms (bedrooms, kitchens, living / dinging rooms)
The extension will be built using standard construction methods and materials, this means using timber frame walls with brick / block outer face and slate / tile roof.
Not building up to the boundary with neighboring properties.
Less than 40 square meters in size.

Standard Attic:
A attic conversion where the all following items are true, otherwise see Complex Alteration.

No dormer windows required, just roof-lights.
The existing house is not Listed or in a Conservation Area.
No new bathrooms or kitchens will be placed in the converted attic.
Does not require extensive repairs to the existing house as part of the work.
Does not require re-wiring / re-plumbing of the existing house as part of the work.

Simple Alteration:
Where at least five of the following statements are true, otherwise see Complex Alteration.

The existing property is not Listed or in a Conservation Area.
Converting a garage or uninhabited space that is part of / directly connected to the existing house.
No new drainage is required, no new bathrooms, kitchens or utility rooms are proposed.
Does not require extensive repairs to the existing house as part of the work.
Does not require re-wiring / re-plumbing of the existing house as part of the work.
Forming no more than one new internal doorway.
Not demolishing any structural or load-bearing walls.

Modernising an Existing House Extension

2011-06-13T20:10:00.023+01:00

Its been so long since my last blog post, as you will see, I've been busy!

This project was designed for a client in Edinburgh with a growing family who needed more space. Their mid-terrace, Victorian house already had a very old extension to the rear, with a garage on the lower level and a living room above. The existing garage ceiling was too low to be usable and the living room was impeded by the existing slate, pitched roof. The house was built into a hill and had a set of stone steps leading to what had once been the rear door. These steps cut into the existing extension, effectively separating it from the existing house.

The brief was to maximise and modernise the existing extension. To maximise space, I raised the garage ceiling by 400mm, making the space habitable and allowing it to be used as a garden room instead of a garage. By including stairs in the garden room, we could remove the existing stone steps and join the existing kitchen to the new, split level, living room, creating an open plan Living Space.

We removed the existing slate roof and replaced it with a flat roof at the same height as the ridge of the previous roof. This maximises internal space and by including a flat-roof skylight, the new dining area is bathed in light.

The main design feature of this project is the use of Trespa cladding boards, which came about from something as mundane as the need to insulate the building! The existing extension is quite narrow and wasn't insulated, a conventional design would have placed insulation on the inner face of the existing masonry walls, thus reducing internal space ever further. To avoid this, our design placed the insulation on the outside of the wall and covered it with Trespa boards.

Many people would consider this kind of project to be mundane and uninteresting but I think this solution shows the value an Architect can bring to ordinary jobs.

If you want to see more photos and an early feasibility study (including 3D model!) got to the Capital A website.

Architect Designed Furniture

2011-02-07T19:26:00.007Z

If there is one object that fascinates designers in general and Architects in particular, its the chair. Its so ubiquitous, an everyday object that anyone can use, you would think there is nothing else to be said about the art of sitting down. Yet some of the most iconic chairs of the last 100 years were designed by Architects; Charles Rennie MacIntosh, Walter Gropius, Mies Van Der Rohe, Eero Saarinen and Eileen Gray, they have all produced original and elegant solutions to the age old question of where to park ones derrière.

Despite studying woodwork for five years while at school and working in a joinery while a student, I have never designed or made a chair. So when I was asked by a landscape firm I know to help them produce a contemporary range of garden furniture, I jumped at the chance.

I met Lee Kibble of Copperswood Scotland, through the Edinburgh Property Forum over a year ago. Copperswood started out as a groundworks and landscape firm but over the years they have been asked to build park benches, bird tables and seats by clients. They decided to invest in a new joinery workshop and make this a part of their business, forming a new company called Kibble Garden Decor Ltd to make and sell garden furniture. One of their main clients is Dobbies, a major chain of UK garden centres.

These are some preliminary 3D studies of the garden chair. There will be two versions, a movable one and a fixed one, set into the ground. The seat is modular, so it can be extended to any length, making it flexible; the same design can be a one-person chair or a three person park bench, just be making it longer. The chairs proportions are based on the golden section, giving it a simple and elegant shape.

We plan to make the chair from a variety of wood types, both softwood and hardood. Each chair will be unique and will be made to order, coming with a unique number and certificate. Rather than mass producing the chairs, we will make a set of matching garden furniture which clients can order any time. This will allow people to collect a full set over a period of time, without having to worry about the range no longer being in stock.

Things are at an early stage but we hope to be in a position to start selling the furniture before summer 2011.

Lets All Do The New Year Jump

2011-01-18T15:17:00.007Z

I mentioned in a previous blog that I like to use Google Analytics to keep a detailed track of the number of people visiting my website. Given that almost a quarter of all the projects I have done to date started with the client finding my website, it pays to keep on top of this.

Using the analytics to look back over the past two years, I have noticed a trend that has happened over the last two Decembers and Januaries. On the approach to Christmas, the number of people looking for Architects services drops dramatically and equally dramatically, it jumps up again in the early new year.

This is a screen-shot from my analytics account, showing the number of visitors per week that find my site using various online search engines. This is backed up by the fact that last Spring was a busy time and this Spring is already looking to be just as hectic. No rest for the wicked.

One Storey Wrap Around Extension, South Queensferry

2011-01-08T21:02:00.007Z

I completed this house extension project in December, just in time for the client to celebrate Christmas. The project comprises a new porch to the front of the houses and a one-storey wrap around extension to the side and rear containing an entrance hall, shower room, utility room and an open plan kitchen and dining. The existing living / dining room was split in two; one half became part of the new open plan living area, the other half formed a new bedroom.

I provided a full service for this project, from the initial feasibility study to Contract Managment during construction. The extension was built by S. Ewing and Sons.

The project was delayed by 13 days during construction due to extremely heavy snow. The project final cost was £46,000 + VAT, not including the kitchen, feature radiator or patio doors, which were supplied by the client.

The initial feasibility study was produced in June 2009. The planning application was granted in Spring 2010. The building warrant was granted in Summer 2010. Building took 14 weeks, including the two weeks lost to snow.

My services from start to finish took just over 90 hours.

Tendering v Teaming

2010-12-14T16:10:00.006Z

Capital A has been in business for two years now and to celebrate I recently published a newsletter highlighting some projects. This got me thinking about how these projects were procured and what I learned that might benefit future projects.

Most of my clients are very cost conscious, that's not to say they are cheap but they defiantly expect value for money, even when they appear to have lots of the stuff. While I publish a guide to my Architectural fees on the Capital A Website, most other consultants do not and builders certainly wouldn't, as each project is unique.

The need to establish costs has been a big factor in the projects I have been involved in over the last two years. Initially, the client either contacts the Architect or the Builder first and then decides to carry out competitive tendering to find the rest of the team. I have been involved in tendering for my own services, as have the Structural Engineers and Builders whom I work closely with. This is fine as long as those tendering are familiar with one another. The problems start when clients introduce potential team members who are unknown to the others. Putting Builders, Architects, and Engineers together on the basis that they all offer the lowest prices and then expecting them to work as an effective team isn't very clever. This shows the shortcoming of the competitive tendering system; it finds the lowest price but it wont find the highest quality. High quality projects require a team and tendering will not give you a team, so why not avoid tendering altogether?

While I realise that tendering will not go away completely, I know that several of my clients could benefit from an alternative system. To address this, I had a meeting with a Builder, Landscape Designer and Structural Engineering firm, all of whom work with me regularly. We agreed to form a collaboration to promote our joint services and publicise the benefit of hiring a team, rather than a collection of random individuals. The new group is called designer builder and we will launch in early January 2011.

The designer builder team are;

Builder: S. Ewing and Sons, based outside Dunfermline, Fife and established since 1984. Their big strength is they are 'all trades', they don't have to rely on independent sub-contractors. They have a team of 25 who cover all the major trades. Their prices are very competitive and their service is excellent.

Structural Engineers: WMA, based in South Queensferry. They are chartered engineers with extensive experience with high-quality, award winning, one off houses.

Landscape Designer: Alma Gardens, based in West Lothian and with over 20 years experience in designing domestic landscapes and gardens.

The Designer Builder team always have a number of joint projects on the drawing board or under construction, so we meet and discuss these regularly. This familiarity with each others methods and projects gives us the edge over any group of randomly selected builders and designers. We believe that projects will benefit from our low overheads, high quality and excellent teamwork.

Teaming up like this is a method of working more widely used on very large projects; major supermarket chains, schools and hospitals are built using the same team each time. This method has a proven track record of saving money, reducing mistakes and increasing quality.

This method is not usually offered to ordinary homeowners, until now.

Networking: What is it Good For?

2010-11-28T18:21:00.002Z

I have been involved in networking since I started my own business. More than getting new work, networking has introduced me to a huge variety of tradespeople and property professionals.

I joined the Property Network Scotland in 2009 to expand my contacts and get referrals from other professionals. For a while the group had nearly two dozen members and the referrals flowed. However, some members got less from the group than others and they eventually left. Over time, the fall in membership lead to a fall in referrals. Something had to be done.

We recently decided to completely change the focus of the group. Instead of being a 'walled garden', where only those on the inside benefit, we are aiming squarely at the general public. We have rebranded the group, now called the Edinburgh Property Forum, as an Internet based 'ask the experts' site.

Anyone can join the forum as a Part-Time member for free, there are no restrictions. There is a core group of Full-Time members who meet monthly and provide the answers to the questions posed on the forum. There are Rules to becoming a Full-Time member as well as joining and ongoing membership fees.

We aim to start promoting the forum this month and will have a formal launch early in the new year. We also intend to hold open days, where ordinary homeowners can drop in and ask questions.

The entire purpose of this is to demonstrate expertise and build up trust. It requires a lot of effort but it has the potential for far greater impact than any advertising campaign because it leaves a permanent trace on the Internet.

Let me explain. A few months ago a client asked me about the possibility of installing glass steps in their property. Having never done these before I called a good contact at Mitchell Glass Galashiels. They told me it would cost about £500 per step, plus the cost of the frame and plus tax. In the end the client decided against it but if this conversation had been logged online in a forum, anyone could find it. If the did they would see that I am an Architect who designs items such as glass steps and that Mitchell Glass make them. This would eventually lead to further inquiries, not least because Google will scan the forum and anyone searching for 'glass steps' could find us that way.

Its a brave new world.

Homeowners Do Not Have The Right To a View

2010-09-20T13:50:00.014+01:00

One evening a few weeks ago, I was disturbed from my routine by a knock on the door. I was greeted by an activist from one of the main political parties, reminding me that there would be a by-election for the local Edinburgh City Council seat vacated by Ian Murray, who became a Westminster MP in the recent general election. The activist asked if I would like to meet their candidate, I accepted, since I suspected their man was likely to win and therefore have a direct impact on local decisions.

As a self employed Architect, I was keen to know how this candidate would approach local planning review decisions, especially since he had not served on the Council before. He had never been asked this but had read the Local Planning Guidelines and thought them an excellent guide to any decisions he may have to make during the planning appeal process.

We discussed the planning process at length and eventually got on to the topic of neighbours objections to planning applications. The candidate told me he believed that if a proposed building would lead to a neighbours loss of a view, this should be sufficient grounds to refuse the planning application.

It surprises many homeowners that they don't automatically have a right to a view.

It surprised me that a prospective councillor would try to introduce such a disruptive change to planning law especially in an urban constituency.

At first it sounds outrageous that if someone wants to build something between your house and it's best view, you can't use that loss of view as the only objection to the planning application. What some people are quick to forget, especially if they live in a city, is that the buildings they use for work, rest and play are inevitably blocking someone's view. If the planning law was changed to give everyone the right to a view, it would make constructing new buildings in cities nearly impossible.
Look at it another way, if you came home to find you house had been knocked, would your neighbour's view have improved?

Living in a city is a compromise We live cheek by jowl and put up with noise, expense and traffic so we can benefit from more economic opportunities, more varied entertainment and greater social opportunities. One of the prices we pay for this is that we don't all qualify for a panoramic view. Giving every home-owner an equal right to a view is one of those grand ideas that appeals to our sense of fairness but would cause untold chaos. Like communism.

One sensible document Edinburgh Council has produced is the Protection of Key Views guideline. This is a list of over 150 particular views of the castle and other Edinburgh landmarks, from “a number of public vantage points” that are protected. Any change to the roof line of buildings within the view cones come under particular scrutiny during planning applications. This policy is sensible and it is democratic. The view from the street, where anyone can stand, is protected from the whim of individual developers.

In any event, planning law on this scale is not decided by local authorities but by the parliament. Our candidate won't get the opportunity to implement his vision just yet.

Buying a House With Planning Permission.

2010-08-31T20:50:00.010+01:00

One of the unexpected joys of being a sole-practitioner is meeting so many different people in the course of business. I particularly like to network with other professionals and I met one of my best contacts, a financial advisor, this way. He specialises in mortgages and has been able to find finance for some of my clients when their own banks have said no, or yes, but with ridiculous conditions attached. I have been able to advise some of his clients who are looking to self-build or to buy property with a view to developing it.

My contact put me in touch with one such client last week and their storey illustrates a cautionary tale. He and his wife had agreed to purchase a detached, two storey house in an established area of Edinburgh. The house came with an attached, flat roof garage on the side. The owner advertised the property as having Planning Permission to convert the garage into a habitable room. They also indicated to the client that it would be easy to get planning approval to erect another storey of accommodation on top of the garage. The owner even produced drawings of other houses on the street which had approval for similar developments.

The client was about to sign on the dotted line and was now in a hurry to appoint an Architect to carry out the work. I was one of several Architects they had spoken to and I was prepared to offer them my usual one hour free consultation because their property was in Edinburgh.

I got the address from the client and checked its planning history on the Edinburgh Planning Portal, something I do with each potential client's property. This search turned up some interesting facts.

The owner had tried to get Planning approval for the additional storey over the garage but the application had been withdrawn before the Planners had reached a decision. This can happen for a number of reasons, the one given on the report was that it had been the owners decision to do so. Reading between the lines, it is likely the planning officer had indicated this application stood no chance of approval. By removing the application, they could re-submit another one for free. Which is what they did. This was when they applied to make the garage into a habitable room. This was deemed Non Development, in other words it does not need Planning Permission.

When I told the client this they were shocked. It seems they had developed a “trusting” relationship with the owner and he had tried to pull the wool over their eyes. They were also amazed that their solicitors hadn't found this, as the information is publically available. I explained that most solicitors don't do this as part of their due diligence. In any event the house wasn't advertised as being sold with permission for the extra storey, they simply fell for the owners sales spiel.

In the end the client pulled out of the sale and is very grateful for my advice. They couldn't have used the house in its present condition and were relying on getting the extra storey over the garage to make it worth while. If they had bought the house it would have been highly unlikely that would have happened, so asking an Architect saved them a lot of time and money.

Consultant Architect

2010-08-17T20:30:00.009+01:00

When I started working for myself I wrote a business plan, because I thought that everyone in business did one. I soon put it in a drawer and forgot about it, until, quite by accident I found it again last week. I re-read my original mission statement, where I identified my target audience as homeowners who wanted to improve-not-move.

This segment of society has provided me with a solid client base, at least 80% of my projects are for this group. However, something I didn't anticipate in my original business plan was consulting.

Over the last 18 months I have been approached by a number of different companies and asked to provide various services in connection with their projects. Some of these services involved giving advice, others were providing draftings and design services and some companies needed my project management skills. In a tough economic environment, I didn't complain about being asked to do work. Several of these firms found my details on-line and having viewed my website, they contacted me directly.

An Architect's website can be a good tool for winning work, mine accounted for 25% of my turnover last year. I have 22 projects at various stages of development at present, 10 of these resulted from the client having found my details on-line.

So it makes sense to formalise the Consultant Architect service and I now offer it as part of the package of regular Architectural services I provide.

Some of the clients whom I provide Consulting services to are:

Glassbuild, a design and development company based in Edinburgh, who produce high quality house extensions.

Servaccomm Redhall, based in Hull they manufacture high specification pre-fabricated buildings.

S. Ewing and Sons, Builders and Developers from Fife.

Alma Gardens, a Landscape design firm based in West Lothian.

The group is quite diverse and I'm hoping to add to it, so if you know any property, construction or development firms who could use an external consultant to add value, let me know.

Construction Contracts

2010-07-26T17:52:00.017+01:00

Many people have asked me about the training required to become an Architect. Most have heard that it involves a long time at University, but not many realise that graduates are not yet fully qualified. It takes another year at least, and often two or three, of workplace experience before sitting the exam that allows one to use the title of Architect, in the course or business.

What really confuses people is that the exam has very little, if anything, to do with design. The purpose of the examination is to ensure that the Architect is a competent professional, aware of all the legal and regulatory issues involved in running an Architects Practice. A major component of the exam is the JCT construction contract. This type of contract is so widely used it is informally referred to a the "traditional" contract.

The Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) is a body composed of all the main groups involved in the construction and property industry in the UK they have been producing construction contracts since 1931. They make a suite of various contracts, suitable for a variety of building types and contractual arrangements. The JCT revise their contracts every decade or so, to reflect current legal and construction practice. The most recent revision was in 2005.

I offer my clients a Construction Contract service and I have several projects currently on site using the JCT / SBCC Minor Works 2005 contract. The SBCC version is suited to use in Scotland. The Minor Works is the most simple to administer of all the contracts in the JCT suite, it is suited to projects of £150k or less. It is ideal for house extensions.

This contract is signed by two parties; the property owner (known as the Employer) and the builder (known as the Contractor). The Architect acts as the Contract Administrator. The contract splits risk and responsibility equally between the two parties, it is not a stick to beat the Contractor with. The completion date and the construction cost are agreed at the outset.

At it's simplest, the contract states that the Contractor will construct what is on the drawings, for the construction budget and be finished by the completion date and that the Employer will pay him for that service.

The contract has many useful clauses which cover the many problems that can occur in a typical construction project. These are the main ones:

Extension Of Time
Liquidated and Ascertained Damages
Payment and Retention
Completion
Defect Rectification Period

Extension of Time:
Thought the contract has a stated completion date by which the Contractor must be finished, this isn't absolute. The Architect can grant an Extension of Time if a delay has occurred for some reason that is "beyond the control of the Contractor". This usually means sever weather, strikes, acts of God, instructions given by the Architect, decisions not made in time by the Employer, etc.

Liquidated and Ascertained Damages:
More usually known as L&A Damages, this is money the Contractor must pay to the Employer if they don't finish the building by the agreed completion date and they don't have a valid claim for an Extension of Time. It must be in cash, hence Liquidated, and it must be ascertained, that is the sum must be relevant to a real loss suffered by the Employer due to not having the building finished on time.

The sum must be agreed at the outset, before the contract is signed and it is usually charged on a weekly basis. Some of my clients have charged a sum that would cover them staying in a guest house if their homes weren't complete in time.

Payment and Retention:
Payment is controlled by the Architect. Every four weeks, the Contractor applies to the Architect for payment of all work done up to that date and for any materials they may have purchased. It's the Architects responsibility to certify that the works have been carried out in accordance with the contract and that the sum of money being claimed by the Contractor is a fair reflection of the work that has been carried out.

If everything is in order, the Architect issues a Payment Certificate to the Employer, who then pays the Contractor. Each Payment Certificate contains a deduction of 5%, so if the contractor is claiming £10,000, they are paid £9,500. The 5% is called Retention and it is kept back by the Employer until the project is complete.

Completion:
When the building is finished, the Architect inspects it and, provided there isn't anything amiss, the Architect can issue the Penultimate Certificate. This releases half of the Retention fund to the Contractor, the remaining half is kept by the Employer until the end of the Defects Rectification Period. The Employer can now take possession of the building.

Defects Rectification Period:
This is a period of time, normally three months, from the date of completion during which any defect that wasn't apparent at completion must be rectified by the Contractor. It is for this reason that the remaining half of the retention fund, 2.5% of the construction cost, is kept back. If the Contractor cant or wont repair the defect, there is still money to pay another contractor to do so, although this seldom happens as 2.5% is usually a significant sum of money for any Contractor.

At the end of Defects period, once everything has been rectified, the Architect can issue the Final Certificate. This releases the remainder of the Retention fund to the Contractor.

Many of my client are relieved when I explain the workings of this contract to them, because it gives them confidence in dealing with a very stressful situation. Many builders like it as well, as it secures their cash flow. One builder told me he thinks its a great idea because he can shout at the Architect as much as he likes and not at the employer, who pays his bills

How To Find a Builder

2010-07-17T17:01:00.008+01:00

It's the first question most clients ask, "how much will my project cost?". At an early stage in any project I strongly suggest that clients employ a Quantity Surveyor, I have worked with Abacus Estimators for the last year and recommend them regularly. At the feasibility stage we don't have much construction detail so the estimators are conservative, by which I mean the err on the high side.

Once a Building Warrant has been granted and we have Structural Engineers drawings, Architects technical specifications and detail drawings, we can issue tender invitations to builders. I did this recently for two house extension projects and the outcome shows some interesting lessons on the current state of the Scottish construction industry.

The two projects are both one storey house extensions, one in South Queensferry, the other in Corstorphine. Estimates were prepared by the QS for both projects at the feasibility stage and many of the same contractors were asked to prepare bids for both projects.

The winning bids are confidential but in square meter rates both worked out at between £1465 and £1570 per M² before VAT. Interestingly, while the Corstorphine project came in 94% of the original estimate, the South Queensferry extension came in at 84% of its estimate.

It isn't all about cost though, quality matters too. At the outset of any tender, I tell my clients that we will receive several prices from several builders and that most prices should be in the same ball-park. However, there is often one price significantly lower than the others and the client should ignore it. That contractor is trying to buy work, they are desperate and there is a good chance that they will try every trick in the book to claw extra money back from the client. Failing that they could go out of business during the build.

While clients nod in agreement, it can be very difficult to walk past a saving of £10k or £20k.

Because building an extension to a family home is so disruptive, not to mention personal, I advise clients use a two-stage tender process. The first stage is to ask between three and five builders to submit prices. The second stage is for the client to interview the two most reasonably priced builders. Personality as well as references count for a lot at that stage.

I asked four contractors that I know to submit prices for both extensions. The client at South Queensferry selected three others as well as my original four for his project. Despite this, only four contractors returned prices for his project. Three prices were returned for the Corstorphine project. The wining contractors for Corstorphine and South Queensferry, won’t be able to being until August and September respectively.

The fact that not all contractors returned prices and that the eventual winners can’t begin immediately, shows that, for the contractors I use at any rate, they are still busy.
Both of these project will have traditional construction contracts which will be administered by me, the Architect. Stay tuned for updates on how that goes.

When Does Building Become Architecure

2010-04-13T20:31:00.035+01:00

I had a pint with an old friend, who works for the Forestry Commission, recently. She deals with invasive species and is busy organising a holocaust of Rhododendrons, Japanese Knot Weed and the devious Grey Squirrel. We were talking about our respective jobs and my friend asked me to explain at what point can one consider a building becomes Architecture? are all buildings architecture? and if so do bus shelters count?

That question has been around for a long time and, despite many attempts, there isnt an easy answer.

Trying to head off an existential crisis, I trotted out the old maxim by Vitruvius, that great buildings must embody "Commodity, Firmness and Delight". That is they must by worth what was paid for them, be durable and inspirational.

I'm not sure if that explanation really does it, because in today's world, there is a great deal of subjectivity and uncertainty over all three of those criteria.

I think that a better explanation is to make an analogy, to compare the difference between buildings and Architecture to the differences between food and cuisine and between noise and music.

We no longer eat food just to stay alive, we have the the luxury of playing with our food. We use cuisine as entertainment, as a symbol of national culture and as a way of signifying social status. The way a dish is presented tells you something about the person who made it and also about the person who ordered it. Arranging food on a plate so that it looks good doesn't make that food taste any different, it all goes to the same place after all, but it makes the dish more appealing. We eat food for nourishment, we use cuisine to communicate our values, aspirations and identities.

Noise becomes music when it has rhythm and melody, when there is a relationship between the different sounds, when it ceases to be random and thoughtless. For this to happen someone has to take charge of the noise and give it meaning.

Architecture is like this, it takes aspiration and ambition, it doesn't just happen by accident, its deliberate. Like cuisine, we no longer build just for shelter but if we invest values, aspiration and identity into our buildings we make them Architecture. Like music, if we stop assembling materials in a random manner and decide to give them rhythm and deliberate order, we start making Architecture.

Now, I want my friend to tell me at what point does a group of trees become a forest?

The End of Tax Year.

2010-04-02T11:09:00.022+01:00

So its the end of the Tax Year and the big news is that I'm changing from a Sole-Trader to a Limited Company. From 6th April this will be Capital A Architecture Limited. I have taken the opportunity to re-vamp the company website, I think it looks a bit neater than before, which it should, being the shop window for an Architect's Practice.

I've posted details of some new projects, as well as two abstract studies; A Contemporary Semi-Detached House and a Contemporary Apartment Block.

I've also started posting details of any Planning Approvals and Listed Building Approvals that have been granted. These will be updated as and when new applications are approved.

I was rooting around in some old files on my removable hard drive and found drawings and a movie of an Architectural Student Project I did in my final year at University. It's got nothing to do with my current business but, if nothing else, it reminds me how much I've learned since I designed it.

Since I was in a reflective mood I decided to see how much time I had spent on each project. I started keeping accurate time-sheets in late October 2009 using Open Office, which is a suite of word-processing and spreadsheet programmes like Microsoft Office, only its free! In the five months that I have time-sheets for I managed to work on 29 different project, as well as doing Speculative work, Networking and Admin. It surprised me that Speculative work (visiting people who may, or may not, become clients) was the second most time intensive job I've been doing. Only the Renovation of a Townhouse in Alloa was a larger job. I've shown the graph here, the projects are numbered, for example; 2010-100 would be the first project I took on this year.

Its interesting to see just how many projects a self employed architect has to take on to make ends meet and how much time some projects demand over others.

Planning Approval

2010-01-30T23:27:00.009Z

Back when I was a graduate, I worked on a new-build apartment complex for a property developer in Edinburgh. Things were not going well, to say the least. The practice I worked for at the time was small and had a high staff turnover rate. Several people had quit in quick succession and I was left to run a project that was already in serious trouble. The client, a seasoned property professional, wasn't happy. One day, during a particularly stormy meeting, we discussed making some changes to the scheme to save costs. I mentioned that we may need to first run these changes by the Planning Department. That set the client off on a rant; “Planning! that’s the only card you guys have to play”.

This encounter has stayed with me in the years since and I sometimes wonder what made the client say that. Architects have many cards to play; from technical skills such as efficient space planning, material specifications, knowledge of different construction techniques and project co-ordination, to aesthetic skills like presentation drawings, appreciating light and texture, geometric proportions and spatial arrangements, to cultural skills such as understanding the historical context of buildings, art appreciation, and economics. We are the last of the polymaths.

I suspect there is a wide-spread obsession with the Planning process; it is viewed by many people as being mysterious, subjective and impenetrable. Planning is misunderstood and there are property consultants out there who perpetuate this myth because they believe it to be in their interest to make Planning seem harder than it is. I have encountered companies who offer planning consultancy services, promising to steer projects through planning and advertising their personal contacts with local Planning Officers as giving them special advantages. All this makes the system appear beyond the grasp of ordinary people, when it isn’t.

In the last 12 months I have lodged 18 Planning Applications and received 13 approvals, 2 refusals with 3 applications still running through the system (though I have been informed that all three will be granted by mid February 2010). That is an 89% Planning Approval rate. I point this out to new clients, many of whom take comfort in the knowledge that I have a track record of success. I can see the temptation to make a big deal of this, to pretend that the Planning System is mysterious and that without my skills as an Architect, the client has no chance of getting approval.

I find it troubling that some Architects might hold up the Planning Approval card at the expense of all the others we have to play. It’s confusing also because, in comparison to the other tasks we perform, Planning Applications contain the greatest degree of uncertainty.

If I set out to design a house, I am certain that I will be able to complete the task. If I apply the Building Standards, I know the design will be granted a Building Warrant. However, a Planning Application is never guaranteed to be successful, not because its a mysterious and complex system but because it is democratic.

I wrote back in May 2009 about How to Lodge a Planning Applciation. I explained that if enough neighbors object to an application, the final decision will be made by a committee. Local politicians voting on whether to accept of reject the proposal. This is where the uncertainty comes from; will the neighbors object? will the councilors vote in favor? who knows!

As a profession, if we rely on an uncertain process as the only card we play, we will be undervalued. We will be like the weathermen, trying to predict the future and sometimes getting it badly wrong. We should instead advertise our technical, aesthetic and cultural skills.

Architectural Projects 2009

2009-12-15T19:03:00.073Z

Its December, another year is almost over and I have come to the end of my first 12 months in business. I thought a good way round to things up before the holidays would be a review of the more interesting projects I worked on over the last year.

Granny Flat:
This project was for a client who wished to add value to their home prior to selling it, something I heard a lot of this year, given the economic circumstances.

The house has an existing two car garage, we simply added a story on top and converted the whole thing into a Granny Flat. Ancillary accommodation to the main residence. The client was a great help with this one, he insisted on a very modern, clean aesthetic. The upper level is larger than the ground floor, over-hanging both the front and rear. This creates a porch at the front entrance and a sheltered patio deck to the rear, simple!

I chose patinated copper because the site has the benefit of mature trees, and the green of the metal will blend nicely with the foliage. I have published more images, and a 3D animation on my website.

Sun-Room:
This project was done in collaboration with Glassbuild Ltd. Purveyors of stylish, up market extensions. They came up with the original concept and I took it thorough Planning and Building warrant.

It is now on site, I was there this week, inspecting the steel frame - what fun.

The sun-room is a one room extension to a modern townhouse in South Edinburgh. It a very high specification, getting on for £2,000 per square meter. The roof will be single-ply membrane by Liquid Plastics and the skylight will be a flat glazed unit by Sunsquare. It is due to be finished very soon.

More details on the website.

Redevelopment of Grade B listed Townhouse, Alloa.

I haven't mentioned much about this project, despite it being the biggest one I've taken on so far. My client, S. Ewing and Sons, builders from Fife, usually do house extensions for me so this is their biggest foray yet into the world of development.

The building is three stories tall, we are redeveloping the top two stories into three luxury apartments. The building is over 100 years old and there is significant work to be done on the roof and the stonework.

I am acting as a consultant to the client. I prepared a successful, though tricky, Building Warrant application. I solve any ongoing technical issues, which is an endless task in such a project. I also deal with Planning and Historic Scotland, who have a keen interest in the outcome.

The project is underway at present, the client is knocking seven bells out of the interior. We need to address significant structural issues, renew the roof, refurbish the stone, replace a rotten floor, take down an existing stairs, build a new stairs, preserve and restore two grand rooms. All the while ensuring we satisfy the acoustic and fire regulations.

The client anticipates finishing the project in March.

House on a Hill, Inverkeithing, Fife.

This on has dragged on all year but I have been assured it is about to be approved by Fife Council. The client owns a prime site on a hill above Inverkeithing, it has a panoramic view over the Forth to Edinburgh. The brief is for a large, luxury house on two levels. No problem.
It has taken three separate designs, two individual applications and one formal consultation to arrive at the final (I hope) design.

As you can see from the elevations on the left, its gone from Modern Vernacular, to Classical Modern, to "traditional" Neo-Georgian (read, pastiche)

The site is sandwiched between a late Victorian villa and some rather good 1970's social housing. So I thought 'split the difference' and you get 1930's modernism.

The planners don't see it that way however.

Much as I might object to this conservative approach, the client is happy that the site has been made viable.

One lesson I learned from this is that designing a 'classical' building layout is child's-play in comparison to a modern house. Just start with a square, sub divide it using more squares. Keep a close eye on proportions and make sure the elevations take precedence over the plans. Hey presto ! a Georgian house.

Grade A Listed Basement Flat, Edinburgh New Town.

This is a real Georgian building and a nice little project. The client owns a two bed basement flat in this block and asked me to open it up.

We got
Planning and Listed Building Consent to take down a window to the rear and make it into a French Door giving direct access to the South facing garden. We go Building Warrant in one go, no questions asked, a very rare occurrence. We will be knocking two structural walls to open up the kitchen / dining / living rooms, bringing open-plan living to the New Town.

I originally agreed to a limited appointment, letting the client deal with the construction phase themselves. They recently asked me to take on project management and see it through to completion in January.

Sneak Preview !

This is an extension to a cottage in a picturesque rural location in northern Scotland. I can't give away much more as we are at a very early stage. Stay tuned for more in 2010.

The Construction Budget: How Much Do You Have To Spend?

2009-10-14T09:50:00.011+01:00

Most of my clients have never hired an Architect before and many have never built anything in their lives. So it comes as no surprise when they ask me for advice on how much construction costs are likely to be. I even wrote a blog post back in June 2009 describing contemporary building budgets.

Whenever a prospective client contacts me, I usually meet them at their property and talk through their wish list for the building work. Inevitably, the discussion turns to money and I ask the same question every time;

"How much money do you have to spend on the project?"

For some reason I keep getting the same answer;

"Oh, I dont know how much it's going to cost"

Of course you don't and neither do I, because we haven't designed the building yet! Perhaps I'm being impatient and unkind, It is understandable after all if someone has no construction experience that they are a bit scared and bewildered by the process.

I try to explain to each of my new clients that if they tell me how much money they have to spend, a sum beyond which they simply cannot or will not go, then I can design the building to fit this budget. If, on the other hand, they send me away to design their wish list, it will probably be more than they can afford. Then the problems start.

A good analogy, is of a person phoning a tailors shop and ordering a new suit. The tailor asks for their measurements and the person replies saying, “oh, Ive no idea what size I am”.

Hiring an Architect to design your home is just like employing a tailor to make you a suit. Its bespoke, it's unique, its made-to-measure and it fits you perfectly. Just like the tailor needs your measurements, I need your financial dimensions. Just as some people are uncomfortable discussing their bodies, they may also be coy when it comes to their money. I am a Charted Architect and I am discrete and treat all may clients information as private and confidential.

Value Added Tax and Historic Listed Buildings

2009-10-09T18:57:00.010+01:00

I finally got clarification today on something that has been bothering me for ages. I had head anecdotes about VAT (Value Added Tax) on historic listed buildings, ie. That there is no VAT to pay. At present VAT is 15% and will go up to 17.5% in January and maybe even higher after the election in 2010. A saving of that kind is substantial and could be the difference between the project going ahead or dying at the outset.

Because I'm an Architect and not a tax expert, I have always advised my client who own Listed buildings (quite a lot in Edinburgh) to seek the advice of their Accountants (also quite a lot of these in Edinburgh). Today however, I called the RIBA and spoke to their VAT expert, Jim Pinder of Accounting Firm BDO.

Mr. Pinder advises that the zero rating of Listed buildings for VAT purposes only applies in the following circumstances:

1.If the building is being used for residential purposes and not commercial. So only for private homes and not shops or offices.

2.Only work which is deemed an improvement or upgrade may be zero rated, repairs are not included in the work. This is going to upset several clients who take on Listed Buildings for their 'character'. It may be more tax efficient to make some alterations than to just restore the fabric to its former glory.

3. Only work which is specified in the Listed Building Consent is included in the scheme. It would be wise then to include as much detail as possible in the Listed Building Application. As each item of work described will be zero VAT rated when the application is approved.

Finally, it is the builders responsibility to arrange all of the necessary paperwork, not the clients. This could present a problem for the builders cash flow, as they will have to pay the VAT on all materials and labour first and seek a rebate once every three months, when VAT returns are made.

It could also be an opportunity for the builder to charge a higher fee or to ask for a larger deposit up front.

Architects, Polymaths, TED and Continuing Professional Development

2009-10-04T20:48:00.020+01:00

I have a distant relative in Dublin who is also a successful Architect and back when I first announced my intention to study the subject, he took me aside and gave me some advice. He explained that in order to have any chance of making it in the profession, one had to be a 'Jack of all Trades, but a Master of None'. This really does sum up an Architect's work, we are polymaths, from the Greek, meaning someone who has learned much.

The reason for this generalisation is that we make all kinds of buildings for all kinds of people in all kinds of places. As a profession, we cant afford to be specific.

Any competent Architect should have a grasp of History, Economics, Mathematics, Sociology, Psychology, Art Theory, Biology, Engineering, Culture...the list could go on for a very long time.

Looking back now, it was the promise of this broad field of study that attracted me to Architecture. I have always had an interest in things in general, rather than anything specific. That is why I love the TED organisation.

Technology Entertainment Design, those are the three core fields TED stands for. What TED does is to gather some of the worlds leading experts in these fields, put them on stage for 18 minutes and ask them to speak on the most profound or important ideas they have. The talks are recorded and the videos are available free on the website. Genius.

As a Chartered Architect I am required by the RIBA to complete 35 hours of Continuing Professional Development each year. Most of the CPD is structured in a set curriculum but 15.5 hours is at my own discretion. TED wont provide all of that, or anywhere near it, but it is fascinating and some of the speakers do provide unique insight into their fields.
Some of these could have direct applications in my field.

Imagine using your Nintendo Wii for 3D visualization.

How good design can save lives.

How supposedly 'primitive' cultures use sophisticated mathematics in their Buildings.

Cities could be the solution to the worlds problems, not the source.

Inspirational stories of how other Architects design their buildings.

This is another list that could go on for a very long time. I try to set aside 30 minutes each week to see the latest videos on the site. It seem to be gathering a serious following both on-line and in academia. To the point now where I can imagine being asked to give a TED talk could be the pinnacle of a persons career.

Where Will the Next Project Come From ?

2009-09-27T18:12:00.029+01:00

When I started my own Architects Practice earlier this year, I felt that it was the last option I should take. I was excited for sure but I was also very worried. My biggest fear was not hard work, but no work at all. Having spoken to many self employed people, it is the single biggest concern they have.

I threw myself into the job and tried everything I could think of to get noticed, some things worked, others did not. Live and learn.

My last blog post, The Power of the Network, was all about meeting other business people and trying to drum up new work. Many people who read the post asked me how effective it was and this set me thinking, where do all my projects come from? I looked back at my accounts since January and broke down each project by its turnover and by its source; that is, where did I get the jobs from?

I have five source categories:

Builders.
Website.
Advert.
Networking.
Word of Mouth.

This diagram shows the Number of Jobs I have received from each category. Notice how jobs from builders outnumber any other source, with my website and word of mouth next. Networking is probably a slow burner as you have to establish working relationships but Advertising is a very poor last place. Also bear in mind that I met all the builders I know through either networking or word of mouth.
By far the most effective source of new projects for me has been the building trade. I work closely with a number of good builders, doing their Planning and Building Warrant applications and occasionally acting as their consultants.

In my first eight months of business, a close relationship with builders has accounted for over half my turnover. Of the 31 jobs shown only 19 have been fee earning, the other 12 are either at a very early stage or they have stalled, usually due to funding issues.

I still haven't given up on the other source categories, I am particularly pleased that my website and word of mouth are working so well. But if you know any good small builder operating in Edinburgh, Fife or the Borders, please let me know.

The Power of the Network.

2009-09-15T21:05:00.010+01:00

I love networking, no one ever explained this while I was training to become an Architect, but the best way to get new business is to go out and press the flesh.

I am a member of two networking groups, three if you count the Friday Night Freelance Meetup (a pub-club for the self employed), the two serious groups I attend regularly are Bizini and the Property Network Scotland.

Bizini is a well run networking lunch, usually held at Gusto on George St. Edinburgh (it used to be Est Est Est.) It has a broad cross-section of the Edinburgh business community and is open to any organisation, though they limit the number of members from each trade or profession. So far, I am the only Architect and I am continually amazed at how many business professionals have never met an Architect, let alone worked with one. I can only suppose we are rarer than I had imagined. Or we do a great job of keeping to ourselves!

Bizini helps me meet a wide variety of people, some of whom I do business with and so far I have had one direct commission from another member.

For a more focused networking experience, I attend the Property Network Scotland every fortnight. This group grew out of a local BNI chapter and has been in the development stages for one year now, it went live for the first time today, 15th September 2009.

The group aims to have every property/construction trade, profession and service you could ever need under one roof. We have over 20 members and growing, I am the groups Architect and I anticipate great things from this. We work to provide referrals for other member of the group and to publicise its services to as wide an audience as possible.

Even though its still in its infancy, some very interesting deals are being done by the members. Watch this space.

Architects Fees

2009-07-15T09:56:00.038+01:00

Architects love to complain about their income. When times were good, we imagined ourselves hard done by in comparison to other professions. These days, when every trade and profession is suffering, we are no longer the solo performer but just another voice in the choir, despairing at reducing fees and vanishing jobs. The older Architects whom I know personally, get all misty eyed when they talk about a supposed golden age of never ending commissions and high fees. The times they refer to are the post-war decades leading up to the 1980's. During this time, they tell me that Architects (and other professionals) best fee earner was the Mandatory Fee-Scale.

Fee-Scales are lists, drawn up by professional bodies, that describe how much each member of that body must charge for a given type of job. For example, all dentists agreeing to charge £50 to remove a tooth, no dentist is allowed to charge any more or any less. This gives the consumer cost certainty, you know how much you will be charged and you know every dentist will charge the same, so you go to the dentist you prefer the most (or dislike the least). The same was true for Architects, we all agreed to charge the same rate for the same work, there was no competition.

Many Architects blame Margaret Thatcher for abolishing mandatory fee scales but in fact it began in 1977, before she came into power, the Monopolies and Mergers Commission started the process, not the Tories. The Office of Fair Trading stuck the boot in around 1986, ruling that Mandatory Fee Scales were anti-competitive. But even before that, in 1982, the RIBA changed the Mandatory Fee Scales to Recommended Fee Scales. It was around this time that the Architecture profession began what economists call, a race to the bottom. We began undercutting each other to win work. Whereas before, a consumer chose an Architect based only on their reputation and the quality of their work, now they can choose based on the cost of the service as well. Only in many cases they don't, they choose based on the cost of the service and nothing else.

Since the early 80's there has been a constant chorus of complaint from architects, that ever dwindling fees leads to poorer buildings and more dis-satisfied clients. This in turn, they say, has lead to Architects losing their financial and social status. According to these disgruntled designers, the solution is to re-introduce Mandatory Fee Scales. Of course this is illegal under UK and EU law, it's a dead end. For a profession famed for its creativity, this approach shows a remarkable lack of lateral thinking.

So what can we do to improve our income while also giving the consumer the benefit of choice? I suggest that each practise should clearly publish their Architects Fees for standard items of work.

Whether its the hourly rate charged for each member of staff or the fee for each type of service. This will give the public a clear idea of how much they will be charged and it will let others within the profession know where their fees fit in relation to other Architects. At present, the main way for an Architect to gauge how much to charge is to consult the Mirza and Nacey fees guides. This publication surveys Architects across the UK and publishes the going rate for most main types of work; residential, commercial, education, healthcare etc. It lists the fees charged on sliding scale with the construction costs, the more expensive the build the bigger the architects fee. The main report for this year costs £195. It tends to be bought by Architects and is not something the average consumer will purchase.

I publish my fees on my website, I state my Hourly Rate and I also offer Fixed Price Fees. I've had a mixed reaction to doing this, mixed in that clients love it and most other Architects are resistant. Discussing fees is still something of a taboo among the profession and how much each firm charges for its work is, In my experience, a closely guarded secret, even from their own staff. The current state of affairs does not fully protect the consumer, as it was supposed to. The ordinary consumer does not have easy and convenient access to fee information and, In my experience again, most ordinary people have a greatly inflated idea of the fees charged by a typical architect. Many of my clients are surprised and delighted at the level of service they receive, relative to the fees I charge.

If every Architects practise published their fees we would see a number of benefits:

1. More enquiries from ordinary people who would otherwise avoid Architects because they mistakenly believe we charge huge sums.

2. Less variety in the amounts being charged by Architects. If everyone within the profession knows how much their competitors are charging, there will be fewer practises charging very high or very low fees. The spread of fees will narrow.

3.Architects charging higher than average fees will have to justify this to clients.

4.Architects charging lower than average fees will have to justify this to their staff and any creditors, such as their bank.

5.The consumer, whether they be home-owners or property developers will have a convenient and easy guide to how much they can expect to be charged. This should encourage them to look at other factors in choosing an Architect, factors such as quality of work.

6.If an Architect wishes to undercut the competition, they can do so by a smaller margin. At present, it appears those who engage in under-cutting do so by massive margins because, in part, they don't know how much their competition are charging.

7.Architect will still be free to offer discounts to valued clients, the profession will still comply with the law, as publishing fees does not make those fees mandatory.

Structural Engineers and Small Projects, Do They Go Together?

2009-07-07T20:07:00.019+01:00

I was once told that a good Architect is a 'Jack of all trades, but a master of none'. Constructing buildings is complicated and its getting even more so, as a result I have to know the basics behind many different trades and professions. The most important thing to know is when to employ them. Advising a client to employ a specialist they don't need is expensive, not advising them when they really do need one can be a show-stopper.

Most of my current projects are house extensions, some of them are substantial structures, one of them is larger that the original house. When any new building is being designed I have to consider its structural integrity, I need to understand how it is going to stand up. But I'm not an Engineer and how far can I go before I need the services of one, at my clients expense?

The Scottish Building Regulations contain a section called the Small Buildings Structural Guidance which is written to "provide structural guidance to designers of small domestic buildings". The guidance is complex and detailed and the intension is that a construction specialist, other than an Engineer, can use it to achieve a competent structural design. The building cannot be more that 15m tall, or 3 stories (2 if timber kit is used). There are other restrictions on the size of floor spans, the slope of the roof, overall area enclosed etc. When the design is being submitted for Building Warrant approval, there is a box to be ticked asking whether the building follows the guidance. One can only guess that if the Building Control Officer see the box is ticked the application gets an extra thorough going over.

If all this amateur engineering is too risky for you, then look at the advantages of hiring a Structural Engineer. They can prepare an SER certificate, essentially a piece of paper that says 'yes, it will stand up'. If you submit the SER with the Building Warrant application you get a 10% discount on the warrant fee. This is nothing to write home about, if the extension cost £50,000 the full warrant fee would be £640, so saving 10% equals £64. The engineers fee for the service can vary, I had two quotes from Engineers this week to prepare SER certificate for internal alterations to a two bed basement flat in Edinburgh; the first quote was £350 the second £800, typical house extensions cost somewhere in the middle.

So, now you know.

What Will it Cost ?

2009-06-25T16:22:00.007+01:00

Clients often ask me how much their proposed building or extension is going to cost them. This is never an easy question to answer, if indeed an Architect should answer it at all. Strictly speaking, I am not qualified to give detailed cost advice to people, for that you need a Quantity Surveyor. I can tell you that, from experience, house extensions around Edinburgh tend to costs between £1000 and £1500 per square meter. A builder whom I regularly work with tells me his extensions work out around £1200 per square meter.

While these figures are useful, remember they are based on a number of assumptions:

1. The building is "typical", that is its one or two storeys, timber frame, masonry external walls (rendered or exposed brick) with a slate or tile roof. As my builder friend told me recently, "it costs more for Architectural extras", by which I think he meant large areas of glass, timber cladding and metal roofs.

2. The site is conveniently located, not in the middle of nowhere or on the side of mountain (sloped sites are tricky to build on). City centre sites also pose chalanges. The ideal site, from a builders perspective, is semi-rural or suburban.

3. If its an extension or internal alteration, is the building listed or in a conservation area? if so it can cost more as specialist trades and materials may need to be used, like real lead and slate, lath and plaster, cut stone etc.

People appreciate being given something like a rule of thumb to work with but they often need more. I have two clients at present who want to conduct a preliminary tender proccess based only on planning drawings, something unheard of a few years ago. In normal economic conditions, a builder will engage in a tender process if they think they stand a realistic chance of getting the job. Tendering on planning drawings means there isn't any detailed construction information, this usually comes during the Building Warrant phase. There is also the risk of time delay, the builder knows that if we only have Planning drawings then we still need to go through the Building warrant process and that could take 2-4 months for a house extension. In that time, building material prices and labour costs may increase and his original tender estimate will be under-priced.

Despite these risks, I am having no trouble finding builders who want to bid for these projects.

The only thing left to worry about then, is my fee.

Twitterplan, the Nimbies get web 2.0

2009-06-04T21:44:00.009+01:00

I don't twitter, in fact I don't know anyone who does. To some people this means I'm about as tech savvy as Genghis Kahn, and just as sociable. I however am too busy running my own Architecture practise and am happy to find out what other people have been up to after the fact, over a pint, face to face.

You will understand my unease therefor when I discovered Twitterplan, a 'mash-up' website that allows local authorities across the UK to send twitter notifications alerting members when a planning applciation is lodged in their area. On the face of it this sounds great, the democratizing effect of the Internet, power to the people and all that. But it doesn't actually do anything that isn't already being done by the planning system.

When any new Planning Application is lodged with a local council, the applicant or their agent (thats me) must issue a formal written notification to certain 'notifiable neighbours'. These are properties that either adjoin the application or are situated very close to it. In other words they are the neighbours who are most likely to be affected. The local councils give any complaints made by the notifiable neighbours extra credence. This makes sense, otherwise you would have people in London objecting to application in Orkney, you have to draw the line somewhere.

If the property is a domestic one, two notification are sent, one the the owner and one to the occupier, as the property might be rented.

If the property is non-domestic; a school, farm, prison, airport etc. three notification are sent; one each to the the owner, occupier and the lessee.

If the onwership of the proerty is in doubt then an advert in the local papers is required.

All of this costs money and takes time and if its done incorrectly, if a notifiable neighbour is missed out, the application can be refused. All planning applications are public documents, you can find them online, drawings and all. All local councils will allow applications to be viewed at their offices if you ask.

Twitterplan isn't a replacement for neighbour notifications, its something that hip and trendy local authorities (Edinburgh isn't among them) have done to show their web 2.0 credentials. The Nimbies will love it.

The Return of the Granny Flat

2009-05-25T16:46:00.019+01:00

Many people thinks an Architect is primarily concerned with technical and legal issues relating to buildings; bricks-and-mortar, the Planning Regulations, that kind of thing. While these are relevant, a more important area where Architects should focus on is social and cultural trends. The patterns of living adopted by societies change from place to place and over time. Some cultures place high importance on maintaining a close extended family. Other societies are highly mobile and small families are the norm. These trends affect our domestic built environment profoundly.

What kind of dwellings make up the UK housing stock? Can they be easily adapted in case future generations change the way they live? Is the current recession changing the way people live today?

A great place to see the changing social, demographic and economic faces of the UK is the Office for National Statistics website.

Of course its hard to put a face to the numbers or work out what it all means. Being a Architect who works on domestic house extensions, one trend I can see emerging is the return of the Granny Flat, or to give it a more correct title, the Ancillary Residential Annex.

I have had three enquirers over the last month from people who have both a free standing garage and a granny, and who wish to combine the two in an efficient and harmonious fashion. In one case it was the granny who got in touch with me but in all three cases there was a young family involved. It seems that in an attempt to save on childcare, families are moving the grandparents back in.

If this is true, and if its becomes widespread, then it marks a turning point in a 30 year trend in the UK. Since the late 1970's the number of people per household has been falling. This graph, from the Office for National Statistics, shows a rough picture of this.

My personal prediction is that over the next year or two, we are going to see the trend reversing as more grannies move in, kids live at home while at University (top-up fees will encourage this) and people flat share or buy with friends while the property, mortgage and job markets remains volatile.

I dont see this trend being long term, it may just be a spike before business as usual but if the Great Recession continues, then who knows.

How to Become an Architect

2009-05-22T15:41:00.055+01:00

I go to a number of networking events in and around Edinburgh, some are better than others, Bizini is my personal favorite right now. It provides a variety of different business people with the opportunity to meet one another and network over a nice meal. I met a woman at a recent event who told me that her nephew was about to enter his final year at school and was seriously considering Architecture as a career; was it a difficult course to get into, she wanted to know?

Never mind getting in, I told her, its getting out the other end, thats the problem.

The title of Architect and the word Architecture are protected by law in this and many other countries. In the UK, the Architects Act 1997 states that a person cannot call themselves an Architect "in the course of business" unless their name is on a list maintained by the Architects Registration Boards (ARB). To get your name onto that list, you must pass three examinations, known as Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. It was once possible to sit these exams as part of an apprenticeship program, training while working for a qualified Architect. This is not a popular approach nowadays, I have never met anyone who has qualified this way.

To become an Architect in the UK, and in most developed countries, there are a number of steps that take at least seven years to complete, but often take longer. This how-to guide is based on my own experience of studying and qualifying thought the University system

School Subjects:
Most University Architecture courses will require applicants to sit an interview, some even conduct written exams. The purpose of these interviews is to view a portfolio prepared by the student. This portfolio will often contain art work or other creative projects by the student. The interviewer will want to know why the student wants to become an Architect and whether their view of the profession matches reality.

Depending on where you wish to study, there will be different criteria. Some schools of Architecture have an art bias, others lean more towards the technical approach. My own portfolio was full of technical drawing, photographs of woodwork projects and freehand sketches. I don't think any of these were particularly good but I got offered places at two different universities. I eventually chose Dundee and some of my classmates had portfolios of very good paintings and drawings, there was a mixture of students with both art and technical backgrounds.

In the long run, I wish I had studied art at school and that I had concentrated more on freehand drawing.

The Studio:
Most University courses revolve around lecture theaters, not so for Architecture. If you are studying to be an Architect you will spend most of your time in a studio. These vary but most will be large, well lit, rooms with desks and drawing boards. You will work in close proximity to other students for long hours. Lifetime friendships are made in the studio, my best mate met his wife there.

The studio is where you will work on design projects during each term or semester. Many people will work from home as well but most schools prefer, and even demand, their students be present in the studio during the day so they can benefit from tutorials. These are given by staff who will go around the studios and usually have responsibility for a number of students. As part of the design process you will have to produce drawings and models showing how you will address each design project. When you reach the point where your design is really good, or if you are about to run out of time, which ever happens first, you must prepare finished drawings and models for presentation. This almost inevitably calls for an all-nighter.

The All-Nighter:
This is something that unites Architects world-wide, we all did one at some time. You have 48 hours to go before a design must be submitted, you haven't got any finished drawings or models. What do you do? you don't sleep, thats what.

Many architects I know are now coffee connoisseurs as a direct result of having to stay awake for nights at a time. The result of all this effort is then displayed on the studio walls, the tables and drawing boards cleared away, and a critique is held.

The Crit:
A critique, or crit as it is more widely know, is a face to face examination of you design work by a number of tutors. You will start by explaining how you interpreted the brief, examined the site, researched the precedents and then boiled down all this information to produce the final building design.

It is at this point the tutors jump in by asking probing questions, demanding to know why you didn't consider alternative approaches or pointing out the inadequacy of some aspects of your design. The crit can be a brutal process, I have seen people cry as a result to the interrogation their design received. The important thing it to learn from the process and not to give up because quite a few people give up.

The Drop-Out Rate:
When I started University in 1998 there were 81 people in my class, when I finally graduated in 2004 there were only 16 of those original 81 in my class. Four more graduated the next year, having repeated a year for various reasons. That meant a drop-out rate of just over 75%, I thought that was unusual, that my class were particularly bad. By comparison to other years at my University, my class was above average but not by much. I have met a lot of Architects from around the world in the years since graduating and its much the same story with them. These three forums should give you some idea of the scale of the problem. Its difficult to pinpoint why people leave the course before graduation, I know many of my former classmates did so for a wide variety of reasons; sickness, failing exams, family crisis, transfer to other degree, change of heart and getting fed up with the length of time involved. One of the biggest changes to the make up of my university class occurred when people returned form the year out.

The Year Out:
Usually after three years study, you will be awarded a degree. This allows you to bypass the first Architecture examination, the Part 1. Provided your university is suitably accredited, you pass the Part 1 by virtue of gaining the degree. At this point you are required to go out into the big bad world and find a job in an Architects office for 12 months. This is known in the trade as the Year Out.

You can work for any Architect, so long as they are suitably qualified and registered with the appropriate governing body. Many people move back home and work for an office round the corner from mom and dad, I went to Sydney. I worked for a small practice called White-Box Architect and had a great time. I learned things University cannot teach you, like how to deal with builders, clients and planning departments.

The year flew by and at the end I was sad to leave. This is often the first time many graduates earn their own money and live independently, that can be hard to give up and some don't bother to finish their education.

Back to Uni:
After the year out you will come back to university, you don't have to go to the same institution that gave you your first degree, many take the opportunity for a change of scene. This part of your Architectural Education is more intense than before, there will be fewer students and more full time tutors. You will have to pass written examination in subjects like, construction technology, history and theory, structures, professional management and so on. You may also have to produce a written dissertation on a topic of your own choosing but you will have to produce a thesis project. Depending on the institution you are studying at you will be aiming for an honors or masters degree, these will be graded 1st class, 2.1, 2.2 3rd class etc. Students frequently obsess over this result but unless you want to pursue further academic study, they have little impact on your future career path.

This degree takes two to three years to complete, at the end of which you graduate and, like before get an automatic pass for the Part 2 examination. This is the end of most peoples academic career, after this you will go out and find work for a practice. Some people go back to their year out firm others travel abroad for work. When times were good most graduates got snapped up in a matter of weeks, I got headhunted the same day I finished my degree. These days its very tough, the current crop of graduates are going to have to work very hard just to get an interview.

The really tough break is that after six years of study, you are still not allowed to call yourself an Architect. Technically you are an Architectural Assistant and it is at this point that most people learn, for the first time, how to do the job of being an Architect.

Part 3:
This is the daddy, the big one, the examination you've been wanting to sit for most of a decade. At present a candidate must have a minimum of 24 months experience working for a qualified practice. This experience is recorded in a log-book, this used to be a real paper book but now its on line. You will be expected to have experienced a variety of responsibilities, job running, dealing with clients, public bodies, contractors as well as a demonstrating a knowledge of professional competence, contractual awareness, legal and regulatory understanding.

The exam itself is tough, it consists of three parts; a written exam paper, a written case study and an interview.

The written exam or practice paper, is just 10 questions long and you are given 48 hours to complete it. You will need most, if not all, of the 48 hours. Its an open book exam so you can consult anyone, other than another candidate. The questions vary from general issues affecting the profession, to specific contractual problems dreamt up by the exam board.

The case study is a 6000 word document. It can be either based on a project you worked on or on an abstract aspect of practice, some issue affecting the profession. Most people do the first type and discuss a project they worked on. Its important to stress here that the Part 3 exam, unlike Parts 1 and 2 has very little to do with design. It is a examination in professional management and is designed to see if you can cope with running your own practice. In theory, you could set up working on your own the day you pass.

The interview examiners will have read your case study and your practice paper as well as reviewed your log sheets. They go through these and raise points for discussion. The interview is designed to weed out people who shouldn't be setting up on their own. As one examiner told me, "we just want to see if you are a safe pair of hands". It's tough, very few people I know who have gone through the interview enjoy it. The failure rate is roughly 20%.

But its the last hoop you must jump though, after this you are an Architect. No more exams, unless you count all the continuing professional development you have to do, but that a story for another day....

Disabled Access and Small Commercial Premises

2009-05-16T19:59:00.016+01:00

Last week I got a phone call from a client who owns a café / deli on Leith Walk in Edinburgh. He had found me through my website and wanted my professional opinion on some changes he was planning to his premises.

The deli is a small, one room operation, about 12-14m long and 5-6m wide (I didn't do a survey when I visited, we just had a chat over some of the best coffee I've had in ages) The property benefits from a basement, accessed through a trap-door, which has a toilet that only the staff use. It is these sanitary facilities which were under discussion, as the owner wants to upgrade them and make them available to his customers. There is level access straight off the street and the current door is wide enough for a wheelchair, which set my alarm bells ringing straight away.

Disability Discrimination Act. !

I explained to the owner that if he provided toilets to the public he might have to ensure they are accessible to everyone, which would mean a toilet on the ground floor. He wasn't happy. I told him that I wasn't an expert on this topic and that I would contact Edinburgh Council to seek guidance, after all, this kind of thing must happen all the time in the city.

A few days later I phoned Building Control who were, uncharacteristically, unhelpful. They told me I would need a disabled toilet and two means of escape form the basement. Two means of escape! I checked this in the regulations myself and found that this is true except when the basement is solely used for sanitary facilities (it helps to read the fine print) The Building Standards Officer informed me we would have to lodge a Building Warrant in order to establish if a relaxation of the regulations could be achieved. Lodging a Warrant could cost the café owner over a £1000 between my fee, an engineers fee and the lodgment fee to the council. Only to be told no at the end of it. That is a significant risk to a small business.

I have offered to work speculatively for the client, a sort of no win, no fee arrangement. Lets see how it goes.

Small Business and Yell.com

2009-05-15T12:43:00.012+01:00

I am new to running my own business, so when I started out I thought an add in the yellow pages or yell.com was the way to go. I contacted yell and got a quote from them, the price was spread over one year and works out at nearly £40 per month. I thought it was pricey but went for it anyway. Around the same time, I started a pay-per-click advert campaign with Google adds. This is set to never spend more than £1 per day, so i usually get two clicks (40p per click) a day. I think its good value for money.

But what about Yell.com, well the facts speak for themselves.

Over the last two month period Yell.com sent me 21 visitors at an average cost of £3.90 per visitor.
Over the same period Google Adds sent me 133 visitors, at an average cost of £0.40 per visitor. Yell.com works out nearly 10 times more expensive or less effective, depending on how you view it.
I phoned yell and asked them to cancel the contract, no they tell me, this cant be done. I'm in for 12 months and thats it. I asked what they were going to do about the pathetic return on investment figures, noting constructive they tell me, its all down the the Great Recession you see.

Needless to say, I'm livid and I'm not the only one. Check out these three web forums, full of disgruntled Yell customers and have a look at yell's share price over the last two years.

Says it all really.

How To Lodge A Planning Applciation

2009-05-11T20:09:00.040+01:00

I sometimes get asked by my clients about what is involved in lodging a planning application. In this post I will give a concise guide on how to prepare and lodge a competent planning application.

Note I didn't say, 'a successful planning application'. The first thing you should know, is that planning applications have an element of uncertainty about them. A competent professional would never give a cast iron guarantee of getting planning permission granted for your project, just that they will get one registered. Neither should you expect this guide to give you the inside track or some special planning magic.

Every piece of guidance I discuss here is available from your local planning authority, I've just simplified it. I will also assume that if you are lodging your own application, either you, or someone you know, can produce architectural drawings. There is no use in knowing which forms to fill in, if you cant supply drawings with the application.

My architecture practice is based in Scotland, so this advice applies more to the Scottish system, although the rest of the UK is broadly simmilar. This post also assumes your property is not listed or in conservation area. The advice given here is correct at the time I wrote it, it may change however, so check with your local authority before you start!

First: Planning Permission exists to keep your neighbors, and society in general, happy. To put it another way, the Planning Department of your local council is not so concerned about your quality of life, as the quality of everyones lives. When planning applications are lodged, particularity for larger building like hospitals or airports, the planners will be most concerned about the likely effect the extra people in these building will have on local facilities. Will the roads be over-used, will the gas, electric and water supply be over-stretched, will the schools need more classrooms. They will also want to know about the likely environmental impact, on water systems, farm land, the landscape. When these big strategic question have been answered, then, finally, the planners start asking about the aesthetic value of the scheme, whether it looks good or not.

This same system, designed to deal with large infrastructure and commercial buildings, is adapted to deal with small domestic extensions too. It does this using a system called Delegated Powers.

The application for large buildings are decided by a committee, acting on the advice of professional planning officers. The committee is made up of your local councilors, politicians, who may or may not, have a sound grasp of architectural principals and urban design theory. The will however, have a very sound grasp of what gets votes. This is where the uncertainty in planning comes from, its human and political. Delegated Powers tries to avoid that, as the power to decide your modest dormer application, is delegated to a professional planning officer. They make the planning decision themselves. If enough of your immediate neighbors object to the application however, then it will be sent to committee, for the politicians to decide. You see, it pays to get on well with them next door.

Next: You need to know the meaning of the various definitions in a Planning Application Form. Each Scottish local authority has its own unique Planning Application form, the questions are always similar and the same terms appear on each one. Check out the Edinburgh Council forms here.

Applicant - thats you, it doesn't matter if you are hiring someone (like an Architect) to lodge the application for you, you are still the applicant.

Agent - The person preparing the application on behalf of the Applicant. Leave this blank if you are doing a DIY application.

Land Ownership - You do not need to own the land which is the subject of the application. This comes as a shock to most people, but anyone could lodge a planning application to turn your house into an amusement park! they would have to pay the lodgment fee and if they got the application approved, only your would benefit from it. Remember, no one has to build what they get permission for and a planning approval remains with the property, not the applicant who got the approval. You can sell your house with planning permission and the next person has the right to build what you applied for. Permission stays with the property, not the person, and is valid for five years from the day it is granted. All planning application forms require you to provide a land ownership certificate or to sign a deceleration stating that you have owned the land for a period of time prior to the application being made. Beware, If you knowingly make a false statement here, it is a crime. Your drawings must show the planning application boundary in red, any other land you own nearby that isn't involved in the application must be show with a blue boundary.

Notifiable Neighbors - We all have an idea of who our neighbors are but trust local government to make guidelines for it! A notifiable neighbor is someone who's property is close enough to yours and your application may negatively affect them so much that they have a special legal right to be informed in writing when the application is made. If it later transpires that a notifiable neighbor was not properly informed, the planning application can be rejected. Not only must you notify these people, you must also show the planning department who they are on a neighbor notification plan. I have included one of my neighbor notification plans here, I have placed a number on each property and a corresponding schedule on the side with their address. The names are blurred for privacy. Note how the site boundary is highlighted, there is a north point and a signed and dated stamp on the drawing showing it to be a "true copy of the original". This, and all other site maps and location plans, must be based on an accurate Ordnance Survey drawing. These can be purchased or download for a fee from various companies, I use Promap. You must register and most maps, like the one above, cost in the region of £15-25. Remember to ensure you buy the appropriate public license to the copyright and to display the copyright license number on the drawings.

All this is fine, as long as you are certain who is your neighbor. I wont go into great detail here because each local council published guidelines, sometimes with diagrams, showing how you determine who to notify. A good rule of thumb is, if in doubt - notify them. Don't try and hide the fact your are lodging an application, they will find out anyway.

The last thing to know about notifiable neighbors is that there are two kinds; Domestic and everybody else. If the neighboring property is a domestic home (house or apartment) you must send two notifications. Once to the owner, another to the occupier. This is because many properties are rented. If the property is anything other than a domestic home (field, forest, school, shop, prison etc) you must send three separate notifications; owner, occupier and lessee. If the property is abandoned or it is not immediately obvious where to send the notifications, the Land Registry can do a search, to find the owners, for a fee.

The alternative to all of this is an advert in the local media. Usually, you can send a fee to the planning department and they will take care of it.

Lodgment or Application Fees - at present in Scotland, the planning application fee for a house extension is £145 and for one new-build house is £260. See this Scottish Government guidance notice. The cheque is made out to which ever local council you are lodging the application with.

Full or Outline Planning Permission - Full permission is exactly that, full. It is the final word, you do not need another planning application, (though you will almost certainly need a Building Warrant). Outline Planning Permission however, is an agreement in principle to construct the type of building you have in mind. It does not specify the size, method or materials involved and for that reason isn't enough on its own to start building.

Finally: What kind of design will get planning approval? This really is an impossible question to answer, but that doesn't stop people asking me. It helps to have a good look at any guidelines published by your local council, this is Edinburgh Council's advice . Beyond that, I would strongly advise you seek the help of a professional.

Contemporary Design and the Planning Department

2009-05-09T09:53:00.009+01:00

A few months back, I was asked to design a garage conversion for the friend of a friend. It turned out the client was a partner in a local law firm who dealt with estates and property. He lived in a wealthy and relatively conservative suburb of Edinburgh, next door to a private school. The house had a free standing garage and the site was surrounded by trees, some of them quite mature and benefiting from preservation orders.

I like a challenge!

Despite my first impressions, the client turned out to have a very keen eye for contemporary design. The proposal we settled on involved putting a copper box on top of the garage and extending it to over-hang the front and the back. I liked it, I wasn't so sure the neighbors would however.

The clients business partners were skeptical, some thought he was wasting his money but we lodged the Planning Application anyway.

Six weeks later it came back; Planning Approved.

Professionals and Blogging

2009-05-02T18:58:00.016+01:00

Two married friends of mine have recently started their own Architects Practice. Though they are both tech-savvy, they differ in their views of Web 2.0 and interactive media. She has embraced Facebook and Blogging while he doesn't see the need for it. He commented recently that, in his view, it's only a matter of time before the ARB strike someone off for the content of their Blog. It's true that the very first requirement of the Code of Conduct states that;

"Architects should not make, support or collaborate in any statement, written or otherwise, which is contrary to their professional opinion, or which they know to be misleading, or unfair to others, or otherwise discreditable to the profession."

This does not prevent an Architect from discussing their opinions on current events that affect the profession, ongoing projects they are involved with or details of Architectural services they provide. There's an old story in the Profession that, once upon a time, the only publicity an Architect could have was their brass plaque outside the office and their number in the phone book. If that is true, then we are getting places, just one step at a time.

An article in the Architects Journal last year pointed out that there are very few blogs by Architects anywhere, and put this down to the profession having better things to do.

I disagree with the AJ on this one, I think there is more to the paucity of blogging from our fine profession than a lack of time or over-regulation. I suspect there are some within the established professions who view sharing information as business suicide.

A search of blogcatalog.com for the usual suspects turns up the following number of blogs.

Accountant = 16
Engineer = 32
Architect = 53
Doctor = 69
Lawyer = 165

Using Google's Advanced Blog Search to look for blog posts written by professionals within the last year, you get a similar result.

Accountant = 1,282
Architect = 1,823
Engineer = 2,742
Lawyer = 4,809
Doctor = 10,840

Now, I wonder if these figures corelate with average salaries ?

If you use the salary calculator on monster.co.uk you will find that, in Edinburgh, the following professionals have these average salaries.

Accountant = £24,819
Architect = £26,728
Civil Engineer = £28,566
Lawyer = £42,243
Doctor (GP) = £44,258

That is spooky! I'm no expert on statistics but someone ought to look into this. I know that these salary rankings have been like that since before blogs, or even the Internet came along. So it isn't caused by blogging.

But it doesn't seem to be harmed by it either.

Get on line and get blogging now. It may be business suicide if you dont.

Do you know any good builders?

2009-05-02T14:28:00.007+01:00

I've been in business for almost six months and, so far, am refusing to participate in this recession. To mark the occasion I checked my accounts.

So far, I've earned 70% of my turnover from private one-off clients, people who own a house and need an extension or alteration. There are plenty of clients like that out there just now and, generally, I enjoy working with them. Its always a challenge for an Architect to get the balance of budget and expectation just right. Because I offer a variety of services and am flexible with my fees, people tell me they feel I provide value for money.

What about the other 30% though, where did that come from?

Private developers. Usually small builders who have a bit of cash and are investing in the property market while its cheap to do so. I love these guys. Most will know the construction industry inside out and they know that an Architect can add significant value to a project as well as keeping all the paperwork in order. They tend to pay promptly as well, no small matter if your a self employed Architect.

For the next six months, my challenge is to find more developers and small builders and reverse the 70-30 ratio.

If you know any good builders in Edinburgh, the Lothains, Fife or the Borders, let me know.

Read this and you too could be a Designer.

2009-04-29T21:26:00.002+01:00

I've been meaning to get this one off my chest for years. I am an Architect and have been formally trained in design, so I know a thing or too about it. These are some of the best design lessons I have learned, to date. First:

Everyone is a designer.

It's common to hear people taking about designer goods; designer clothes, designer furniture, designer this and designer that. It seems to be a widely held assumption that if you buy something made by a recognized designer that;

1. Its somehow better.
2. Its more expensive (for a full explanation of why, see point No. 1)

Wrapped up in this faulty logic is the notion that some things are designed and everything else, sort of, happens!

This is a load of codswallop.

Every single things made by human beings is designed. Everything. Even if the person concerned doesn't call it design, if they are making decisions based on choices, they are a designer. It's just a matter of how good they are at it.

Even if you are digging a hole in the ground, you have choices to make:

How deep should I dig?
Spade or shovel?
Should the ground be wet or dry?
Should the sides be sheer or sloped?

Even a hole in the ground is designed.

The second lesson is not to be precious about your own designs.

You are not your design !

If your friend shows you their latest painting, one they did themselves, and you don't like it, would you tell them? You should. Just because you don't like their painting it doesn't mean you don't like them, they are still your friend after all.

Who we are and what we make are not the same. If you become precious about your designs, then you wont listen to any criticism and good advice will pass you by. Designers who are precious, usually go with the first thing that pops into their head. Thats not to say the first idea is no good, just that most of the time it needs refining. If you are precious about it you wont want to refine your ideas, because that is a tacit admission that they were imperfect to begin with. You are trapped. If you let go of your designs and admit that, occasionally, they can be rubbish and need improvement, then you will be free to produce good design.

I've been involved in some real horror story buildings in the last few years, some I just worked on, others I helped to design. But it doesn't matter, because of the next lesson.

In Architecture, it is not all about the Architect.

I feel like I could be struck off for sharing this one, or at least lynched, but here goes anyway.

If your life's ambition is to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, all you need is a pen and some paper. Beyond that, talent and motivation. Just write. Its quite possible you could keep the whole thing hidden from everyone until its finished, then publish it and wait for the phone call from Stockholm. Your capital outlay could be less than £20.

Perhaps you want to paint something profound, a painting to rival the Mona Lisa or Guernica. Off to the art supply store, £50 should get you some canvas, paint and a few descent brushes. Keep it all under wraps until the opening night exhibition at the Louvre. All you need is talent and motivation.

But what if you decide your life's work will be an Architectural masterpiece. Something that future generations, 1000 years from now, will want to preserve. A new Taj Mahal or Chartres. Thats different, now you need land to build it on and large property transactions are public knowledge. You will need planning permission, because this baby will be BIG. Its going to cost money, lost of money and you will need the best craftsmen, and engineers to help you. In short there is no way you can claim this to be entirely your own work. The best that most Architects I know could manage alone is to design and build a new garden shed for themselves. It takes more than talent and motivation to make a great Building.

When people talk about Architecture, either buildings they really love or hate, they almost always invoke the Architect as being solely responsible. If its praise, many Architects indulge the conceit. If its damming, they tend to ignore it (if you take the lesson No. 2 to heart, you don't take anything to heart, so to speak) The crucial missing link here is the client.

As I've just shown, Its seldom possible for a Architect to be completely responsible for a building, whether its considered beautiful of hideous. Most of the time it comes down to money. The next time someone is going on about a building they love or hate and how they praise or blame the Architect, ask yourself; Did the Architect pay for the building?

Probably not, its more likely the client paid for it. If so, they may have had a significant say is how the building turned out.

There are two types of client that Architects dread.

Type 1: "heres an empty field and a blank cheque, I'll be back in one year and I expect to see...something...a house, yea, a nice house". These clients don't ever want to communicate or to make decisions. Inevitably, If you take their money, what you design will not be what they had in mind.

Type 2: At the first meeting, "I want these tiles on my new bathroom and I've ordered a lovely carpet for the new sitting room, make sure it fits". These clients don't want an Architect, they don't want ideas, they want compliance with their every (detailed) instruction. They need a draftsperson, not a designer.

The best client falls in the middle, one who has ideas and is willing to consider yours. Its a partnership of equals and requires the Architect to be humble enough to admit they don't know everything, that is how truly great buildings are made.

Lesson number four.

Materials and Craftsmen.

A guy I went to uni with came back from a holiday in Poland once, having been to visit Auschwitz. Being an Architect, he had noticed that many of the original camp buildings were still still standing after 50 years and he made the, somewhat flippant, observation that despite being a terrible place, the brickwork was excellent!

This story illustrates a problem many people have with Architecture. They get hung up on workmanship.

The US military, not so well known for their profound intellectual insights, nevertheless have an apt description for this situation. They are fond of saying that you cant win a war without an air force, but you cant win a war with an air force alone. Deep, I know, but what does it have to do with Architecture?

You cant make a great building without excellent materials and skilled trades people, but you cant make a great building with those things alone.

The brickmasons at Auschwitz must have been good at their trade, they may even have been the best brickmasons who ever lived, but none of it matters because the place is a hell-hole. Individual trades and specialist professions (im thinking of engineers) are fixated on their specializations and they do not care for anything else. After all, you wouldn't blame the structural engineer if the lights didn't work. Only the Architect sees the big picture and is best placed to come up with a holistic design that makes best us of the all the skilled people available.

The downside of this is that the brickie may be able to make the perfect wall, but an Architect can never make the perfect building. The final lesson:

All design is a compromise.

I love cars and I love driving. Suppose I wanted to buy a car that does everything I need it to do. It can reach 200mph, it returns 60+ MPG, it is ultra reliable and costs £10k from new. Did i also mention it looks gorgeous and comfortably seats six adults.

Impossible, I know.

Its the same with everything: Food, taste v's calories and fat. Clothes, cost versus wear and tear. Architecture is no different. There is a nice little diagram, an isosceles triangle that shows the problem. Time, Cost and Quality. If you demand one of the three, the other two must give. A good designer is a good decision maker.

Have fun.

Caveat Emptor

2009-04-26T22:38:00.001+01:00

There are about 28,000 grade A and B listed buildings in Scotland, the number changes annually. Around 2,800 of those buildings are altered or extended every year. Consider also that, back when times were good, the Scottish construction industry employed over 200,000 people. Yet despite all of those people doing all of that work, its still difficult to find trades people and professionals who know what they are doing when it comes to historic building.

One of my clients recently bought a Grade B listed building, in a market town in central Scotland, as a development opportunity. The previous owners had employed a local designer to get planning permission to convert it from one dwelling into several flats. The designer had divided up the property to make good use of the space and had successfully gained planning and listed building consent. My client, a builder / developer who I work with regularly, asked me to take care of the Building Warrant application and to be lead consultant to any specialists we might need.

All was going well, I'd even sweet talked the CAD drawings from the previous designer and then set about preparing the warrant.

Bombshell.

The proposed floor plans, which have planning permission, do not comply with the Fire escape regulations.

Its only three stories tall but because the top floor is above 7.5m from the ground, (its those tall ceilings, they get you every time) a more stringent set of requirements come into play. If you were building these flats from scratch, the common stairwell would have a lobby on each level. So you should come out of the stairs and go through a fire door into a lobby and then into your flat. Our plan just has the stairwell, no lobby! There isn't any room of one, unless you lose a flat and then the £££ doesn't stack up.

I tried my best with the Building Control officer and the local Fire Officer, who were very helpful, but rules is rules. Since the plan cannot be made to comply we have a compromise situation - they want sprinklers!

Then theres the roof. The ground floor of the building is owned by someone else, and the title deeds say they have a 40% responsibility for the upkeep of the roof. And the roof need some serious upkeep.

The ground floor owners said they wanted a number of quotes from different roofing specalists, including one they nominated. So I prepared some drawings and rounded up some roofing contractors for a tender proccess. Of course the chosen one from downstairs came in the lowest and by some margin as well. I cheked over his specification and it turns out he wants to use single-ply membrane instead of lead on the roof junctions.

Now, I like single-ply, It's the material of choice when I specify a flat roof. But on a listed building! No chance. Of course downstairs wont accept this, so I'm off to speak to the Planners about it.

At least, as a listed building, its 0% VAT rated

Meteoronomics - The Dismal Science of Fine Weather.

2009-04-19T19:19:00.002+01:00

I'm sure it wont have escaped your notice; more convertibles on the roads, picnics in the parks, people smiling. None of these things have happened, I'm sure, since before Norther Rock went off the economic deep end. But then we've not had such a nice spring since then either. I have drawn the necessary conclusion using the advanced, and hitherto unknown, science of Meteoronomics - the study of how weather affect the economy!

Now I'm not suggesting you buy shares in sun cream or sell off your woolly jumper collection before its value goes into negative equity. I just happen to think that the London-centric media have been overly pally with the city boys and have not missed a chance to proclaim our imminent economic demise. If you took them seriously, they'd have you believe Robert Mugabe should have a go at running the bank of England, after all, how much worse could he make it?

No, I'm just saying that we all need something to smile about. The Great Recession, as some have termed it, does have real financ-onomic roots but a great deal of it is down to sentiment. If we could just get everyone to cheer up a bit, go outside and have some fun, then maybe we could smile our way out of this economic near-death experience.

I'm beginning to see some of the much vaunted 'green shoots' in my own business. A number of recent clients, with a bit of money to spend, have been re-entering the residential property market in Edinburgh and central Scotland. Some of them are even concerned they have already "missed the bottom" and will go on at length about how they have spent the last year "thinking about the bottom" and "planning for the bottom".

Trying to keep my inner 10 year old from laughing in these situations is a serious challenge. Nevertheless I've been advising my clients of more modest means that, provided they can afford it, this is an excellent time to build.

Bilbao, and everything after.

2009-04-19T10:57:00.002+01:00

I remember, as a final year student in school, reading time magazine's cover story on the new Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. The article played some role in my decision to study Architecture im sure. In the years since, a well documented obsession has emerged where small regional cities vie to host world class museums and galleries. Variously known as the Guggenheim / Bilbao effect, the reasoning is that more people will visit the place and the cities image will receive a huge boost. The reasoning is essentially financial.

I suspect there is more to it than £ $ e

I'm not the first to point out that the western world, though long since removed from religion, still hankers after the immortal. Instead of building churches, we build shrines to our art. We have downgraded our expectaions, from a vain hope of bodily reseruction to a modest chance at urban regeneration.

In the years after reading that Time article, while studying and working in Architecture, I've had time to reflect on what Frank Gehry achieved at Bilbao. I even saw the guy when he came to open his Maggie Centre in Dundee, where i was a student at the time. Some of my classmates took the great man around town to see the sights and reported back that he was rude, arrogant and offensive. No surprise really, as that is a fair reflection of some of his architecture.

Now I hear that the Victoria and Albert Museum is seriously considering a satellite gallery in Dundee. Working in partnership with Duncan of Jordonstone College of Art and Design, my Alma Mater, there appears to some vague plan for 'regenerating' the city. I'm sorry but one little gallery isn't going to single handedly reverse four decades of industrial decline, the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Scotland and stem the population decline. Dundee has an excellent little gallery in the DCA on South Tay Street, which already works hand in glove with the University and art college. I highly recommend going for a pint any sunny afternoon in the bar, when the large sliding glass screens are opened and people spill out into the amphitheater. It's like Dundee's living room, everyone goes there, and it shows that you don't need to hire an international (st)Architect to make an impact.

I hear there holding a design competition :)

Its ok, TV will save us !

2009-04-18T10:45:00.001+01:00

First it was Grand Designs, showing people just how far a bit of imagination could go, if you knew what do with it. Then Location Location Location, despite being insufferably smug, showed that there was money in the property game. And now we have The Planners are Coming, that so far has done two things:

1. Demonstrate that there really is one born every minute.

My favorite so far is the guy who had almost finished building a "hay shed", complete with bathroom, internal partitions, and an insulated roof, before the planners caught up with him.

2. Show the general public that planning permission is a serious business and if your not going to hire a professional to do it for you, at least phone up the planners and have a chat about your ideas before building the thing.

I would have charged that guy around £600 to lodge planning for his "shed". Despite it being in a green-belt and on agricultural land, I think we would have had a better result than being made to rip the roof off, as happened on the show.