How It Works
Our Process
From first conversation to final handover — a plain-English walkthrough of every stage.
How It Works
From first conversation to final handover — a plain-English walkthrough of every stage.
What To Expect
Most UK architectural work is organised around the RIBA Plan of Work — eight stages from initial brief to life in use. It's a framework that aligns architects, engineers, contractors and clients around a common language.
The stages matter because each represents a different kind of decision, a different kind of drawing, and a different kind of fee. At each stage we'll show you what we've done, explain the options, and wait for your sign-off before moving on.
What follows is a stage-by-stage walkthrough with realistic timescales and who does what.
See Fees By Stage00
Strategic Definition
Stage 0 is the thinking before the brief. What are you actually trying to achieve? Is the plot right? Should you renovate, extend or move? Is the budget realistic for the ambition?
Most of our clients come to us during or after this stage — they've already decided on their direction. But if you're at the earlier end we can help you think it through via a short feasibility study.
Duration: 2–6 weeks · Fee: Feasibility studies are typically £1,500–£5,000 depending on scope · You get: Site analysis, 2–3 design options, preliminary costs, planning risk assessment.
We sit down together and develop the brief. What do you need from the space? How do you actually live or work? What's the budget? What's the timeline? What matters most — speed, cost, quality, performance?
We also carry out the site survey, gather existing drawings (if any), and pull together planning history and local policy. This is the foundation everything else builds on.
Duration: 2–4 weeks · Fee: ~5% of total fee · You get: Written brief, measured survey, planning policy summary, outline programme.
01
Preparation & Briefing
02
Concept Design
We develop concept design options — usually 2–3 alternative approaches shown as plans, sketches and sometimes a physical model. The point isn't to pick a final answer; it's to explore the shape of the possible.
We meet to review, discuss, test. You have strong opinions. We have strong opinions. The best answer comes from that conversation. This is the most creative stage and often the most enjoyable.
If your project needs planning permission, we also seek pre-application advice from the planning authority at this stage — it's the single biggest way to reduce planning risk.
Duration: 4–8 weeks · Fee: ~15% of total fee · You get: 2–3 design options, sketches, preliminary cost plan, pre-app advice (where applicable).
The chosen concept is developed in detail. Massing is refined, materials chosen, room-by-room sizes resolved. We coordinate with engineers and other consultants so the scheme is buildable.
Then we prepare and submit the planning application — drawings, Design & Access Statement, supporting documents. Typical householder applications are determined in 8 weeks by law.
This is often the nervous waiting period. We stay in touch with the case officer, respond to queries, negotiate amendments if needed. Most of our applications approve first time.
Duration: 12–16 weeks (including 8–13 weeks of planning) · Fee: ~20% of total fee · You get: Developed design drawings, planning application, planning decision.
03
Spatial Coordination
04
Technical Design
This is the biggest stage by volume of work. We produce the full construction drawings: general arrangements, sections, plans at 1:50, details at 1:5 and 1:1. Kitchens, bathrooms, joinery, ironmongery, lighting — all specified.
We also submit the building regulations application — the legal approval that your build meets structural, thermal, fire and ventilation requirements. This is technical not political: if your design meets the regs, it's approved.
At the end of this stage you have a complete set of information — enough for contractors to price and build without ambiguity.
Duration: 8–16 weeks · Fee: ~30% of total fee · You get: Full construction drawings, written specification, building regs approval.
We run a competitive tender with 2–4 contractors we know and trust, or with a contractor you've chosen. Each returns a priced tender return.
We analyse the returns — not just price, but programme, preliminaries, risk allowances, method statements. Price alone rarely tells the full story. We make a recommendation, and you choose who to appoint.
You sign a formal building contract with the contractor (typically a JCT contract). We act as Contract Administrator on your behalf throughout the build.
Duration: 4–6 weeks tender + contract · Fee: ~5% of total fee · You get: Tender analysis, appointed contractor, signed contract.
05
Tender & Appointment
06
Construction
Construction starts. We visit site regularly — weekly or fortnightly depending on stage — to inspect progress, answer the contractor's questions, issue instructions and manage variations.
Every month we certify interim payments to the contractor, approving the value of work done. Changes are managed through written instructions so cost and programme implications are understood before decisions are made.
This is where an architect's value really shows: the drawings never capture everything, and site decisions happen constantly. Having the same architect who designed the building answering the contractor's questions dramatically improves quality.
Duration: 3 months (small extension) to 18+ months (new build) · Fee: ~20% of total fee · You get: Regular site visits & reports, interim certificates, variation instructions, finished building.
At the end of construction we inspect carefully, issue a snagging list, and wait for the contractor to complete those items. Then we issue a Practical Completion certificate — the formal legal moment when the building is ready for you to occupy.
You receive the O&M documentation: manuals, warranties, product information, as-built drawings. You move in.
There's typically a 12-month Defects Liability Period during which the contractor is obligated to return and fix any defects that emerge. At the end of that period we inspect again, issue a final certificate and release the contractor's retention payment.
Duration: 12 months (defects period) · Fee: ~5% of total fee · You get: Handover documentation, defects inspections, final certificate.
07
Handover
The Whole Programme
9–12
From first meeting to moving back into the finished home. Design 3m · planning 2m · tender 1m · build 4m.
18–24
Design & planning 6m · tender & contract 2m · construction 10m · snagging & handover 2m.
24–36
Design & planning 8m · technical design & tender 4m · construction 12–18m · snagging 2m.
Ready to Start?
Every project starts the same way — an honest conversation about what you want, what's possible, and what it might cost.
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