Architectural Services

We offer a range of architectural services. As a full service Architecture company this includes; the traditional Architects’ full service which covers all work from the inception of a project up to the completion of the construction, as well as the individual stages of work outlined below.

Architecture company Somerset and London

Concept design

The initial stage of a project can be the most exciting, where ideas and strategies are explored, and either rejected, or adopted and developed. This stage defines the project parameters of scale, scope, timescale and budget, which are translated into drawn form, for the conceptual design.

This can be an exhilarating process, ideas are explored in two and three dimensions and tested against the project parameters. This is the opportunity to investigate concepts, some of which may be ultimately unrealistic, and to hone the concept design, which can then be taken forward to the next stage.

Prime Meridian Architects, Shepton Mallet Somerset

Planning applications

Depending on the size and scale of the project, a form of planning approval and/or Listed Building Consent may be required, prior to commencing the construction. This is the next project stage, where the concept design is worked up into a set of planning drawings, both 2D and 3D, to comprehensively describe the project.

These applications require both drawn and written information, and may need input and design from other specialists, such as ecology, highways and tree consultants.

Technical Design

The technical design stage produces the detailed drawings and written specifications required to successfully cost, and construct the building(s). The drawings are at larger scales than for the planning stage, and describe the method of construction, spatial layouts and materials to be used in detail. They also show how the structure, services and landscape are integrated into the design.

Building Regulations

Most building operations require approval under the Building Regulations, even small works such as replacing fuse boxes, installing new bathroom fittings, replacing windows and doors and replacing a heating system. The Regulations cover a wide range of areas, some of which may seem obvious such as Structural Design, Fire Safety, Drainage and Conservation of fuel & power, and others – Protection from falling, Access to buildings and glazing – less so.

Applications are made to either the Local Authority or to an Independent Approved Inspector.

Conservation and heritage assets

In the UK we have a rich and diverse built environment, which contributes to the character and the vernacular of an area, and evokes a special feeling of the past. Many of these buildings and groups of buildings have statutory protection, including Listed Buildings and Conservation Area status, but there are also strong environmental and cultural imperatives to retain and reuse existing un-protected buildings. But Conservation does not only relate to old and historic buildings, it can be relevant to relatively recently constructed buildings that require upgrade or refurbishment.

Project Management

Project Management, in the broadest meaning of the term, is integral to the architectural design process, as the design is managed through the various stages described above. However, the term can have a particular meaning, of managing the construction phase of a project, with specific reference to the control of costs and time, supplemented by a building contract.