London · Est. 2005
From the first conversation to the second year in.
A residential project is a long collaboration. We’ve broken ours into eight stages, with the time, fee structure and decisions each one asks of you written down. So nothing arrives as a surprise.
A coffee, a walk around the house, an honest read of whether we’re right for each other.
We measure the house, test what’s possible, and write the brief with you.
The plan, the section, the feel of the house. The biggest decisions, made now.
We assemble the application and walk it through the planning system.
Every wall, window, joint and finish, drawn and decided before we go to tender.
Three or four contractors price the work; we help you choose and sign the contract.
We are on site weekly. We administer the contract, sign off work, and handle the dozens of small decisions a build asks of you.
We hand the house over with everything documented, and come back at six months and a year to put right anything that has moved.
The same people, from first conversation to last snag.
Our process is built around a small team and long projects. The people you meet at the first conversation are the people drawing your house, walking the site with the builder, and sitting at the table when you sign things off.
Around eight projects run through the studio at any one time. Phil is on every one, every week.
Stage by stage.
- Site walk
- Initial scoping note
- Fee proposal
Tell us what you want from the house — even if it’s not the brief yet.
Listen, look, and write back within a week.
- Measured survey
- Feasibility options
- Written brief
- Outline cost
Live with the options for a fortnight before deciding.
Test two or three directions properly, not seven half-baked ones.
- Concept drawings
- Massing model
- Materials direction
- Planning strategy
Push back on anything that doesn’t feel right.
Draw at scale and show real samples, not mood boards.
- Planning drawings
- Design & Access
- Consultant reports
- Neighbour engagement
Be patient. Planning is the longest wait of the project.
Talk to the case officer early; surprises later cost months.
- 1:50 drawings
- 1:5 details
- Specification
- Schedules
Sign off on rooms and materials as we go — no big bang at the end.
Detail at 1:1 for anything you’ll touch.
- Tender pack
- Returned prices
- Cost report
- Building contract
Meet the contractors. Pick the one you’d rather have in your house for a year.
Read every line of the pricing and explain it in plain English.
- Weekly site visits
- Monthly cost reports
- Sample approvals
- Snagging
Visit when you can. Trust the people you chose.
Catch problems while they’re still cheap.
- Handover pack
- Maintenance notes
- 6-month snag
- 12-month return
Move in. Live in the house for a season before judging it.
Answer the phone, for as long as you own the house.
How we charge.
A fixed fee for feasibility, so you know the cost of finding out. Then a percentage of the construction cost for everything after — paid in stages, against work delivered.
Agreed up front. Includes survey and brief.
Scaled to budget. Typical range 9–13%.
Includes contract administration and first-year return visits.
The questions people ask first.
Eighteen months to three years is typical, from first conversation to moving in. Planning is the variable that swings it most.
A fixed fee for feasibility (so you know the cost of finding out), then a percentage of construction cost for everything after. Percentage scales down with budget — bigger projects pay a smaller share.
Almost never, and we won’t advise it. Internal work to an unlisted house can sometimes begin under permitted development; we’ll tell you honestly when it applies.
Yes — about a third of our work is outside the M25. We charge travel at cost and visit weekly when on site.
Construction budgets from roughly £1m and up. Smaller projects are usually better served by someone closer to the work.
Yes. We keep a short list of people we’ve worked with for years. We’ll always tender between three.