Design

About Us

I come from a family of designers: my parents were always drawing and my Dad always building. As a boy I learned to build and design, after University working on diverse projects in the UK and abroad.

My wife and I moved to Somerset in 1996 to design and extend/build our house while raising a family – since then we have run a Design Practice from home. Recently, I have mainly worked across the south of the UK.
 
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good design is important and necessary

 

Good Design

Good design is important and necessary: it can make a huge difference and seeks to make the most of every situation, it should be affordable and available to all.

 

I have many years experience of both building and design – I think this tends to make my solutions more practical: aesthetics are very important but they must always be based on sensible financial decisions. Specifications vary, but normally we aim to design / build for about 60% of “standard” cost.
 
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natural light is essential – it can create the illusion of space

 
The quality of our environment can affect our health: I believe strongly that good light, proportions, correct orientation and flexibility of use are essential. Light can create the illusion of space, and always improves the “feel” of a room – I try to light my buildings naturally – to remove or avoid unnecessary corridors, and often use “top-lighting” (discreet and 4 times more effective than normal windows).

 

Careful design and an understanding of the actual costs of a particular element or procedure, will produce a better and less costly building: several of my projects have been the correction of lapsed, unworkable, over-expensive or simply unsuitable plans.

 

We try to always do the “sensible thing” – advances in “timber engineering” allow almost anything to be designed, calculated and erected in days – providing clean, dry spaces for the build to progress. Occasionally steel will be necessary to carry walls, or for wind-posts, but for roofs and most other needs, timber will usually do the job: this saves time, calculations, weight, materials and money.