MrMagic Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 Cheezy title but having a bit of a nightmare looking for a "cool" architect - not sure if our requirements are just too specific but our asks are - someone a bit daring, modern design but not 'footballers wives', squeeze a lot out of a smaller property via smart design, eco oriented, ideally passivehouse, building not costing the earth (money and eco-wise)! We've found some lovely people so far but every one has a catch, e.g. Arch 1 - lovely lady, met in person on a previous project, good with space planning and modern design, does nothing passivehousey Arch 2 - respected eco architect, can certainly make the space and materials work, boring/safe design language, limited material palette Arch 3 - local firm, used previously on a loft conversion, very safe, interest in eco but not actively pursuing Arch 4,5,6... - lots of amazing arch but only seem to work on £1m+/grand designs Tried RIBA find an arch tool - again, just returned a lot of £1m+ type architects who have Steve Jobs style mono wardrobes full of black turtlenecks I guess we've been poisoned by TV shows - we would like Charlie Luxton or Piers Taylor design on an Aldi budget house! Any tips or recommendations (south of England based but not fussed if arch is not local)? Seems a shame to compromise before we've even put pen to paper! Help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 If you want low energy, then it will be a basic, 4 sided box. If you want 'eco' then it will be timber clad with grass on the roof. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 Whereabouts in the country are you? I would start on the passiv-haus register then go from there. Very few small architectural practises can survive only on £1 million+ jobs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMagic Posted January 5, 2023 Author Share Posted January 5, 2023 1 hour ago, SteamyTea said: If you want low energy, then it will be a basic, 4 sided box. If you want 'eco' then it will be timber clad with grass on the roof. How good are you with crayons? sounds like you've got the job 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickfromwales Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 Arch #1 sounds the obvious choice to me? She designs the look of it, you support her with PH tailoring with a bit of help from the 'hub 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redbeard Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 +1 to @Nickfromwales. I was about to ask if you had considered the 'Critical Friend' route? I worked with ('between'?) clients and their architect, the 'cut of whose jib' they liked, but who was not 'an energy architect'. Effectively he did the design (I cannot design my way out of a paper bag) and I 'did the energy bits'. We also had a few hours with a PH consultant mid-way through the process. It is not (and was not intended to be) PH, but it's a nice 'tight' house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adsibob Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 What is your budget, both for the build and for the architectural brief? I know somebody very good, but he charges a percentage of the build which from memory might be something like 10% to 15%. I wish I’d gone with him, but couldn’t afford it. Went with somebody much cheaper, but I think it was a false economy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papillon Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 (edited) I’m of the opinion most architects can design something ‘cool’, we all went through the same process at uni. I think you need to just ask the right questions and give them the right direction. I’m not in RIBA but I’ve done everything from grand designs to shepherd huts. I think you can get any design to work with Passivehouse, so I’d concentrate on a neat design and then use a system that gets you the levels you want. (I still think designed passivehouses are mostly ugly). Edited January 5, 2023 by Papillon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 6 hours ago, MrMagic said: How good are you with crayons? There is enough knowledge and skill on the is site to build a very good house. Just needs organising. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackMountainBuild Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 We have picked architects twice, one for a project we are still in the middle of. I followed the same process for both, I went through the RIBA awards (sorry non RIBA architects it’s just easy to look through the website) for the last few years, looking for applicable projects, ie. related to what we want, and/or have a style/taste we like (also obviously location might be important). Looked at their websites, made a shortlist of names. Then we wrote up a brief, basically a project narrative saying what we wanted to get out of the property design, who we are, how we live, and how much we want to spend. Basically try and make this interesting, although you are paying for a service, you are also pitching a project you are going to work on with them for potentially a fairly long time - you aren’t going to buy their interest because your budget is probably tight, so sell them on the fascinating aspects of your dream home or whatever. Finally we sent a dozen or so emails with this brief, and a short couple of sentences tailored to each architect / firm about why we liked them in particular (ie. what you saw in their award worthy work from your initial ‘research’ ) and why they would be perfect for this amazing creative opportunity etc… Some never respond, some say budget is too low, they are too busy, they have given up architecture and gone to live in an Ashram etc… the remaining ones who sound interested we interviewed and got a written quote from. Both times we got great architects, who we really enjoy/enjoyed working with, and neither project is even halfway to a million pound budget. Architects are artists, give them an opportunity to be creative, this does not mean over budget, you can be creatively cheap and it can get very interesting for everyone involved trying to keep to it. I also tried the RIBA picking system but did not find it that useful. We didn’t see any turtleneck wearing architects, although one we interviewed did have a Tesla. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack Posted January 11, 2023 Share Posted January 11, 2023 On 05/01/2023 at 13:41, MrMagic said: Any tips or recommendations (south of England based but not fussed if arch is not local)? I was very happy with our architect. He was excellent on both the design front and the planning process (we replaced a 90 m2 bungalow with an ultramodern, flat-roofed house of 290 m2 in a very conservative area, and it sailed through planning with his assistance). I don't think he was particularly knowledgeable about PassivHaus principles when we engaged him, but we used MBC Timberframe as a builder, which short-circuited a lot of the potential issues around, e.g., airtightness detailing and cold bridges. I know he's used them a few times since so I guess he's happy with what they offer. He's based in Farnham, Surrey. I don't know what sort of budget he targets now (it's been over 8 years since we engaged him), but his speciality is ultra-modern family homes. Drop me a PM if you'd like his details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMagic Posted May 10, 2023 Author Share Posted May 10, 2023 Just to close out this thread - unfortunately this purchase fell through at the last minute, for the right reasons - I was perhaps foolish to assume that planning could be swayed but alas two independant planning consultants both said "no chance".. on that basis we've moved on! Lessons learnt - for sites that are not obvious or not within existing development boundaries, pay for a site planning appraisal, ours was £450 for reference. On to the next project... stay tuned! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Jones Posted May 10, 2023 Share Posted May 10, 2023 On 05/01/2023 at 19:31, Adsibob said: What is your budget, both for the build and for the architectural brief? I know somebody very good, but he charges a percentage of the build which from memory might be something like 10% to 15%. I wish I’d gone with him, but couldn’t afford it. Went with somebody much cheaper, but I think it was a false economy. never pay a percentage for anything. Fixed fee irrespective. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ETC Posted May 10, 2023 Share Posted May 10, 2023 1 hour ago, Dave Jones said: never pay a percentage for anything. Fixed fee irrespective. If I could give this post 5 stars I would - fixed fee all the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papillon Posted May 11, 2023 Share Posted May 11, 2023 Just some info if you’re struggling. Timber frame companies will do you a free site appraisal on the condition you go with them to build. however their designers aren’t usually that cool and you should find your own designer still. Fixed fee, concept only. use the timber company for planning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ETC Posted May 11, 2023 Share Posted May 11, 2023 I know a "cool" architect😉 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorfun Posted May 11, 2023 Share Posted May 11, 2023 1 hour ago, ETC said: I know a "cool" architect😉 and going by what I've seen you come up with on here I'd have to agree! 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papillon Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 I think the kids say ‘lit’ these days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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