In order to have a successful design and construction project, it is vital that the work of all the specialist consultants that are involved in the building is closely coordinated. This important service of consultant coordination can be provided by your architect, so at the outset of your project you should ask them to explain how they will manage this on your behalf.
The continued growth and development of CAD Architects in Truro has led to the appointment of two new architects, bringing further skills to their expert team.
After 18 months of development work and consultations, on 15th February 2018 Cornwall Council voted overwhelmingly to approve the plans for Penvose Student Village. This development will help to provide a comprehensive solution for housing a large part of the student population, for the benefit of Falmouth University and for the residents of the local area.
Professor Deveci from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen described modern homes built in locations such as the Isle of Skye and Shetland as a “nightmare on the landscape” and was concerned that they could damage tourism. He also criticised planned housing developments on the Aberdeenshire coast for not respecting the local built environment, calling them “boxes that belong to nowhere.” When you work with a practice like CAD Architects, you will often hear the term “contextual housing design”. This is what it means to us…
Sustainable architecture has made great advances over the last 20 years and had a huge impact on the way we approach new home design. ‘Green building’ used to be a specialist service offered to particular clients at a premium price. Today sustainable building design has become mainstream. Constructing a new home with sustainability firmly in mind should be standard practice for the modern architect.
According to recent figures from the Home Builders Federation, a total of 293,127 new homes were granted planning permission in 2016. This was the highest figure for new approvals in ten years. It is good news that we are seeing some progress on this aspect of residential architecture in the UK. However, as the Federation themselves point out, the number of permissions granted is usually not reflected in the number of homes being completed.
One of the challenging aspects of working on architectural heritage projects is the fact that our old buildings are often full of unexpected surprises, and working on their alteration or restoration demands a great deal of skill, experience and resourcefulness.
Getting new plans approved can be particularly challenging in areas like Cornwall and Devon, where there is an understandable desire to preserve the character and beauty of our local countryside and villages. It can be even more challenging when a client has a particularly ambitious or unique contemporary home design that they want to achieve.
There is no doubt that high street retailing has been under considerable pressure over recent years. According to a report by PwC, last year an average of fifteen high street stores were closing down each day. As well as the current economic climate and its impact on consumer spending, high street stores have been facing tough competition from the big out of town retail parks and from online shopping.
Being the country that was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution, the UK has a unique range of industrial buildings that can potentially be converted for new uses. However, this fascinating element of our built heritage can often be neglected.
