ARCHITECTURE

The lack of major economic investment in Cornwall in the last fifty years has encouraged the adaptation and reuse of its rich resource of historic buildings, rather than demolition, to make way for new developments. As a result, much of the practice’s work was in the field of adaptation, reuse, and extension of old buildings of various scales and types, and for various purposes.

This work, together with formal postgraduate training in architectural conservation, has led practice to develop a philosophy and methodology for the design of such projects, which recognises the need to develop a unique solution for each of the circumstances.

At the same time, the practice has also carried out a wide range of new construction projects in a contemporary manner, with an increasing focus on environmental conscious design, as well as interior design, urban and landscape design, and graphic design.

Of particular interest is the design of buildings that are recognisably contemporary, simultaneously as part of the tradition of building in the local area, in addition to the use of traditional and modern materials and building techniques, and the relationship between historic and contemporary buildings.

The design and project management skills of the practice have been developed through a deep foundation in traditional architectural practice, but we have enthusiastically adopted new technologies that can help us develop better designs faster, more cost-effectively and effectively communicate our work to customers, development officers, consultants and contractors.
Central to our workflow is the use of advanced BIM modelling software, which is used to create a single virtual model of the project, from which all two-dimensional drawings and three-dimensional visualisations are extracted.

The model allows us and our customers to understand all three-dimensional aspects of project design, from the earliest block modelling to the finalisation of colours, materials, finishes and details. The software includes scheduling, materials and databases, as well as the publication of fully rendered still images, panoramas, virtual reality movies, walkthroughs and flybys to illustrate and demonstrate the scheme.

Working drawings are drawn directly from the building model and updated as the model develops. As a result, the working drawings package can be easily managed to ensure that all drawings are up-to-date than a traditional set of two-dimensional drawings, each of which must be checked and manually updated every time the project is changed.

The practice has extensive experience in all types of buildings, in all phases of the role of the traditional architect, from initial site survey and sketch design to planning, building regulations, working drawings, specifications, tenders, construction and contract management.

The practice also offers services outside the mainstream of building design and construction, including advice on planning and building regulations, planning and building regulations, advice as expert witness in litigation, condition surveys, feasibility studies, interior design, graphics, multimedia presentations and facility management.