BRIEF
We start by understanding what your school or organisation needs to achieve, how your existing spaces are working and where the pressures or opportunities lie. Where there are multiple stakeholders, we can engage with senior leaders, staff, pupils, governors, trusts, local authorities and other interested parties to build a clear, shared brief.
We also look at budgets, timescales, funding opportunities and the practicalities of delivering work within a live education environment. Where appropriate, we can review your wider estate and develop a Premises Development Plan or masterplan, helping ensure today’s investment supports your longer-term priorities. We’ll also identify surveys, specialist consultants and potential risks early, so you understand what lies ahead before significant time and money are committed.
What You Gain:
CONCEPT DESIGN
We turn your agreed brief into design ideas that explore how the building and spaces could work. Using sketches, plans, 3D models and visualisations, we help staff, pupils and other stakeholders understand the proposals and contribute meaningful feedback without allowing the process to become “design by committee”.
Alongside the design, we test the practical considerations that can make or break a project, including budget, planning, phasing, safeguarding, access and how construction could take place while the school remains operational. For more complex projects, we can engage with the local planning authority and coordinate the specialist consultants needed to move the project forward.
What You Gain:
PLANNING, DESIGN & SUBMISSION
Once the preferred design is agreed, we develop it in more detail and prepare the information needed for a planning application. Using our 3D BIM software, we produce plans, elevations, visualisations and other information that makes the proposals easy for school leaders, stakeholders and planning officers to understand.
We coordinate the wider consultant team, arrange any surveys and specialist reports needed, and continue to engage with staff, pupils, trusts, local authorities and the wider community where appropriate. We prepare and submit the planning application on your behalf, liaise with the planning authority throughout the process and respond to queries as the application progresses.
What You Gain:
TECHNICAL DESIGN
Once planning is in place, we develop the design into the detailed information needed to price, approve and construct the project. We coordinate everything from structure, materials and finishes to building services, energy performance, fire safety and Building Regulations, working closely with the wider consultant team.
Using our 3D BIM process, we bring information together to identify clashes and resolve potential problems before they reach site. We also consider how the work will actually be delivered within a live school environment, including phasing, safeguarding, access and minimising disruption to pupils and staff.
We can also manage the procurement and tendering process, helping you select an approach that suits your organisation, funding requirements and project. This might involve competitive tendering, an established framework or another compliant public-sector procurement route. We can prepare and coordinate tender information, manage contractor queries, assess and compare submissions and support you through contractor selection and appointment.
What You Gain:
CONSTRUCTION
Once work starts on site, we remain involved to help keep the project moving and provide continuity between the design and construction stages. Where appointed as Contract Administrator, we administer the building contract, carry out regular site visits, assess progress and valuations, manage changes and respond to queries from the contractor and project team.
For education projects, we understand that construction often takes place alongside a live school. We work closely with the contractor and school team to help coordinate phasing, access, safeguarding and key activities, with the aim of minimising disruption to pupils, staff and the day-to-day operation of the school.
As the project approaches completion, we inspect the works, identify outstanding items and support the handover process, helping ensure the school understands what needs to happen before the new or refurbished spaces are brought into use.
What You Gain:
COMPLETION & HANDOVER
Our involvement doesn’t necessarily end when the contractor leaves site. Most building contracts include a defects rectification period, typically around 12 months, giving the building time to settle and allowing defects in materials or workmanship to be identified and addressed by the contractor.
Where appointed, we remain involved throughout this period, helping the school understand how the new facilities should operate, reviewing issues that arise and distinguishing genuine defects from normal wear and tear or maintenance. Towards the end of the period, we can return to inspect the building, identify outstanding defects and administer the final stages of the building contract.
What You Gain:
Yes. We use BIM on all of our projects, developing designs in 3D so you can clearly understand how the building will look and work as the project develops. This allows us to share realistic visualisations and interactive models, coordinate information more effectively and identify potential issues before construction begins.
We work across residential, education, community and commercial architecture, with particular expertise in creating exceptional private homes, delivering housing developments and designing inspiring, practical spaces for schools and education.
Yes. We work with schools, academy trusts, colleges and other education providers across the UK, delivering everything from classroom refurbishments and small extensions to specialist teaching spaces, major school expansions and new buildings. We understand the particular challenges of working in live education environments and help clients make the most of their buildings, budgets and available space.
Simply contact us or submit your project details to get started.
We work with clients across the UK from our studios in Oxfordshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire, giving us a strong regional presence while allowing us to support projects wherever our experience is needed. Our work has also taken us much further afield, including projects as far away as the Falkland Islands.
