Phase 0 – Understanding Your Project
In Phase 0, we work with you to establish how we can help by:
- aligning expectations from the start to reduce risk and uncertainty and avoid unnecessary design work
- setting a realistic scope, programme and fee
- creating a stronger foundation for planning and design
Simply put, it helps ensure the project is worth doing — and done properly.
What You Can Expect
This phase is where we produce a overall design based on your needs to meet planning requirements.
With a clear understanding of your project, we begin by preparing accurate existing drawings of the property or building. These include existing plans and elevations and form the base information for the design.
Following our initial discussions around your needs, we develop initial proposed plans and elevations. These drawings explore layout, form, scale, and how the building will work for you
This phase is about working out what the project actually needs before design starts.
Every project begins with taking the time to understand what you want to do, why you want to do it and what success looks like for you. This early phase sets the direction for the whole project and avoids problems caused by unclear briefs or assumptions before starting your project.
Good design comes from clarity. Phase 0 is how we get there.
At this point, our role is to listen, question and help define the brief. We work with you to turn ideas, ambitions and concerns into something clear and workable.
This typically includes:
- understanding your needs, wants, and priorities to determine whether or not the project is worth taking forward
- discussing why you are doing the project and what you hope to achieve
- reviewing the site and its context
- identifying key constraints and opportunities
- considering planning, budget, risk, and timescales at a high level
- establishing an early architectural approach and direction
- defining what architectural services are actually required
This phase is not about producing drawings for planning or construction. Instead, we make sure the project is well thought out before design work begins.
How we start and how fees work
Initial Discussion
Most projects begin with an initial telephone or teams call to talk through your ideas and constraints with us.
Following this discussion, we can provide:
- an initial quotation for our services
- a clear outline of how the project could move forward with us
- an understanding of how we can help and if we can take the project on
When a Paid Consultation Is Needed
We can arrange to attend and inspect your property on site for a fee.
For larger or more complex projects, the scope may not be clear enough after a single meeting. In these cases, we may suggest a paid consultation at this early stage.
This allows us to:
- properly understand the complexity of the project
- help narrow down and clarify what is needed
- test ideas and assumptions
- define a clear and realistic scope of work
This results in a more accurate proposal and a better-structured project from the outset.