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Cost, time, quality balance - design and matching budget

Tue, 16 Apr 2024 14:12:25 GMT

Dolls house process - to get a design clear and a budget defined

Our initial fixed fee design stage is all about capturing what's existing and designing what's possible in terms of options within a defined budget. Within this initial stage we set out the concept and target expenditure levels. Visualisation of the interior spaces makes sure that activities and priorities are clear. This creates a solid footing before we move to technical matters and planning / building control statutory approvals. Got to get the design right first!

Interior fitted furniture - bespoke joinery partner

Tue, 16 Apr 2024 13:34:45 GMT

We have selected Monta as our recommended bespoke joinery partner

Monta are a local comnpany in Aldershot whom design and fit bespoke furniture including understair storage, bathroom, bedroom and kitchen cabinets.

Balancing costs and design against priorities of the renovation.

Tue, 16 Apr 2024 13:31:48 GMT

A balance of priorities, cost and the design wishlist.

A balance can be struck when extending and consolidating your house footprint with a rear extension. Rooflines, structural changes and finishing can be value-engineered to your budget and still get you your prioritised wishlist for renovation.

Here a straighforward parapet rood design was employed consolidating the utility room and garage conversion. A significant extension yet not dominating the house or the garden.

3d scanning throught the build phase

Tue, 16 Apr 2024 13:28:12 GMT

Regular 3d scanning captures progress - enabling solutions when things are not going well on site, more preferably when things are going well. We can have a digital twin of progress for checking against suppliers.

We 3d scan at various stages of the project - when things go wrong on site - as well as when things are going well. It gives a reliable and detailed capture of events which can assist contractually. 8k photography helps record and when matched with the scanning point cloud allows visual checking against the single model database.

Getting an exterior and interior balance

Tue, 16 Apr 2024 13:20:27 GMT

Designing from the inside out is important to capture the activities and priorities of the family - however we must balance the exterior relative to the project budget.

Relatively simple alterations can go a long way. Here is a before and after - where the master bedroom is enlarged - bathroom footprints reallocated - bedroom sizes rationalised - new central entrance and hallway leading to a wow rear extension - additional reception rooms and snug added.

designing live - remote advice and assistance

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 14:41:43 GMT

It's a time of change - we need to continue working and making the most of our homes in terms of upkeep, alterations and extensions, but with social distancing?

how do we safely achieve this balance?

How we go about answering that question together may surprise and delight you...

The design process will unfold in a naturally evolving way , we do the heavy lifting in the background between reviews - your role is to 'steer' the project in the direction you feel is right - we are here to coach you through and empower you to make the right decisions for you and your family home.

Here is a 'jump ahead position' this transformation does represent many months of activity - design and build!

We scan the property in question - takes about an hour or so and contact can be prevented and social distancing adhered to. We do not need to touch surfaces and we will be wearing masks and gloves at all times.

'human plans' approach - what we call our 'dolls house work'...

It's a collaborative and interactive experience for clients and design team members alike.

We can share screens remotely and sketch new ideas together in real time.

We can also open up our CAD software and game engines direct for edits, discussions and virtual reality.

live CAD work, virtual tours, scanning, sketching... all tools of iterative design and it's all about communication of ideas...

visualisation of interiors - connected and central to the home extension design process

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 09:54:27 GMT

At 7 the team use laser and infra red scanning machines to capture key measurements and photography into digital media and digital space! We then adapt and build upon this data capture to show you alternatives in interior and exterior design.

We augment this process with encouraging you to be active in looking therough what's hot and what's not in current media and design history... understand what 'floats your boat' and how this can be adapted and made real for your budget and project constraints.

information is power, time and money - the right information to the right person at the right time - that's what it's all about in the design and build game.

We scan and photograph your home and this includes how you live and use the space it gives us both insight into what's working and what could be improved upon.

You can move through interactively and measure the space and check dimensions of furniture and windows for instance.

You get to see your space and furniture set against any proposals - we also populate the new space with the activities and furniture that you want. This let's you connect with the proposals and be able to make informed comment on what can be changed to make the design even better - it's a collaborative, staged process based upon the initial reality capture work.

based upon the initial 'reality capture' we scan and photograph your home then begin the 'human plans' dolls house design process where we explore possibilities together in terms of cost, time and quality balance.

We use the captured scan data inside our CAD systems such as game engines UE4 and visualisation software like Blender and we build alterations and adaptions and extensions to your existing home - loft conversions, bathrooms kitchens and new living spaces such as snugs, family rooms, play space etal

looking for extensions specialists - that's what we are 7db

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 09:06:24 GMT

we know there are people searching for exactly what we provide

...a transparent and easy to follow process that get's you a deliverable project for your home alterations and extensions

to make your money go further we concentrate your attention on what you have at the moment and how to make the most of what you have before committing to a new footprint extension...

New build costs are say £1800 plus VAT per m2

Internal Alterations can be say £650 plus VAT per m2

together these approaches make you money go further

the scanning process - 3d capture from the outset

Tue, 14 Apr 2020 07:55:58 GMT

At 7 the team use laser and infra red scanning machines to capture key measurements and photography into digital media and digital space!

Well how does that help you - good question and let us show you how and why.

information is power, time and money - the right information to the right person at the right time - that's what it's all about in the design and build game.

We scan and photograph your home and this includes how you live and use the space it gives us both insight into what's working and what could be improved upon.

You can move through interactively and measure the space and check dimensions of furniture and windows for instance.

on your phone or tablet, you can move through, interact and measure the scanned spaces... clients report that this gives them 'fresh eyes' and new insight to the design process

We use the captured scan data inside our CAD systems such as game engines UE4 and visualisation software like Blender and we build alterations and adaptions and extensions to your existing home - loft conversions, bathrooms kitchens and new living spaces such as snugs, family rooms, play space etal

3d fact checks - model to model... clash detection between members of the extended design team

...when liaising with other consultants like the structural engineer and sub-contractors like steel fabricators - we can bring in their 3d data and overmark conflicts and discuss changes to their fabrication information - before it's all too late and arrives on site the wrong heights and widths...

On an ipad on site or a laptop in the office we can clearly see where errors have occurred in the supply chain before orders are placed - protecting the critical path of the programme and giving confidence to clients and suppliers of a right first time approach to site works.

we use a deprecated OBJ file from the point cloud XYZ data for insertion into modelling software...

scanning facilitates working up remotely and then interacting with clients over zoom or skype calls - we can design live together - exploring ideas and communicating freely - even at great distances - this enables good, interactive and regulary cost effective reviews within project delivery

changing times in this pandemic - let's adapt and thrive!

Mon, 06 Apr 2020 07:46:39 GMT

It's 'all change' for everyone in these exceptional times.

designing 'live' together - but not in the same room!

As a local architect firm setup to help you through the entire design and build process we are focused on residential improvements and alterations, As an Architect, I'm here for you to discuss ideas.

Some good news and bad news from me - personal meetings are obviously not a good idea however I have a lot more time on my hands for calls and video meetings. We are all hoping for the best for each other and let's look to the future in terms of what's possible for your family home.

In terms of moving forward as a Director of a small business, I don't qualify for any shutdown aid due to criteria - so I have changed the way I work to fully digital. I'm here to help and am keeping going through these troubled times.

Flipping negative to positive as much as is possible is always my approach to design anyway. Rather than personal meetings we can have more facetime on facetime or skype for instance. Designing 'live' is always fun and we can move through the computer modeling 'dolls house' process together by sharing screens.

The scanning process is non-contact and can be done very quickly and only where necessary. The design process begins with ideas and we build together a collaborative solution over time. So let's use this time of being on lockdown to look at ideas for the future. We can start simple and create idea boards together or when more confident we can move to a visualisation of proposals.

Then when you have a vision of what's right for a project budget that suits you we can move to a design and more technical based commission based upon the visualisations.

If you have even a relatively small project in mind the design process we offer still works - here is an example of 'before and after' visualisation work. In a skype call, for instance, we can give you ideas on how to immediately improve your home. A screen capture during the call can form the basis of the alteration 'before and after' proposal.

If you have any ideas for making your home perfect - give me a call and we can set up a skype call where I can give you ideas to transform your existing home.

What's on your wishlist?

What's on your wishlist? Let's make it happen!

Mon, 03 Feb 2020 08:01:28 GMT

What's on your wishlist?

Make a list

Lists are great ways to stay on track. Write down some big things you want to accomplish and some smaller things, too.

A sensible balance of room sizes?

More Storage?

Kids space?

Adult space - maybe a snug - separated from the kids?

More natural light?

Open plan or broken plan living?

New Kitchen , new utility, new pantry?

More flexibility?

More family connection?

Rentable annexe?

As we progress design let's check the list regularly

Don’t forget to check in and see how you’re doing. Just because you don’t achieve the big goals right away doesn’t mean you’re not making progress.

Reward yourself

When you succeed in achieving a goal, be it a big one or a small one, make sure to pat yourself on the back.

Think positively

Positive thinking is a major factor in success. So instead of mulling over things that didn’t go quite right, remind yourself of things that did.

to extend or not extend - that is the question...

Tue, 07 Jan 2020 08:40:20 GMT

An important question and starting point is -

should we extend our family home?

How we go about answering that question together may surprise and delight you...

We can review in a few moments and give you ideas straight away based upon our experience and design skills, however truly great ideas and design solutions can take time to emerge fully. To enable this process we scan capture the property in great detail - this begins the process.