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IDEAL HOME’S RESIDENT ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNER CHARLIE LUXTON SHARES HIS DESIGN KNOW-HOW How do I get the rig design for my project “

The right design is perhaps the single most important thing in any renovation project. It can be the best money spent on a build as it dictates how everything comes together. Design defines the look but also how the new project functions, how it stands up to the rigours of family life, how much it costs to build/run and its environmental impact.

It can also be the hardest money to justify, when a budget is tight and spending thousands on meetings, emails and lots of drawings can seem a luxury. While employing an architect or designer isn’t cheap, the alternative is often no cheaper. Building is expensive, it only takes a few mistakes to rack up costs equivalent to paying for the right design work in

LOW ENERGY DESIGN CHECKLIST

◆ Set your sustainability agenda right at the start. ◆ Research sustainability exemplars similar to the type of project you are about to tackle ◆ Discuss opportunities for your project with your architect/designer to gauge their knowledge and interest. ◆ Be proactive. Relying on current building regulations to set your insulation and energy use levels will not be enough.

Communicate your style and how you live

the first place. There are no hard and fast rules about achieve good design and it certainly doesn’t require a architect or professional designer. What it does requir someone to work through ALL the details of the proje other words, someone must ‘design’ it. If it hasn’t been developed, explored, tested and specified by someon experience then the chances of it ‘clicking’ are slim.

This is the fundamental difference between how a good

‘designer’ and everyone else will approach a project. A good designer will test, draw and model, then redraw, check and obsess. The individual items in a house don’t just come together by luck! They need to be herded, marshalled and controlled to get them just right. If you can do that, then go for it, if not then you should use a professional. In order to get the right architect or designer Visit a project to gauge a designer’s work there are a few fundamental things you need to consider. Select one whose style suits your aspirations. If you want a contemporary approach choose a designer who does this; if you want a classic look choose for that. Crucially if you want a sustainable home make sure your architect or designer has experience in this area. Low-energy architecture is not simply a matter of bolting on a few bits of sustainable technology, it needs to be in the very DNA of a design. You must visit one of their projects. Photos are fine but looking around a completed house tells you so much more. You feel the space, you see how well it is ageing and it tells a lot about the relationship between the client and designer at the end of the project. This relationship is crucial as a house project can last several years. When choosing to work with a practice ask them about their Professional Indemnity insurance (PI). Like everyone, architects/designers may get it wrong, and having the back up of insurance to rectify mistakes at the design stage is one of the benefits of working with a reputable firm. In my experience the best building projects come from the best client/designer relationships. It is hard to single out any one characteristic that makes this work, but it’s certainly not about the biggest budgets or best properties. At a push, I would say a good design comes from commitment to the process and trust.

You need to be very picky about choosing the right designer.

Clearly communicate how you want to live, set the problems you want solving rather than how you want them solved. Then really engage in the process. Your input is critical. There are no stupid questions and you must push your design team, but in return you must trust in them to achieve the very best. n