Design for life
Our experience in different sectors, locations and with various forms of tenure gives us a deep insight into what makes homes and places where people want to live.
We think homes should have an appeal that is both immediate and enduring for all sorts of lifestyles and household patterns. The homes we design are popular because they maximise their residents’ budgets and enhance their lives, both when they move in and as their expectations and circumstances change. So, for instance, the 14 apartments at Canalside Studios let in one week, while most of the original residents of Murray Grove are still there eight years later because we understood what would make people want to live in them.
We believe the secret to this success lies in our understanding of the relationship between design and construction. A visionary design creates immediate appeal with striking appearance, generous spaces and attractive finishes. Design is also the key to minimising capital and running costs by reducing need for expensive, high maintenance and energy consuming equipment like lifts and boilers. When design dovetails with construction it creates another layer of possibilities, allowing internal layouts that are flexible in the short term and can be adapted in the longer term. Selecting the right construction technique makes the homes we design able to respond to changing personal circumstances and receptive to the new technologies that are transforming how we live.