How to avoid five common building project mistakes which will compromise your ambitions before you've even begun
- Tim Carter
- Sep 21
- 3 min read
There are often pitfalls which prevent any building project from maximising its potential. We’ve assembled our top five, and how we easily avoid them to help you get the best from your project.
1) Don’t rush the early stages, or any stage!
We often hear “we just want to get on site”, or as the planning system is notoriously slow, “we want to get into planning ASAP”. These ambitions often result in the compromise of the early critical stages of the project. It is vitally important to establish a strong brief and define goals, developing a concept which works best with the budget, site and context whilst meeting all the aspirations for the project. It’s imperative to get the early stages right and making sure these first steps are not rushed or missed is not only guaranteed to lead to a better project but to reduce time and cost overall.
2) Tell us what you’re trying to achieve, and the problems you’re trying to solve.
As well as your ideas and aspirations which are a valuable part of the design process, we need to understand the problems which you’re trying to overcome. This way you will benefit from innovative solutions which you might not have expected which may be more economical, produce a more cohesive or exciting design, and certainly allows us to create something that can bring something special to your project. Trust us. We know what we’re doing - we do it a lot!
3) Be sure to talk budget, and we’re going to ask.
Being open about your budget means that we can design something which you can afford and better guide you to a successful route forward. We have met many clients who have worked with an architect before who have designed them a building they fell in love with, only to not be able to afford it. We have a phenomenal track record at designing buildings which we can bring to life for our clients, without the disappointment of value engineering later.
4) Let the site and the constraints guide the design.
Great design must respond to many external factors, and pre-conceived ideas can inhibit the potential of the design. We love it when our clients know what they’re aiming for, and this needs to be paired with an open-minded approach to allow the design to evolve. Let the path of the sun dictate how the house will heat during the day or let the slope of the site influence the concept. Planning policy, trees, water, ecology, boundaries, neighbouring properties, local buildings, wind direction, geology - these can all be positive contributors which will make your design unique
5) Be brave.
The planning system in England can often stifle creativity. It can directly lead to poorly designed buildings and spaces, compromising the quality and potential positive impact of a project, but this shouldn’t be a reason not to push design and seek to achieve something better. We use our experience and design acumen to actively engage with planning authorities (with great success), always striving to achieve the best design. We develop all elements of a design to enhance the project and this has led to us successfully challenging policy and local authority attitudes, securing approval for more adventurous and better designed buildings.
