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Any building project, however large or small, ought to have a manager. This applies whether you're constructing a new house or the Olympic stadium – hiring one person to plan and oversee the task of a residential build, from conception to completion, ensures proper organisation and a smooth workflow.

What are the responsibilities?

Make no mistake, a PM's responsibilities are great; it's no wonder they wear a hard hat. The PM is responsible for almost everything, from following blueprints ...

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I am delighted to announce that planning permission has been granted for  a new family house in the country that I was commissioned to design for a private client.

The application was for the replacement of a mobile home and outbuildings with a dwelling and garage on a very rural agricultural site. 

The approved scheme will result in a bespoke family home, garage and domestic curtilage.

The proposals relocate the proposed dwelling away from the existing mobile home to a suitable  location. The ...
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Information has recently been issued in regard to proposals to significantly alter the ‘permitted development rights’ for agricultural buildings & rural communities. It is proposed that the alterations are to be implemented from April 2014. Jonathan Braddick Chartered Architects practice across Devon and Somerset and as such have been investigating the likely effect that the proposed changes will have on our clients, many of whom are agricultural land owners and or developers of agricultu...

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I am often asked why it is important to use an Architect, when sometimes it can be cheaper to use an un-registered plan drawer or architectural designer, what’s the difference?

To call oneself an ‘architectural designer’ you don’t necessarily need any formal qualifications or experience, whereas the title ‘Architect’ is protected by law and can only be used by people registered with the Architects Registration board (ARB), having gone through the relevant training and demonstrated ...

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A big thank you to the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) South West Branch and, especially, to Bob Brown and the Plymouth School of Architecture for hosting last nights Cross Professional Dialogue (CPD) entitled 'playing at home; plans for Home Park/Central Park', it was a great success.

The presentation, by Richard Bara Chartered Landscape Architect & Urban Planning Coordinator at Plymouth City Council provided a very interesting insight into the history and future opportunities for lei...
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Space is always at a premium in a house, especially as the children grow up or a new one arrives. Living space, playing space, sleeping space, it’s always an interesting juggling problem to fit everyone and everything in. When moving house is impractical, that empty loft area at the top of the property is the ideal space to convert into an extra bedroom. Not only can it be somewhere to sleep - with the right planning it can also become a useful play and storage space.
Lofty ideals
The first t...

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It’s a classic family dilemma; everyone wants to use the bathroom at the same time in the morning. Tempers fray, cries of: “What are you doing in there?” and much stomping around, exasperated sighs and slamming of doors are frequent accompaniments to the leaving for work/school cacophony.

Instead of letting the situation continue, it’s time to consider installing an en suite bathroom to ease the pressure on the morning ablutions.

Space considerations

It is wise to carefully consider ...

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Perfecting the design of your new home is one of the hardest parts of carrying out your own self build project. Your project is going to require a massive investment, both emotionally & financially, so it is important to take your time at this stage & get it right! 

Taking your time & being certain you are happy with the design at this stage will save you time & money in the long term, as changes made later in the process will be more costly. Changes made on site during construction have the p...

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There are lots of great events fro Architects in Devon,  and those interested in Architecture, taking place in Exeter, Plymouth and the rest of the South West, including Exmouth, Cornwall, Bath and Bristol over the course of the next month as part of the Love Architecture Festival. Getting involved with these events is a  fantastic opportunity to promote the Architectural profession and the important role that architecture plays in our everyday lives to the wider world. The are also great fun...

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Recently the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment have issued a report on reducing crime in high-density housing developments through design. The authors of the report claim to have provided proof that there is a link between the design of 'good' urban developments and reduced amounts of crime and anti-social behaviour experienced by residents.

The report was commissioned from CABE by the The Home Offic...

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The government has revived plans to allow the conversion of vacant office buildings to residential use, a flagship policy from last year designed to increase the pipeline of new homes that the coalition said subsequently would not be implemented following a hostile reaction to consultation.

The Government confirmed that it would not take the proposals forward in a ministerial statement issued by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles last week in support of the housing stimulus package.

Pickles say...

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The short list for the Sunday Times British Home Awards 'Smart Homes' competition have been released.

The competition is seeking integrated, interoperable solutions that demonstrate the application of digital monitoring and control systems in the home.

The panel of judges have selected a shortlist of 6 designs which are now open for your vote until midnight on August 13 2012 through thewww.thesundaytimes.co.uk/homeawards

SHORTLISTED

    • Street Smart: White arkitekter
    • S,M,L home: Pentan...

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It is the last chance to sign up for the RIBA's 'Architect in the House 2012' and help to raise money for the Charity Shelter. Registration to the scheme closes on Monday 11 July, so if you or your friends or colleagues are considering signing up to the scheme, then now is the time.

So far over 1,200 fellow RIBA architects have donated their time in support of Shelter and over 2,500 homeowners have signed up to Architect in the House 2012, raising over £200,000.00 for the charity Shelter.

...
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Changes to the heritage protection regime are on the way following publication of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill sponsored by the Department of Business. Many of the proposed changes have been in discussion for some years and English Heritage has welcomed the arrival of legislation to deliver improvements to the system.

The bill seeks to fundamentally change the Heritage List for England so that the extent of a building's special interest would be legally defined in its list entry �...

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A  well-planned and execute...
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Grant Shapps, housing minister and self-proclaimed self-build enthusiast, hosted a celebrity 'workshop' at 10 Downing Street last week to highlight new support measures for self-builders and to make a pledge to double the size of the bespoke homes sector.

The event saw the launch of a new one-stop Self Build Portal that brings together sources of advice and a progress report from the National Self Build Association (NaSBA), which drew up an action plan last year at the request of the housing...

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The Green Building Store has just launched some extremely useful new resources on low energy retrofits, which aim to help householders make well-informed decisions for improving the energy efficiency of their homes.

The resources include case studies of typical hard-to-treat homes in West Yorkshire and also offer guidance on developing 'whole house plans' and ventilation strategies. 

Click here to download

Click on the You Tube link below to watch computer animations showing examples of best pra...

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If you’re looking to buy new windows and doors, then here a few hints and tips to make sure you choose the best company to install your new home improvement products.

1.0       Recommendations

As with all building work, picking a company to install your windows and doors requires you placing your trust in a company you may never have used or even heard of before. That is why it is a good idea to use a company that has been recommended to you by word of mouth. It needs to be someone recommende...

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An Ashburton initiative has won thousands of pounds of Government funding to explore how local homes can go much greener.

Local residents are being urged to “Show us your hotspots” and take part in the study – which will arm all Ashburton householders with expert knowledge to help make their homes cosier and their energy bills smaller.

The money will also pay for 100 residents to take a day trip to a national green building centre to see for themselves the best way to improve their h...

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"The Government launched its long-awaited consultation on proposed changes to the Building Regulations this week, setting out a number of proposals designed to boost energy efficiency.

The Government has has made great efforts to mitigate the cost impact on house builders of achieving Part L from next year by setting an improvement target of 8% in additional carbon savings compared to the 25% that the industry had been told to expect by the previous government. There is no plan to drop the obj...

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There is a growing population of architects, builders and planners who are familiar with CSH, and know what needs to be done in order to meet what can be a strict and rigorous planning condition.

One thing is definitely for certain: C4SH (The Code) requirements can be a postcode lottery; you are far more likely to be asked for the Code if you are building in the South East of England or around the Midlands. Although more and more planners are starting to ask for CSH compliance, especially on...

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I am a great fan of LED lighting as the preferred method of low energy lighting and have successfully incorporated replacement LED lighting in several residential projects over the last couple of years. I am pleased to say to the total satisfaction of the owners. Therefore, inspired by the clarity of an article I recently read, I wanted to share these reasons. This blog might look counterintuitive at first glance, but having read it I may have convinced you that compact fluorescent light bulb...

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1. The optimum orientation is ‘due south' (not ‘magnetic south') as this will maximise the sunshine and/or daylight.2. The optimum pitch of the PV Module is 30 degrees. At this angle, the PV Module will 'self clean' as much as possible.

3. A PV Module fitted at less than 10 degrees pitch will need regular manual cleaning.

4. An array of PV Modules can be a very effective source of electricity production, depending on the size and number in the array. This could provide a consistent sour...

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BRE has just released its proposals on how the SAP methodology should be changed in line with the planned revision of Building Regulations in 2013; the next step towards proposed Zero Carbon houses by 2016.

It should be noted that this is consultation stage only.

There are eight key changes which may be relevant on upcoming housing developments.

This consultation only applies to the calculations used for producing SAP assessments and EPC's. It does not cover Target Emission Rates, limiting U...

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Building Magazine has reported that the number of planning permissions granted in the three months to September 2011 was 10% down on the previous year. This is according to the latest figures from the Home Builders’ Federation.

The HBF is reported to have said its quarterly housing pipeline report showed that just 32,500 homes were given planning permission in the third quarter, down from 38,500 in the same period last year.

The number of units approved in the first nine months of the year is...

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