Design and build company in London. Designers, a quantity surveyor and builders, under one contract.
Holland Park houses are large and mostly stuccoed. Most are listed or in a conservation area. Most have been altered at least once before. That combination is what makes them demanding to renovate. It is why owners here tend to want one team rather than four appointments.
This is what a design and build company does on a house like that. It also covers what to expect from each part of it.
1. The disciplines sit in one place
NU Projects has run complex residential work in London since 2010. Architectural designers, interior designers and a quantity surveyor are all in the same office. So are an MEP director and the site team. That means three changes can happen on the same day. One to the structure, one to the interior and one to the cost plan. It does not take three weeks of emails.
2. The design answers the brief, not a template
Your house is a particular shape and you live in it a particular way. We write the brief down room by room before anything is drawn. Then we design against it. That might mean a contemporary intervention in a classic Victorian townhouse. Or it might mean a careful restoration. Either way, the drawing has to be testable against something.
3. Detail is checked while it can still be checked
Material selection, setting out and concealed work are inspected as the work happens. So are waterproofing and services. Once the plaster is on, quality cannot be inspected, only claimed. That is the difference between two kinds of house. One looks right at handover. The other is still right in five years.
4. One point of contact
From the first consultation to the final walkthrough, a project manager runs the programme. They also run the procurement and the trades. And they tell you when a decision is due. You should never be the person chasing a surveyor. Nor should you wonder whether an order went in.
5. What happens after handover
Testing, commissioning, certification, operating information and a defects process. The same team is still there afterwards. That is the part most people only value later.
Holland Park in particular
Most of the housing stock here is in a conservation area. A good number of the houses are listed. So the planning route has to be worked out for the actual building. That must happen before the design is fixed. Stucco repair and sash window upgrades have to be achieved. So do the services needed for a modern house. None of it can change what the street sees.
If you are planning work on a Holland Park house, tell us about it. See completed work in the project portfolio. Or price the job with the cost calculator.
This is the work we do. Design and build company in London, or ask for a cost estimate.
Published 5 May 2023. Written by the NU Projects studio, edited since for house style and accuracy.