By Nick Jeffries, founder of NU
On a London home project, the hardest part is rarely the building work. It is finding people who will take responsibility for all of it. NU Projects covers architecture, interior design, project management, construction and fit-out, so there is one contract and one team. Here is what each part of that actually means.
1. Architecture
Our architects design for the building you have, and take it through concept, detailed design and the planning application. Doing that in-house means the drawings are tested against what it costs to build them, as they are drawn.
2. Interior design
Our interior designers work from how you use the rooms rather than from a look. The scheme has to answer your taste and the practical life of the house at the same time, which is a harder brief than either on its own.
3. Project management
A project manager runs the programme, the procurement, the trades and the reporting, and tells you when a decision is due. Most of what keeps a project on time is nothing more than decisions being made in the right order.
4. Construction and fit-out
Our site teams build what was drawn, from the groundworks through plumbing, electrical work and carpentry to the finishes. Where the drawing and the building disagree, which happens on every period house, it is resolved by the same people who drew it.
5. Kitchen extensions, loft conversions and basements
Those three are the majority of what we do. Each of them is a structural job before it is a room, and each has a different planning route. Our own construction rates for all three are published in the NU Build Cost Calculator.
6. The 12-stage process
We work through twelve stages, from the first consultation to the final inspection. Each stage has a purpose, an output and a decision point, so you always know where the project is and what is next.
If you are planning a kitchen extension, a loft conversion, a basement or a whole house, tell us about it and we will book a call.
Published 18 June 2023. Written by the NU Projects studio, edited since for house style and accuracy.