RIBA architects in London. Feasibility, planning and construction drawings, from a design and build studio.
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. 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. They take it through concept, detailed design and the planning application. Doing that in-house means the drawings are tested as they are drawn. They are tested against what it costs to build them.
2. Interior design
Our interior designers work from how you use the rooms. They do not work from a look. The scheme has to answer your taste. It must also answer the practical life of the house. That 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. They also tell you when a decision is due. Most of what keeps a project on time is decisions made in order.
4. Construction and fit-out
Our site teams build what was drawn. That runs from the groundworks through plumbing, electrical work and carpentry to the finishes. The drawing and the building disagree on every period house. The same people who drew it resolve 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. Each has a different planning route. Our own construction rates for all three are published. You can find them 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.
You might be planning a kitchen extension, a loft conversion or a basement. It might be a whole house. If so, tell us about it and we will book a call.
This is the work we do. RIBA architects in London, or ask for a cost estimate.
Published 18 June 2023. Written by the NU Projects studio, edited since for house style and accuracy.