Uncategorized – Studio : B.A.D. Architects

Can an architect save me money?

Darren Bray was asked by Homebuilding & Renovating magazine, to share his thoughts about how working with an Architect can save you money, published in the March 2025 edition – you can read the full article here.

Can an architect save me money?

In short yes, they can. With their year of training, and experience working on construction projects, architect have invaluable knowledge that they can pass on to you, to help streamline your project, minimize mistakes and ensure you get the most value for your investment.

One of the most significant areas where an architect can help save money is by reducing your construction time onsite. As part of the working stage process, your architect will produce technical drawings for the construction team, this clarity ensures your contractor knows exactly what to build, reducing the opportunity for costly mistakes, misunderstandings or unexpected redesigns during the build process. They can also help assess construction and material costs, to make sure you’re getting a fair deal without compromising quality or safety.

An architect will be able to lower the running costs of your home through detailed work to improve its energy efficiency. Their knowledge of materials, design and products will to help improve the energy consumption, to save you money on a day-to-day basis.

Working with an architect can also help to save you money in the long run. They are skilled at making the most out of the space you have, which can reduce the need to move from a property and increase its value. For instance, they might be able to design a new layout that adds an additional bedroom or optimises underused areas of your home, such as turning an attic or basement into valuable living space. This work can transform your home, to make it function better for your lifestyle, while also adding real long-term value.

Finally, while saving money is important, a well-designed home can also improve your quality of life. Architects don’t just focus on the technical side—they design spaces that are comfortable, functional, and tailored to your needs.

If you have any questions, or have a project you would like to disucss, do get in touch the the team here.

RIBA publish ‘Inclusion Emergency’

Darren was invited to offer his insights on the Architectural profession for the new ‘Inclusion Emergency, Diversity in Architecture’ book by Hannah Durham & Grace Choi, published by RIBA Publishing.

The book aims to encourage understanding across the industry, asking professionals to reflect on the industry and addresses critical questions to provides steps towards meaningful change. It is widely acknowledged that architecture is at a tipping point and if there isn’t any change there is a risk of limiting our relevance in today’s society, this book looks to engage in meaningful debate to show a way forward.

Within the book are insights from many leading voices, including Amy Francis-Smith, Clare Nash, Mary Holmes, Nick Walker and Sumita Singha to name a few. Each individual highlights a different topic and expresses their experiences to provide a rich foundation for a future of architecture, representing the diverse population the RIBA serve.

The book aims to help those who are under-recognised to find the role models, community and tools to feel confident, supported and valued. It will also help those intimidated by change to understand why it is important and provoke constructive action.

The book is now available from RIBA Books online, and will be in all good retailers from 1 June 2024.

Planning successes

We are thrilled to have been awarded planning for three quite different projects over the last few weeks – a re-imagination of a community church, a low energy house renovation and a town house reconfiguration. To get planning is such a positive milestone in the design process, it definitely is something we like to celebrate.

At St Lukes Church in Portsmouth, Hampshire, our design will enhance the engagement of the church building with the local community, making the space more welcoming and restful for visitors. Our scheme has been specifically designed to embrace a phased build, so the work is achievable in stages as the church is able to raise funds.

In Brixham, Devon, we have been granted our second planning approval, this time for Courtyard House, a traditional townhouse that needed some work to rationalise the layout and maximise the coastal views. The design focuses on reworking the internal space, to draw in natural daylight and help make the tall, thin house feel more spacious, a key design feature is the introduction of an internal courtyard to bring landscaping into the home whilst making sense of the steep site.

Our final approval to celebrate is for Cedarwood, a low energy home in Twyford, Hampshire set within the South Downs National Park. The project will reconfigure the existing home, making the space more suitable for the needs of the growing family. The design also concentrates on upgrading the sustainability of the home, to create a low energy dwelling, work includes increased insulation throughout, replacement glazing and a new roof. An external colonnade is to be added to the south side, to help mitigate overheating during the warmer summer months, which also creates a covered outdoor space that extends the time the clients can use the garden.

We are looking forward to sharing further updates of these three projects as they progress onsite soon.

Building Trends for 2023

THE AGE OF DEEP RETROFIT AND REIMAGINED EXISTING BUILDINGS

I was asked to predict the a key trend for 2023, by Homebuilding & Renovating Magazine. The one trend I can see being high on all those self-build enthusiasts list this year, is deep retrofit of existing buildings.

We are already seeing this in the self-build industry, where homeowners and those investing in new properties and projects are looking to invest in the fabric of their buildings so that they can save energy in the long term. This is in response to the challenging times we face, with energy costs, rising inflation and how this impacts on construction costs.

So this may include new triple glazed windows, insulating the fabric of a building first, existing walls, roof and floor. It makes sense to put investment into the existing envelope of the building first, before investing in the interiors such as kitchens, bathrooms, lighting and decoration. There is a move to upgrade building fabric now, so that money can be saved and put aside for further improvements on buildings.

We are working with many clients on existing buildings and a phased approach or meanwhile delivery is becoming more prevalent where funds are prioritised to invest on upgrading elements, prior to delivery of perhaps new elements and extensions. In some cases, extensions may be built up to a shell level, so insulated and weather tight, until funds become available to complete and install finishes.

I think we will see a continuing trend for client’s and architects, being smart, taking these moves in order that the continuing pressure on budgets energy, material costs and interest rates, will simple mean that this has come out of a necessity, to have a clear strategy of how you plan your self-build refurbishment, sourcing and prioritised affordable materials, in an age where materials are constantly increasing.

Studio BAD collaboration

A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of working with Katie from KLC Studio to have some professional photos taken of the team in our studio, for an upcoming brochure we are currently working on. Now this might not seem newsworthy to many of you, but a few important things struck me.

Firstly, the simple task of trying to get a date that everyone was available for the photoshoot was impossible! In the end we had to settle on a date when the majority could join us, which really highlighted to me how much the Studio BAD team has grown.

We have come a long way from me working on my own in my home office, and Studio BAD has become far richer from it! I am so proud of the collective of collaborators who are involved with Studio BAD. Every member of our team brings their professional (& personal) expertise, skills and experience to the team, helping to produce interesting ideas and design solutions. As we always shape our team around each project’s needs, we are able to be nimble and flexible to offer the best solutions for our clients, it also ensures that no two project teams are the same and no two projects are the same.

Secondly, we could host the photoshoot in our own studio space! Earlier this year we opened our first Studio BAD studio in central Southampton, which was a huge step for us but has been so rewarding.

We now have the physical space to get together, facilitate workshops and hold design crit, which has been tricky to do in the past when we had to rely on online meetings or hiring space. Having a ‘home’ that reflects the company, where people can find us and drop in is really gratifying and hugely beneficial to the whole team. Whilst I love technology as a way of keeping in touch, nothing quite beats sitting down over a coffee to talk through and solve a tricky design issue.

And finally, the simple fact that we are putting together a brochure for the company is brilliantly amazing to me. Initially we had started looking at putting a simple gatefold leaflet together, but once we started looking at the wide variety of projects that we wanted to include it quickly became obvious that this was not going to work.

The process of putting together the brochure has been another enjoyable collective endeavour. From the consideration over the design, to discussing the projects to include and the conversations over the copy text; we have worked in an open and honest way, to deliver the best outcome (which we hope to be able to publish very soon.)

It is incredible how this simple task has highlighted so much positive change in the company, but I wanted to share this as I know how important it is to occasionally take a moment and appreciate how far we have come.