If you are lucky enough to own a historic or Listed Building, or are considering purchasing one, you no doubt appreciate they are wonderful and evocative places to live and work, yet also equally aware of their numerous idiosyncrasies and challenges – especially if trying to make improvements or create an extension.
Engaging a specialist Historic Buildings Architect will help you overcome the many pitfalls that are of- ten encountered. Here some tips if you are planning work to a Heritage or Listed Building:
1) Why use an architect?
An architect is trained to maximise design possibilities, to solve problems and provide a com- plete understanding of the planning and construction process, pulling together the numerous
strands required to create a successful building. Their skills will unlock opportunities you may not have foreseen such as making the most of available space, improving the light, making the right.
material choices, maximising the budget’s impact and ultimately creating spaces that are beauti- ful and delightful to use.
On top of this an architect that specialises in historic buildings will have the skills and knowledge to understand the building’s history, traditional construction techniques and help navigate both the planning and listed building process. This can be an involved process that often trips people up. The level of scrutiny is more onerous for listed buildings and a specialist architect will have the skills to understand and decipher the historic development and signifcance of a building and consequently put forward and justify appropriate changes that will gain consents.
2) Choosing and Architect:
There are numerous architects and ‘building designers’ out there, but not all are used to working with Historic or Listed Buildings. Architects undergo at least 7 years training and must keep up.
to date with current regulations and industry standards. On top of this, an architect that special- ises in historic buildings is likely to have additional qualifcations such as an ‘Architect Accredited in Building Conservation’ (AABC) that requires a level of experience and detailed knowledge of historically signifcant buildings as well as the specifcs of how they can and can’t be altered. If you are considering work on your listed building searching for an architect with these specialist skills will provide an excellent starting point.
If you would like to fnd out more please contact us to see how we can help.
Why Use a Specialist Listed Buildings Architect
