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Tag Archives: Architectural Design

Architectural Design is central to a beautiful and functional space. Any individual or company wishing to start a building project, will need an architect to at least produce the required drawings.

Additionally, a good architectural practice such as Essex based Munday and Cramer can:

  • Manage the tender process for trades and services
  • Apply for planning permission and building regulations consent on your behalf
  • Manage the project throughout the build
  • Prepare budgets and ensure cost certainty
  • Complete feasibility studies

Choosing the right architect for you is a big commitment. Architectural design is subjective so they will need to not only fit with your budgetary constraints, but also share your vision for the completed build.

Choosing an Architect

The first thing to consider is that your proposed architect is registered with the relevant bodies. UK architects must register with the ARB (Architects Registration Board). Additionally, they can also choose to apply for accreditation with RIBA, RIAI or RIAS should they wish to acquire a Chartered status. Not only should prospective clients check an architect’s credentials, but also it might be wise to check what accreditation entails.

In the first place, builders and tradespeople can often recommend an architect. From that position, the client should employ the rule of (at least) three when gaining quotes. It is important to realise that not all architects will be experienced in all kinds of project. Do some research, ask for case studies of similar builds to your own, and follow up references.

Another key point, is to understand what your quote entails. Some architects will manage the planning application and building regulations process for you, others expect you to have this in hand. Similarly, some practices offer project management and engage trades on the client’s behalf – others simply provide a design drawing for contractors to work from.

Potential clients requiring assistance with any of these architectural services should contact Munday and Cramer on 01245 326200

28
Jan 2021

How Architecture Can Help Children’s Creativity And Mental Health

This year, Children’s Mental Health Week is taking place between the 1st and 7th of February. The theme in 2021? Express Yourself. Children across the UK have had a pretty rough time as of late. The various lockdowns have prevented the normal kinds of social stimulation so vital for childhood and teenage development. That’s why – arguably more than ever before – we need to look for greater and more varied ways in which our younger generations can express themselves. The built environment has a big part to play in that; whether in our schools, our public spaces or anywhere […]

Two young children smiling to represent how architecture can help young people's mental health.
21
Jan 2021

The Rise Of The Hybrid Workplace – What Might This Mean For Future Workplace Design?

At the time of writing, England is in the midst of its third national lockdown as a result of COVID-19. Talk to almost anyone now and they’ll resoundingly give you the impression of being distinctly “over it”. Whether you want to call it fatigue, ennui or anything else, many of us are hitting a sort of lockdown ‘wall’ that we’re finding hard to cope with, both professionally and personally. Something which invariably helps in these situations, however, is to hold onto the light at the end of the tunnel, the prospect of the ‘beyond’. But what does that beyond look […]

A home desk to represent the hybrid workplace and what it might mean for office design
14
Jan 2021

What Might Brexit Mean For The Architectural, Building Surveying And Project Management Sectors?

Last month’s announcement of a trade deal following Brexit could (not unfairly) be described as leaving things to the very last minute. The architectural community was by-and-large against the UK’s decision to leave the European Union, with prominent industry voices having spoken out both prior to the 2016 referendum and since, on the damage they feared would be wrought as a result of the union departure. Vote to leave we did, however, and many industry bodies have therefore spent the past four years fervently preparing (or attempting to, at least) for what might lie in wait from here on in. […]

A Europea map to represent Brexit.
11
Jan 2021

How Has Social Media Changed The World Of Architectural Design?

One of the biggest changes seen within the global cultural landscape over the past couple of decades has unquestionably been the advent (and subsequent proliferation) of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. What started out simply as one college student’s goal to enable students to connect more easily, has morphed into an all-encompassing digital behemoth, one in which today’s world increasingly seems to revolve around. There are few areas that haven’t been affected in some way or another by the reaches of these mega-companies. The world of architectural design is no exception. With that in mind, the team […]

An image of a neon sign 'like' button to represent social media and how it's changed architectural design.
21
Dec 2020

Ho-Ho-Ho! Munday + Cramer’s Architectural Christmas Almanac!

This year, more than any other, has seen many of us looking forward desperately to the Christmas holidays; a brief respite from the continual flak fired at us throughout the year, in the form of a deadly virus. Here at Munday + Cramer, we’re no different, and in this blog post, we wanted to get holly, jolly and ready for the Christmas season with some festive architectural discussion. Trust us on this one… The Architecture Of The Christmas Tree For most people, when they see a Christmas tree they see a symbol of festive spirit and anticipation. For architects, however, […]

A Christmas bauble to represent our festive architectural almanac.
20
Nov 2020

Five Architectural Design Failures That Are Known For All The Wrong Reasons…

It’s all very well talking about the great and the good. We love nothing more than to watch an Oscar-winning performance, take in an unspoiled mountain vista or marvel at the brilliance of one of the old masters’ paintings. After a while, though, it can get a bit, well, dare we say boring? Variety is the spice of life, so they say. The world would be a pretty dull place were we not to have the bad to contrast the good! Architectural design is no different from this, and whilst there have, of course, been a huge number of staggering […]

The word mistake to represent architectural design failures.
12
Nov 2020

The Continued Growth Of Degree Apprenticeships

There was a time when attaining a good university degree from a prestigious university was perceived as being the zenith of ‘success’ for young adults. In recent times, however, this attitude has been increasingly challenged, and whilst a – what we would probably term – ‘conventional’ university degree is still a valid and much-vaunted pathway to follow, it’s certainly not the only one. Practical, vocation-based qualifications (apprenticeships, for example) have been gaining on their traditional counterparts for some time now, and show no obvious signs of slowing down. There are pros and cons to both, which is what makes the […]

A lecture hall to represent degree apprenticeships.
23
Oct 2020

Architectural Design: What Is BREEAM And Why Is It So Important?

The built environment is shaped by its regulatory frameworks and assessments; rules, guidance and standards that, in being met, ensure that buildings around the world are designed and constructed in the most efficient and sustainable way possible, not just from an environmental perspective, but from a socio-political standpoint as well. There’s one assessment method more than any other, however, that’s helped divert the previously often muddied waters of the built environment towards a greener, cleaner future – and that’s BREEAM. The team here at Munday + Cramer, a leading Essex-based architectural design and building surveying firm, wanted to explore this […]

A leaf and droplet to represent greener architectural design.
25
Sep 2020

What Is Modular Design And Why Is It So Popular?

Like many toddlers growing up, I would often sit for hours at a time enthralled by little wooden building blocks. In a quasi-flow-state, I would arrange and re-arrange them into various shapes and structures, utterly transfixed. A young child, sat with an almost comic intensity of concentration, toiling away at his magnum opus. Whilst I didn’t know it at the time, that approach was actually surprisingly similar to a form of construction today. A discipline known as modular design. In many ways, in fact, modular architectural design is more akin to that simplistic block-building approach of childhood in than it […]

A building block to represent the repeating 'units' used in modular design.
18
Sep 2020

Architectural Design Through The Ages: Part 3 (Modern)

Superlatives are bandied about nowadays with careless abandon, their impact and value somewhat lessened by their overly-frequent usage. When it comes to modern architectural styles, however, you’ll find that superlatives are still very much appropriate. Contemporary architectural design (from the turn of the 20th century to present day) includes some of the most innovative, most provocative and most daring structures ever to have been conceived. Some of the styles we’ll cover in this post built on the rules laid down by their forebears. Others, however, ripped up the rule book entirely. All of them, however, left their own distinct mark […]