Grove Place School House in Hampstead, London.

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We weren’t the first architect to be appointed on this project. The client had been working with an extensive team for almost a year. Their budget was £175,000 and the tenders had just come in. They were three times the budget! The architects didn’t know how to cut things back, the client needed a fresh approach.

 

We had just completed a project for the client’s friend, on budget and carefully managed. We took the scheme and the brief from the client and with a contractor worked a detailed budget back from the funds available. We allocated costs for everything from structural changes to door handles, we made sure everything fitted within the target cost with a 15% contingency, we designed to the budget.

 

We were interviewed by Grand Designs Magazine shortly after completion to give advice on how to save money and stay on budget.

 

Construction was completed in 2005 and the main contractor was the late Chris Blunt.