Our early commissions were home extensions for families across central London. These highly-constrained, highly-complex, yet low-budget projects were an excellent start for the practice, allowing us to develop our approach to doing a lot for relatively little.
Typically, these projects involved difficult planning constraints and many achieved new ground in terms of the permissions received.
We completed four extensions in the Maida Vale Conservation Area, including a full-width rear extension, the first of its kind on the street which was won via an appeal against Westminster City Council. We also made the first successful application to add a storey to a Victorian mansion block overlooking Paddington Recreation Ground.
In the St. John’s Wood Conservation Area we added a storey to a locally-listed house, a contentious application, nevertheless consented first-time.
In Hackney we added a timber, steel and glass dormer roof extension to a family home, providing a master bedroom suite with incredible views over East London.
“Fred is a total legend, a dude and we love him. He upgraded our extension and renovation journey from standing next to the toilet in 4th class, to kicking back in first with a cloth napkin. Fred is supremely organised, has great contacts, faultless attention to detail, responsive to the point of weirdness and is on your side. He offers practical, emotional and spiritual support in the possible hell-slide that this process could become if attempted without such a guru.”
Alex and Abi Gilbert, Clients.
” I starting working with Fred a few years ago on an ambitious project remodelling and extending what was to become my new home.
From the get-go I knew I had found the right guy. As project manager he guided me effortlessly through all the avoidable pitfalls most commonly encountered. We (or rather he) got planning approval in record time on the first attempt and he delivered the project bang on time and on budget.
From an architectural perspective his creative ideas and attention to detail never faltered right to the end and his ability to organise both myself, the client and the contractor helped achieve amazing results virtually pain free! The fact that we ended the project as friends is a testament to Fred’s professionalism along the way.”
Darren Lewis, Client.
“As a services and environmental designer I work with architects every day, including some of the most well-known practices in London. When it came to choosing an architect to extend my home, I knew I wanted to work with Fred. Having worked with him previously I knew that the quality of design and level of detail he provides would be difficult to find for a project of this scale.
We had lots of our own ideas for how the extensions might look and he expertly reinterpreted these to design something quite different. We are regularly stopped by passers-by telling us how much they like the design.
Professionally speaking, Fred is extremely thorough and knowledgeable but also friendly and approachable. His drawings are very detailed, the finished project being millimetre-perfect to what he drew and not requiring any expensive or unwanted alterations once it started on site.
The house is a joy to live in and works exactly how we wanted it to, all a testament to the way Fred works and the preparation he puts in.”
Mr and Mrs Maidment, Clients