Residential Architecture Studio in London

Planning drawings describe what is being built, so the local authority can judge its appearance, scale and impact. Building regulation drawings describe how it will be constructed safely, covering structure, insulation, fire stopping, ventilation and drainage. They are produced to different standards and approved by different routes: planning by the local authority, building regulations by building control. Sovran prepares both and manages each approval, so the design approved at planning stage is the design that is built. Both are needed before a project can start on site, and neither replaces the other.

Ideally before a property is bought, before the brief is settled and before a contractor is approached. A feasibility study establishes what a site can support, what it is likely to cost and where the planning position stands, and it takes two to three weeks. Buyers use it to judge a purchase with real information; owners use it to test an idea before committing to design fees. It is the most efficient investment at the start of any project. No design fees are committed until the findings are clear.

Pre-construction typically takes three to six months, depending on whether planning permission is required. Design, planning applications, engineering and party wall work run alongside one another, not in sequence. A householder planning application is determined within eight weeks, while larger or more complex applications can take thirteen. Where a project qualifies for permitted development, the programme can shorten considerably, and a feasibility study establishes the likely route before design fees are committed. The studio remains involved through construction, so the timetable continues to be managed after the drawings are issued.

Yes. Structural calculations and drawings are produced by a qualified structural engineer working inside the project team, coordinated with the architectural drawings from the first technical stage. The client does not need to appoint or manage the engineer separately. Beams, openings and altered load paths are designed alongside the layout, which avoids late redesign when engineering and layout are developed apart, and building control receives a single coordinated package. Where possible, the team designs around notifiable party wall work, which reduces cost and programme impact.

They allow a project to be experienced before it is built, at the stage when decisions can still be changed at no cost. Renders and VR walkthroughs show light, proportion and materials in context, and the same model that produces the images produces the construction drawings, so nothing is redrawn. The visuals also support planning submissions, contractor briefings and interior specification, and each round typically takes one to two weeks. Because the model is built once, changes at this stage cost a conversation rather than a variation.