SELF-BUILD JOURNEY
03 — Designing & planning
Turn your ideas into real plans.
Learn how to work with architects and designers, develop your plans and get the green light to build.
01 Researching
02 Looking for land
→ 03 Design & planning
04 Construction
Embrace the constraints of your project
Great design doesn’t start with a blank slate; it begins with the site itself and what it tells you.
The solution is often three-quarters formed by existing constraints: the plot’s orientation, solar access, topography, what the building must do and your budget.
The beginning of the process is arguably the most important
A designer’s ability to impact a project reduces over time so it’s essential to have a well honed brief and assemble the right team.
They will understand high performance buildings and embodied carbon, and will certainly not be focusing on aesthetics, wowing you with dramatic cantilevers and disappearing walls.
Planning permission is the elephant in the room!
You never fully know what the planners want until you submit your application.
You can, however, assess what is more likely to get the go-ahead, and if you are not pushed for time you can break the project into incremental steps and then negotiate to get you to where you want to be.
What do you need help with
Everything you need to start your self-build with confidence.
Start here →
