What we do

Architecture, interiors and research, and how an Atlas project runs.

Disciplines

Three strands, usually overlapping on the same project.

Architecture

New build and adaptation

Civic buildings, housing, and one-off houses. We work from feasibility through planning and tender to completion on site, and we do not hand a project to a delivery architect at technical design.

Interiors

Rooms within existing fabric

Halls, libraries, workplaces and homes inside buildings we did not design. The existing structure sets the terms; the work is finding what the room wants to be.

Research

Materials, ground and reuse

Funded and self-directed studies into local material supply, reused structure and the carbon cost of specification. Findings feed straight back into the built work.

How a project runs

Roughly, and with the caveat that no two have run identically.

01

No fee

First conversation

An hour, usually on site. We tell you whether we are the right practice for the job, which sometimes means saying no.

02

3–6 weeks

Feasibility

Survey, constraints, and two or three options tested in model and section. Enough to take to a funder or a planner.

03

4–8 months

Design and consent

The scheme develops through drawing and model. We run the planning application and any listed-building or funding consents.

04

3–5 months

Technical design

Every junction drawn, specification written, tender issued. This is where the material decisions become binding.

05

Duration of works

On site

Weekly inspection by one of the directors, valuations, and the long tail of queries until practical completion.

Ways of working together

Fees are agreed in writing before any work starts.

Most projects

Full service

Percentageof construction cost

Feasibility through to practical completion, with a director on site weekly.

  • Feasibility and options
  • Planning and consents
  • Technical design
  • Tender and contract
  • Site inspection
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Stage by stage

Fixed feeper stage

For clients who need to secure funding or consent before committing further.

  • Agreed scope per stage
  • Stop or continue at each
  • Fee fixed in advance
  • No obligation to proceed
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Advice and review

Day rate

Design review, feasibility opinions and expert input for other practices and trusts.

  • Design review
  • Feasibility opinion
  • Material and reuse advice
  • Funding-bid support
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Questions we are asked

How small a project will you take on?
There is no lower limit in principle. We have done a porch and a pair of gateposts. What matters is whether the brief is interesting and whether the timescale suits the rest of the studio.
Do you work outside the west of England?
Yes, though we are honest about travel. The weekly site visit is not negotiable, so anything beyond about three hours needs to justify the cost of getting there.
Will the directors actually be on my project?
Yes. It is the reason we stay at nine people. Every project has one of us leading it from the first conversation to the final certificate.
What does it cost?
Full-service work is a percentage of construction cost, which varies with complexity. Stage-by-stage work is a fixed fee agreed before each stage. We will give you a figure after the first conversation, not before.
Do you use a standard contract?
Usually a RIBA or JCT form appropriate to the scale. We will explain what you are signing and what it obliges both of us to do.