Location: Hill Drive, Hove, Brighton & Hove, East Sussex
Work carried out: Redesign and negotiations with Planners to achieve loft Master Bedroom, alterations to design and specification by others, coordinating a landscape design, contract support, Party Wall determination.
Project description:
The clients had been through a difficult time since purchasing the site which had a small house on it. A scheme was active with Permissions at the time of our first involvement, initially in a design capacity but this grew into a main role. An extra floor of habitable accommodation was secured for a Master Bedroom suite and some refinements were added to a rather bland design to add impact.
This included a main staircase design and the oriel window, a front balcony, external elements including steps, staircases, pool house and features in the garden at the front and rear including the bespoke front gates. Working closely with the Contractor a neat, contemporary design was achieved which the clients love and has met their aspirations.
Contractor: Coastal Building Services
Awards:
Winner
2011 Sussex Heritage Trust Award
Small Scale Residential
This seems more like a novel rather than a review, but it made sense to write it this way in attempt to prevent another family to experience our ordeal. In 2005 we decided to convert our 3-bed bungalow to a 4-bed dream house. With no previous construction experience we managed to gather a team of equally inadequate “professionals”. We moved out and the work began on August 1st 2006. By mid-October we had run into so many problems that the work had to be halted by November 2006. In the space of the following five years, we moved 3 times to different rented accommodations with a 3 and 1 year old and spend the majority of our free time and all savings on solicitors, surveyors and various building consultants. Totally worn out, we gave up on the dream home idea and decided to save our marriage and sanity instead. What once was our home, became an overgrown forgotten building site, and we gradually got used to the idea of never seeing it completed. In early 2011 my wife Khatereh coincidentally met David Kemp from DK Architects and suggested we should meet up with him to get his opinion as a last attempt to make sense of our failure. I distinctly remember our first meeting and what David said to us, as it was not only the start of us getting back our home but a very valuable lesson for life that restored our faith in humanity and professional commitment. David said something along the lines of “rescuing the project is one thing, but from what you have said I think it is more important for you to fall in love with the idea of it being your home again and I think we can do this together if you trust me.” And that was exactly what he did. We as a family are forever grateful for not only building our home but giving us hope and restoring our faith in humanity. David is not only a magnificent visionary of architect he is also the true symbol of professionalism in its noblest attribute. We wish him and his family health, love, harmony and prosperity.