Expertise and services

As a specialist architectural practice, Studio HCA provides a range of professional services at all stages of a building project, from initial ‘blue sky’ discussions to managing and overseeing the handover of a completed building.

We are selective in the projects we undertake and invest time early on to establish a detailed brief with our clients and ensure that our appointment is tailored to deliver maximum value to our client’s benefit.

Carrying out an architectural project can be amongst one of the more significant financial undertakings our clients will make, so we recognise the particular importance of arranging our appointment such that our expertise is employed in a targeted and economic manner, with full reference to the client’s budget and with consideration to where our services can add greatest value.

Design

We are, first and foremost, a specialist design firm. Over the years we have successfully completed a wide range of architectural and design projects, from small scale interiors and bespoke furniture design to larger civic building projects and private residences.

We enjoy taking on challenging briefs and working closely with our clients to create beautiful architecture that not only fulfils the practical requirements of the project but also enriches the lives of everyone who engages with the completed work.

No design work takes place in a vacuum, and we deploy our expertise and specialist knowledge in conservation, building history and construction technology to create buildings that contribute to the enhancement of both their immediate surroundings and the wider environment.

Every project is evaluated on a case-by-case basis and undertaken from first principles. Our clients find our way of working is personable and innovative, tailored to their own specific needs and to the particularities of their project.

We believe firmly that any successful design project must necessarily be a collaborative enterprise between a variety of contributors - client, consultants and contractor, as well as other stakeholders too such as funding bodies, estate management schemes and local planning authorities. We are fortunate to have worked with some of the top professionals in their respective disciplines over the years and maintain a list of trusted consultants and specialists that we can recommend to clients as we build a project team.

Architectural services

Studio HCA provide a full suite of architectural services from RIBA Stages 0-6. We are also happy to undertake discrete appointments for any individual stage of work too, or can equally create a bespoke appointment that responds to the particular programmatic requirements a client may have. Some examples of popular stand-alone services we provide are:

Site appraisals

Understanding the opportunities and constraints of a site at the outset of any project is crucial and can prove a highly valuable exercise especially if a client is seeking to weigh up the benefits and risks a prospective purchase. We regularly provide initial appraisals for clients which take into account a number of site attributes with a view to potential development or renovation.

Brief development

Developing and then refining a client’s initial requirements into a distilled and coherent brief is typically one of the more involved exercises in any design project and the success of this process is fundamental to the ultimate success of the project itself. The process of establishing the nature of a client’s preferences and determining how these can synthesise with the specifics of a corresponding budget and programme takes time and expertise. We have found time and again that clients value our working with them to identify their priorities and formulate a programme of improvements and development that can then be explored further in design terms.

Concept design & feasibility studies

As part of any design process, there is great benefit to developing a range of options which explores how the brief might ‘take shape’ physically, and there are likely to be several design approaches that can be pursued, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Having taken a comprehensive review of the site, brief and regulatory imperatives, we are especially proficient in developing and testing options to determine the various plusses and minuses of a certain design concept. A high-level review of various criteria can be undertaken, taking into account such elements as potential increase in floor area, buildability, planning risks, energy performance improvements, etc. Preparing a study which examines these key elements can be invaluable in assisting a client in their decision making and determining how best to take a project forward. We regularly work with both estate agents and cost consultants to evaluate the likely return on investment for the different development options that are identified by these studies.

Physical and digital modelling, CGIs and virtual walkthroughs

It is essential that our clients (and other interested parties, such as planning officers) can understand and successfully visualise emerging design proposals. Depending on the brief, we often recommend a model is built to inform both the design development itself and also to assist clients in their understanding of the spatial and material qualities of the proposal. These models may take the form of a physical scale model, or be generated digitally using our in-house computer modelling software. Various massing and spatial compositions, daylighting, and materiality can all be explored three-dimensionally and presentational images derived from the base model in support of the proposals. This presentational imagery from the model can be used to great effect in the promotion of the scheme design to potential funders, purchasers and planning authorities alike.

Planning process

We operate within a broad range of complex regulatory settings, and our clients appreciate our ability to marshal our strong design acumen and knowledge of the planning regulations to ‘unlock’ challenging sites that are subject to stringent local planning policy.

We have particular expertise in working with listed buildings and sites in specially designated locations, such as conservation areas. Certain application types require a greater deal of specialist coordination and input, and we have successfully lead applications for subterranean developments (basement extensions) as well as renovations to historic properties located in archaeologically sensitive areas.

The core of our work typically pertains to sites within the central London boroughs and we have a good working relationship with many of the local planning officers and conservation officers. We also have a strong track record outside London and have experience dealing with local authorities across Great Britain and Ireland.

A number of our projects have been in more rural settings, from historic landscapes to designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) or Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). We have had success in achieving planning permission via the Paragraph 84 principle whereby new-build houses in rural areas are acceptable only in cases where the architectural proposal is considered by the local authority to be of ‘exceptional quality’.

Achieving a successful outcome in the planning process can often hinge on the fruitful engagement and backing of local stakeholders. We have over the years consulted with many local interest groups and amenity societies and have enjoyed positive engagement with national bodies too, including the Georgian Society and the C20 Society.

Both Hugh and Will are long-standing members of the Bloomsbury Conservation Area Advisory Committee and between them have many years of experience reviewing planning applications of all types and sizes within one of London’s most significant and historic conservation areas. The associated engagement with Camden’s development planning team on the latest applications and appeals provides the practice with an invaluable window into the most recent trends in planning policy and conservation best practice.

We regularly work with specialist planning consultants and planning barristers on projects comprising greater complexity or where there is particular advantage to their inclusion in the project team.

We have experience working at all stages of the planning process and undertake a range of planning-related work, including:

Pre-application enquiries
Applications for planning permission (incl. Minor material amendments, non-material amendments, change of use, certificates of lawful development, etc.)
Applications for listed building consent
Condition discharge applications
Applications for advertising consent
Presentations to local authorities’ Design Review Panels
Appeal submissions to the Planning Inspectorate

Applications for licences to alter and other freeholder or leaseholder consents

Many properties are subject to historic covenants, easements or other such title restrictions. We regularly work with clients to obtain consents from freeholder or leaseholder bodies to make alterations to their properties.

There are often highly technical and nuanced conditions applied to central London properties in particular, and a detailed understanding of how these criteria interact with the requirements of other regulatory frameworks – Planning, Listed Building, Building Control, Health & Safety, etc – as well as the physical building constraints, is essential to a successful and viable outcome.

We have considerable experience working with many of London’s ‘Great Estates’ and often work in tandem with clients’ solicitors and surveyors to establish a licence that is also compatible with planning policy and building regulations.

Detailed technical design (RIBA Stage 4)

The early stages of any project involve working through questions of strategic planning and design, but later on in the design process greater detail and specificity is required in order to describe the proposals more comprehensively. for the purposes of preparing pricing documents for tender and of course ensuring the proposals satisfy building control approval at a more detailed level of analysis.

Building regulations compliance
Tender documentation & procurement support
Construction drawings & specifications
Coordination of multidisciplinary team

Contract administration and design consultancy during construction

On-site supervision and contract administration

Coordination with engineers and specialist consultants

Specialist conservation expertise

Much of our work entails to some degree or another working with historic buildings and sensitive conservation settings.

Historic building appraisals
Listed building applications
Conservation strategy plans
Low-carbon and energy-efficient design strategies
Retrofit and energy performance improvements

Ecclesiastical consultancy

Studio HCA have over the years built up considerable expertise working on historic churches and their associated buildings. We are familiar with the particularities of engaging with church leadership, PCCs, building committees, and diocesan advisory committees, and understand the typical requirements peculiar to ecclesiastical work, such as the preparation of faculty applications and coordinating archaeological surveys and maintenance programmes. Hugh is also a member of the Ecclesiastical Architects and Surveyors Association (EASA) and takes a particular interest in the restoration of historic fabric and specialist craftsmanship. Most of our ecclesiastical work centres around London and the South-East, however we have also undertaken ecclesiastical work further afield too, including an ongoing project comprising the sensitive restoration of a deconsecrated rural Scottish ‘mission kirk’ for use as an artist’s summer studio.

Building appraisals and feasibility studies

We can provide a high-level analysis of an existing ecclesiastical structure and prepare a report with recommendations for repairs and improvements together with a feasibility study outlining and evaluating potential renovation and extension options that can then be considered by the PCC or church building committee. We often work closely with other specialist consultants – e.g. structural engineers, services consultants, stone specialists - to review particular elements of the building’s infrastructure, and incorporate their input into our overall report.

Quinquennial inspections

Hugh is registered as the quinquennial inspector for a number of historic and more modern churches located in the dioceses of London, Southwark, and Ely.

Applications for faculty

We have a good deal of experience in

Grant funding applications

We often assist with applications to funding bodies, and can lead multi-disciplinary teams to prepare feasibility reports in support of funding grant applications for renovation and extension works. Recent policy initiatives from both Historic England and the Church of England to promote the upgrading of ecclesiastical buildings to achieve better environmental performance form an increasingly important aspect to these funding applications, and Studio HCA are currently working with several church committees to undertake full building appraisals and feasibility studies to determine the potential fabric and mechanical upgrades that may be undertaken.

Services