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Tell us the building, the duty or deadline you're managing and any existing reports, and we'll advise the proportionate next step.
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Architectural services London: design, planning, building regulations and CDM coordination
Architectural design London instructions need more than concept drawings: refurbishments, alterations and remedial works must move from brief to planning applications, building regulations submissions, construction information and coordinated CDM principal designer duties.
We develop buildable design information, identify planning and heritage risk, prepare or coordinate building regulations submissions, and align the design with CDM risk management from the outset. The result is a clearer route from feasibility to tender and construction.
We are not the contractor. Construction works are delivered by appointed contractors under the building contract, while our design, surveying and CDM roles remain independent and under distinct appointments. Where specialist structural or fire engineering is required, we identify and coordinate that input rather than implying it is covered by architectural design alone.
For clients who only need the dutyholder role, see CDM Principal Designer. For design-stage compliance under the Building Regulations regime, see Building Regulations Principal Designer. Planning strategy sits alongside Pre-Application Advisory. At feasibility stage, our early works cost and consent guide helps identify likely cost and approval dependencies before design starts.
Architectural Design & CDM across London
We combine architectural design with CDM (Construction Design and Management) compliance, providing an integrated service that delivers practical, buildable designs while meeting health and safety obligations throughout the project lifecycle.
Our architectural team works on residential extensions, refurbishments, conversions, fit-outs and new-build projects across London. We handle planning applications, building regulations submissions and construction drawings, with CDM principal designer duties integrated from the outset. We are an independent design and consultancy practice: the construction works are carried out by appointed contractors, and the CDM role is distinct from the separate Building Safety Act principal designer concept.
London projects live or die on the constraints around them. Conservation areas, listed buildings, article 4 directions, tight boundaries and neighbour interests shape what will actually gain consent, and a design that ignores them wastes fees and time. We work up buildable schemes that respond to the local planning context from the start — testing feasibility, resolving party wall and daylight and rights of light implications early, and preparing planning and building regulations submissions that stand a realistic chance of approval. With the CDM principal designer duty integrated from the outset, health and safety risk is designed out rather than passed to site. Because we are independent of the contractor, the design and the risk information serve the client's interest, and where a scheme needs specialist planning, structural or fire input we identify and coordinate it rather than stretching beyond our role.
What to send, and what you receive
Tell us about the building and the duty or deadline you are managing and we will confirm a proportionate scope and a fee before you instruct.
What to send before we quote
- The property type and use
- Any current reports
- The known risk or issue
- Your required deadline
- The responsible person or contact
What you receive
- A written review, audit or assessment suited to the duty
- Findings and a proportionate, prioritised action plan
- Clear advice on what is and is not covered
Some areas need accredited specialists (for example UKAS-accredited asbestos or testing laboratories, or a structural engineer); we coordinate this and keep our advice independent. Ask what the report would include.
Scope of our architectural design & cdm service
Residential Design
Architectural design for extensions, loft conversions, basement excavations and whole-house refurbishments.
Planning Applications
Preparation and management of planning applications including householder, full and listed building consent.
Building Regulations
Design development to building regulations standards with submission management and inspector liaison.
CDM Principal Designer
CDM 2015 principal designer duties integrated with the design process from pre-construction through to handover.
When architectural and CDM input is needed
Clients usually come to us with a scheme to deliver and a need for joined-up design, not a service name. These are the typical triggers.
- A remedial or refurbishment scheme needs design and detailing.
- Planning permission or listed building consent is needed.
- Building regulations submissions need preparing and managing.
- The client wants design and CDM under one appointment.
- A facade or external wall scheme needs buildable detailing.
- The CDM principal designer duty-holder role needs filling.
- Conservation or heritage constraints apply to the design.
- You want design coordinated with the wider project team.
Architectural design across priority London areas
RICS regulated architectural design and CDM coordination across London. Select an area for local design and planning context.
Architectural design in Hampstead
NW3 — Camden.
View Architectural design in HampsteadArchitectural design in Belsize Park
NW3 — Camden.
View Architectural design in Belsize ParkArchitectural design in Highgate
N6 — Camden.
View Architectural design in HighgateArchitectural design in St John's Wood
NW8 — Westminster.
View Architectural design in St John's WoodArchitectural design in Marylebone
W1U — Westminster.
View Architectural design in MaryleboneArchitectural design in Mayfair
W1K — Westminster.
View Architectural design in MayfairArchitectural design in Knightsbridge
SW1X — Westminster.
View Architectural design in KnightsbridgeArchitectural design in Chelsea
SW3 — Kensington and Chelsea.
View Architectural design in ChelseaArchitectural design in South Kensington
SW7 — Kensington and Chelsea.
View Architectural design in South KensingtonArchitectural design in Fulham
SW6 — Hammersmith and Fulham.
View Architectural design in FulhamArchitectural design in Battersea
SW11 — Wandsworth.
View Architectural design in BatterseaArchitectural design in Richmond
TW9 — Richmond upon Thames.
View Architectural design in RichmondOther services often considered alongside architectural design and CDM
Cladding Remediation
Project advisory on external wall remedial works, from risk-led scope development through procurement, delivery and stakeholder coordination.
View ServicePre-Application Advisory
Early-stage advisory on planning feasibility, pre-application submissions and regulatory strategy before formal applications are made.
View ServiceContract Administration
Independent contract administration under JCT, NEC and other standard forms, managing the construction contract on behalf of the client.
View ServiceClerk of Works
On-site quality inspection and monitoring to verify that works are carried out in accordance with the specification and design intent.
View ServiceWhat this service is — and is not
This is a design and CDM coordination service provided by an RICS regulated practice with in-house architectural input. We carry out facade and building design, planning and building regulations coordination, and the CDM principal designer duty-holder role where competent for the project. We do not carry out the construction works, which are delivered by appointed contractors, and we do not relieve other duty-holders of their own duties.
The CDM Principal Designer manages pre-construction health and safety risk under CDM 2015. The Building Regulations Principal Designer plans, manages and monitors design work for compliance with the Building Regulations. Architectural design and CDM coordination do not automatically include the Building Regulations appointment. If one organisation holds both roles, each appointment, scope and record remains explicit.
We identify where specialist structural, fire engineering or conservation input applies and coordinate the appropriate specialists rather than conflating roles. We give proportionate advice and do not guarantee a planning or regulatory outcome.
A representative architectural design and CDM instruction
The following London inspection and reporting workflow breakdown shows how our RICS surveyors scope, inspect and report on real properties across London; see our published London surveying case studies for completed project records.
- Typical client: a freeholder, managing agent or owner with a remedial or refurbishment scheme
- Typical project: facade or building works needing design, planning and CDM coordination
- Typical issue: the client wants design, building regs and CDM under one appointment
- Typical instruction: architectural design with integrated CDM principal designer duties
- What the client typically receives: design and construction information, planning and building regs submissions and coordinated CDM duties
- How it is typically used: to deliver a buildable, compliant scheme with design and safety coordination joined up
- Related services: Cladding Remediation, Pre-Application Advisory, CDM Principal Designer
Managing a compliance duty or deadline? Send the property details and we'll advise the proportionate next step.
Send property detailsWhen architectural design is the right instruction
| Situation | Usually instruct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Extension, conversion or refurbishment needs drawings and consents | Architectural design | Planning drawings, building regs coordination and CDM design duties |
| Pre-app advice before a design is fixed | Pre-application advisory | Feasibility and planning risk before full design fees |
| Listed building or conservation fabric first | Heritage surveying | Significance and fabric strategy before design options |
| Works already designed; need contract control | Contract administration | Delivery role, not design production |
Primary guidance we work to
- Town and Country Planning Act 1990
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Planning Practice Guidance — Before submitting an application
- Building Regulations 2010
- CDM Regulations 2015
- RICS Rules of Conduct
Typical fees: Architectural design instructions in London typically start from £1,200 plus VAT; we confirm a fixed fee after scoping the works and consent route.
Common questions about architectural design and CDM
What does your architectural design and CDM service cover?
We combine architectural design with CDM coordination: facade and building design, planning applications, building regulations submissions and construction detailing, with CDM principal designer duties integrated from the outset. It is provided as part of a single appointment with the practice on refurbishment, remediation, conversion, extension and major works projects.
Do I need a separate architect if I instruct you for cladding remediation?
No. Our in-house architectural team handles facade design, CDM duties and building regulations coordination as part of your single appointment with the practice, so a separate architect is not normally required for the remedial works.
Can your architect act as CDM principal designer?
Yes, where competent for the project and under a clearly defined CDM Principal Designer appointment. That CDM 2015 role is separate from the Building Regulations Principal Designer; an architectural design or CDM appointment does not automatically include the Building Regulations role. Where both are required, the written appointments identify each role and scope.
Do you handle planning applications?
Yes, where facade or building alterations require planning permission, or where the building is in a conservation area or listed. For larger development-scale planning we can work alongside a lead architect rather than overreaching.
Do you work on listed and conservation-area buildings?
Yes. Listed buildings and conservation-area properties are common in London. We design with the applicable heritage and planning constraints in mind and identify where listed building consent or specialist conservation input is required.
Is this only for cladding remediation projects?
No. Architectural input is available across refurbishment, conversion, change-of-use, extension and major works projects where design coordination and building regulations compliance are needed, not only cladding remediation.
Do you prepare building regulations submissions?
Yes. We develop the design to building regulations standards and manage the submission and inspector liaison. We identify where specialist input, such as structural or fire engineering, is required rather than implying it is covered.
Do you carry out the construction works?
No. We are an independent design and consultancy practice. The construction works are carried out by appointed contractors under a building contract; keeping design and CDM coordination separate from the works keeps our advice objective.
How does this link to the wider project team?
Our architectural and CDM input integrates with the wider project team and the client's other advisers, and sits alongside our project advisory, contract administration and clerk of works services under separate clearly defined appointments where a joined-up approach is wanted.
When should architectural input start?
As early as possible. The brief and feasibility stage is where buildability, planning risk and CDM coordination are most effectively addressed, so early architectural input usually gives the best control of cost, programme and risk.
Related articles and guidance
CDM Principal Designer Role Explained
Read our latest guidance and advice.
Read ArticleBuilding Regulations Approval: What You Need to Know
Read our latest guidance and advice.
Read ArticleLondon Conservation Areas: Building Work Guide
Read our latest guidance and advice.
Read ArticleVictorian Terrace Loft Conversion: Structural Considerations
Read our latest guidance and advice.
Read ArticleNeed architectural design, CDM or Building Regs support in London? Call 020 7101 4590.
Contact our team to discuss how our in-house architectural team can support your instruction.
Enquire about Architectural Design & CDM
Tell us briefly about the building and what you need. Your enquiry goes directly to our chartered surveying team.
We respond to enquiries within one working day.
Prefer to talk it through first? Call 020 7101 4590 or email enquiries@hampsteadcharteredsurveyors.co.uk.
Architectural design and CDM in Central London
Regional guidance for Central London building stock, client decisions and delivery constraints.
Architectural design and CDM in Central London
Architectural design translates a client's brief and an existing building's evidence into coordinated spatial, technical and consent information. For Central London alterations, the design must reconcile use, fabric, access, fire, structure, services, energy, heritage and buildability while each statutory approval and dutyholder role remains clearly identified.
View Architectural design and CDM Central London guidanceDedicated Central London service guides
Compare 59 dedicated service guides and 16 core neighbourhoods.
View the Central London hub