One of the city’s top small architectural practices, London-based Scenario has been designing high-end, hard-working contemporary homes around the capital for more than a decade. Our contemporary house designs have featured in Elle Decoration, Dezeen and Houzz, and we’ve been shortlisted for several prestigious architecture prizes – including the 2018 RIBA London Awards for our landmark project, Scenario House.
In 2007, we established a boutique architecture practice in London with a uniquely collaborative process. Our clients’ objectives for high-functioning first-class architecture inform each of our modern house designs. Liveable, aspirational homes are the product of great communication and a firm understanding of every individual’s unique lifestyle. This understanding shows in our work, and it’s made Scenario one of the best small architectural practices in London.
Your London project
Starting your architectural project
If you’re considering a high-end residential architectural practice, London based, we’re here to help, whether you’re tackling a renovation, extension or new-build.
Most architecture projects in London require planning permission from the local council. With our successful record securing planning permission on behalf of our clients, we can claim home advantage across the capital.
We’ve created a brief illustrated overview to help you understand each stage of the process.
Tip
Discover if your architect has had success steering planning applications through your local council. Visit the “planning applications” page of your council’s website and enter the architect’s name in the search criteria.Advice
We have created guides for homeowners to provide additional advice and help with your project. The following eBooks are currently available for you to download:1. Planning in London and the home counties - A guide for homeowners
2. Self build - A guide to building your own new build home
Your London project >> Scenario Architecture
Working with Scenario Architecture on your London project
One of the top architectural practices in London, Scenario is a boutique architecture studio focused on high-end residential projects in and around the capital. Through our bespoke architecture service, we tackle projects of every scale and complexity, from interior alterations and refurbishments to full renovations and new-builds.
Our highly skilled team can walk you step-by-step through the challenge of designing your new space. We collaborate closely with our clients from the initial drawings, detail design and planning through tender and construction to the project’s successful completion. On time and on budget.
We use innovative 3D design and visualisation tools as a standard for all projects. Our experience shows that real-time visualisations and virtual reality are efficient tools for choosing finishes, fixtures and fittings, and simulating natural light.
Our expertise with 3D building information modelling (BIM) technology produces reliable construction information, so all our project data comes from an accurate 3D model. Using this cutting-edge technology collaboratively with consultants and contractors saves our clients time and money. A Chartered Institute of Building case study featuring a Scenario project demonstrates the great benefits of this advanced technology for domestic architecture.
Scenario Architecture is a RIBA Chartered Practice. We comply with the strict criteria of the Royal Institute of Chartered Architects, covering insurance, health and safety and quality-management systems.
Your London project >> Further Reading
British architects are some of the most distinguished and highly trained in the world. The long and noble history of creating good quality architecture across the British Isles has given our architecture schools a strong foundation, excellent instructors and a rich history of heritage properties. Beyond that, commitment within the industry to good-quality contemporary architecture and the pursuit of cutting-edge techniques and styles has pushed the nation’s architects to the top of the heap. Architecture practices in London and beyond from the Royal Institute of British Architects keep up with developments in technology and building codes as well as social codes, creating a contented work atmosphere on site.
To find a highly qualified, trustworthy architect, the RIBA website and its great cache of resources should be your first step. A professional membership body and watchdog, RIBA provides all the tools you need for discovering the best practitioners. After all, if you’re going to put your most valuable asset in someone else’s hands, it’s worth employing the gold standard: someone educated and experienced in house design, building and the nation’s rigorous planning regulations.
A good architect is a problem-solver: fitting the rhythm of your life into the bones of your home and making sure everything can be achieved legally and financially. A great architect will create a bespoke space deeply attuned to your needs – not just today but in the future – incorporating special touches that make your life happier. Less a costly investment or superfluous expense, a great architect is a value-adder, paying for him or herself over and over. Many homeowners, in an effort to cut costs, end up spending more fixing the mistakes they make themselves or entrust to a layman. RIBA has a project database of more than 40,000 case studies that can match you with precisely the specialist you need for your home within your budget.
Once you’ve found an architect you mesh with personally as well as on paper, the process of transforming your home will go more smoothly, from designing to your personal specifications and pushing those specs through the planning process to dealing with builders, trades and decorators on site. RIBA architects don’t make these claims lightly – their reputation depends on it.
In our clients words
Great ideas and vision to help with our substantial improvement of a Victorian terrace. In our experience Scenario's method prioritises the final result. That may mean more professional fees or higher quotes from contractors, as they understand the exact requirements.
Great, professional service. Good drawings and models and ultimately passed planning at the first attempt with Hackney Council. Would certainly recommend!
Scenario Architecture have created an outstanding design and space that was beyond my expectations. The design was through their unique process of understanding the client’s daily scenarios and collaborating with the client to come up with a unique design. The design process is one of the most memorable parts of the process and they also stretched my existing ideas to help create this unique space. A stress free journey throughout the whole process which Scenario were indispensable by giving advice on many difficult design and build decisions.
We wanted to renovate our house in a conservation area in central London. Given this involved a complete demolition and new build with an extra floor on top, getting planning approval was always going to be tricky. Scenario did an amazing job on the new house 'envelope' and throughout the planning phase. We couldn't have wished for better from them and having succeeded in gaining planning approval owe them a very big 'thank you'.
Scenario were great at thinking imaginatively and coming up with a design for a ground floor extension that was more ambitous than other architects we spoke to. They also helped us find a contractor who was able to complete the project working within timescale and our tight budget. I would recommend for mid to large sized projects with sufficient budget to allow for full utilisation of their creativity.ADVICE
FAQ
- Scenario based design – We start each and every project with a meticulous analysis of our client’s vision, requirements and aspirations. We do this by asking our clients to imagine their everyday scenarios living in the completed house and describe their desired interaction with it.
- Uniquely interactive - Our client’s deep involvement in the process does not stop with completion of the brief. Our design meetings are highly interactive, informal and fun.
- Designed to reflect you – Based purely on your lifestyle, aspirations and requirements and free from externally imposed concepts, metaphors and pre-conceptions, a completely fresh and unique design will gradually emerge and it will tell your story not ours.
- Collaborative – We start the conversation with planners early and advise most of our clients to seek pre-planning advice prior to submission of a full planning application. Our experience shows that when properly consulted and liaised with, most planning case officers will be receptive to conduct a professional dialogue, increasing chances of successes.
- Strategic – We tailor a custom planning strategy for each project based on its circumstances such as planning history, local context and specific challenging elements. We sometimes split applications or introduce minor tweaks to the scheme during the consideration period in conversation with the officers to prevent one contentious element from jeopardising approval of the main scheme.
- Professional – Our experience shows that the quality and clarity of the submission in terms of background research, planning history of the property and context, precedent and of course the arguments presented to support the case has a tremendous effect on success rate.
- The decision period clock only starts ticking once the application is validated by the Council, This requires then to check that the forms are completed correctly and that the submission contains all the necessary drawings, statements and reports.
- Although required by law to provide a decision within the statutory eight weeks period, it is not uncommon for councils to miss the deadline of the consideration period, normally only by a few days, sometimes longer.
- In some cases the council may ask us as your agent for an extension of time, this may be requested due to internal reasons or as an acceptable result of a professional discussion that we are conducting with them about certain aspects of the application that they are not sure about.
- Our experience shows that planning officers respond better to projects when they feel consulted and collaborated with. We find that when we truly listen to their often helpful and valid feedback and treat them as consultants for the projects and not representative of an evil enforcing authority, they tend to collaborate well with us and demonstrate increased flexibility.
- Although the council in theory have eight weeks to consider your application, in practice they are constantly overloaded. They will only look at your application in the last few days of the consideration period. If this is the first time that they come across a scheme that they were never consulted about, our chance to secure permission for you in a single attempt is significantly compromised.
- The standard practice is for the council to consider the full planning application as submitted and then issue a yes or no decision. Case officers are not required or even encouraged to enter a discussion with us or accept resubmission of minor changes to the proposed scheme during the consideration period.