Wokingham Architects
About us
The housing stock around England’s southeast is always evolving and improving, yet it continues to be some of the most charming in the nation. Leaving the city doesn’t require compromising on charm or heritage. Many residential areas outside the M25 offer a range of periods with authentic architectural details, with increased access to green space. Around here you can find that pleasant balance between a buzzing centre and a quiet country vibe.
Towns along the M4 corridor enjoy a wealth of housing with provenance and the potential for architectural transformation. A skilled architect can help you renovate, expand or build anew with a nod to the existing landscape.
We established Scenario in 2007 with a vision to develop a uniquely collaborative architecture. We take a considered approach to our clients’ desires, placing their aspirations for a new, architect-designed home in high definition.The clients’ needs are the main drivers of our design process.
A beautiful, highly functional home is the product of a deep understanding and precise analysis of each client’s unique lifestyle – and that shows in our work. Scenario’s tailor-made homes tell the story of the owners – not the architects.
Our landmark project Scenario House, located in Stoke Newington, was covered widely by the media and shortlisted for several prestigious architecture awards – including the 2018 RIBA London Awards. It demonstrates our successful approach to domestic architecture projects.
Projects
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Wokingham Architects
Wokingham Architects
Wokingham Architects
Your Wokingham project
Our period conversions and new-build homes set a standard for architecture that sits comfortably and naturally within in a historic setting. We bring our unique contemporary sensibility to the quintessential English home with cutting-edge technology and hard-wearing, modern materials.
Our success is down to our collaborative process, which puts our client at the centre of the design. A beautiful, highly functional home is the product of a deep understanding and precise analysis of each homeowner’s unique lifestyle, and this shows in our work.
If you’re considering a residential architectural project in Wokingham, we’re here to help, whether it’s a renovation, extension or new-build. We’ve created a brief illustrated overview to help you understand each stage of the process.
Tip
Discover if your chosen architect has had success steering planning applications through your local council. Visit the “planning applications” section of your council’s website and enter the architect’s name in the search criteria.
Scenario is an established architecture practice focusing on contemporary residential design. We take on projects of every scale and scope, from home refurbishment, renovation and expansions to new-builds.
Working with Scenario Architecture
Our boutique studio focuses on high-end domestic architecture across London and the Home Counties. Our bespoke architecture service tackles projects of every scale and complexity, from refurbishments to expansions and new-builds. Our highly skilled team takes you step-by-step through the design process, collaborating closely from the drawing stage to the project’s completion. On time and on budget.
We use 3D design and visualisation tools as a standard on all our projects. Our experience has shown that real-time visualisations are most efficient for simulating natural light and choosing finishes and fittings. Our 3D building information modelling (BIM) technology produces reliable construction information, so all our project data derives from an accurate, coordinated 3D model. This Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) case study uses a Scenario project to demonstrate the benefits of 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.
Wokingham Architects
In our client's words
Wokingham Architects
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.
Wokingham Architects
Great, professional service. Good drawings and models and ultimately passed planning at the first attempt with Hackney Council. Would certainly recommend!
Wokingham Architects
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.
Wokingham Architects
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'.
Wokingham Architects
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.
Further Reading
Around Britain’s southeast it is increasingly challenging to find that ideal blend of town, country, gentility and architectural merit. And yet that elusive quality is increasingly sought-after, now that it is easier than ever to base one’s self outside the large urban centres. Floating around the centre of Berkshire, Wokingham has a fiercely preserved red-brick fabric, a loyal citizenry and a variety of period homes walkable from the town centre. Thanks to the town of Reading next door, the town enjoys an easy link with London Paddington. And yet is established enough to offer a decent range of food, drink and entertainment. Right now really is the moment for Wokingham.
The red-brick uniformity across the town owes to its roots as a brick-making centre in the Victorian era – and the resistance of local people to cover their artisanal brick with siding, facade or whitewashing. Most pre-war homes around here, and especially the historic silk-weaving homes around Rose, Peach and Denmark Streets, also have a pitched roofs with dormer windows. That doesn’t mean building anew and adding onto an existing house is hindered with red tape. Most new developments in the area have slipped in seamlessly by following the local vernacular, but there are exceptions and a Wokingham architect with a good knowledge of the neighbourhood can help acquire the necessary permissions to buck the trend. The good-sized gardens around here have real potential too.
There are many pockets where houses are affordable and don’t require complicated undertakings to win planning permission for renovations and additions. Though finding an architect with an appreciation of local heritage will help your chances of nailing down a successful scheme: there are few technical problems a skilled architect can’t solve with creative thinking and a good contractor, so it makes sense to think big. Scenario has had great success negotiating with local councils. We design in a way that respects period integrity while integrating modern innovation and contemporary materials. If you’re considering embarking on a project in Wokingham, Berkshire or the southeast, view our portfolio and get in touch.
Frequently Asked Questions
- As a dynamic practice operating in London’s premium residential market, managing projects remotely and conducting virtual meetings was a very familiar territory for us, long before the pandemic began and ‘working remotely’ became the norm.
- Our clients have very busy lifestyles and may move between several different locations, both within the UK and beyond, during the lifecycle of a typical project.
- To accommodate such client needs and enable us to run their projects smoothly we had all the technology and know-how associated with remote working in place for several years.
- Read our full (Virtual) Process
- 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.