Stage one
Sketch design.
Two options, drawn and costed. Then you decide.
The expensive decisions are the early ones. How big, how ambitious, on this site or another one. Sketch design is where they get made properly, with a builder in the room.
- We read the site
- Orientation, fall, access, wind, and every planning line on the title.
- Two plan options
- Deliberately opposed. One disciplined, one ambitious. Each with a cost range.
- A pre-build feasibility
- Total project investment. Not just the build.
Fixed fee. No obligation to continue.
Why ours is different
The builder is a founder, not a guest.
Most practices welcome early builder involvement. The builder still arrives late, with an opinion and no authority.
Here, construction is half the business. The cost range on each option is a builder's number, not a designer's guess. That is why our projects do not die at tender.
Why DarkitectureThe fee
Fixed, and agreed before you start.
Set by the floor area of the proposed work, whether that is a new build, a renovation or an addition. Tell us the size and the site and we come back with the number.
Every stage after this one is quoted separately.
Frequently asked
Sketch design, answered.
What is sketch design?+
The first paid stage. We read your site, draw two opposed floor plan options, and close with a costed feasibility for the whole project. It exists so the expensive decisions get made while they are still cheap to change.
What does it cost?+
A fixed fee, set by the floor area of the proposed work. Tell us the size and the site and we will come back with the number before anything starts.
Do I get 3D views at this stage?+
No. Sketch design works in floor plans, because plans decide layout, size and cost. The 3D model comes at the Silhouette, once a direction is set.
Does it work for a renovation?+
Particularly well. We measure what is there as part of the fee, and the two-option method is the fastest way to find out whether keeping the existing structure is saving you anything.
What if the answer is that it does not work?+
We say so plainly. Finding that out now costs a fixed fee. Finding it out after documentation costs a great deal more, and usually a year.
Begin
Two options. One number.
Tell us about the site and what you want to build. Three questions and your details.