Buildings that answer the site they are standing on
A six-person practice working on houses, small commercial buildings and the occasional public commission. We measure the ground before we draw anything on it.
The first drawing is never of a building
It is of the site: where the sun goes, where the water goes, and what is already there.
Every project starts with a week on site and a survey we do ourselves. Most of the decisions that matter — orientation, section, where the openings go — are made from that week rather than from a brief, and they are the decisions a client cannot easily undo later, which is why we take them slowly and explain them in writing.
Services
See everything| Stage | What it covers | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Site appraisal | A week on the ground, our own survey, and a written appraisal of what the site will and... | USD 2400.00 |
| Concept design | Orientation, section and the position of every opening, argued in drawings and in writing. The decisions here are... | USD 6500.00 |
| Planning submission | Drawings, documents and the dealing with the authority. We have taken thirty-eight applications through and lost two. | USD 8800.00 |
| Technical design | The drawings a contractor can build from without ringing us every Tuesday. Coordinated with the engineer before it... | USD 14500.00 |
| Tender and contractor selection | Three priced tenders on the same documents, compared line by line, so you are choosing on more than... | USD 4200.00 |
| Construction administration | Site visits, valuations and the arguments you should not have to have yourself. Charged as a percentage of... | Percentage of build cost |
Built work
- 2006
- 41
- 6
- 14 mths
The practice
Camille Ashworth
Registered 1999, founded the practice in 2006. Leads every first meeting and is on site for every project.
Omar Beckford
Technical design and construction administration. The reason contractors stop ringing the office on Tuesdays.
Rhea Salmon
Houses, and most of the planning submissions. Has taken nineteen applications through the authority.
Jerome Case
Surveys, models and the drawing sets. Does the week on site at the start of every project.
Notes
Everything
What clients say
A week on the site before drawing anything. The house is cool at three without air conditioning.
Drawings complete enough that the contractor priced them accurately and did not come back for extras.
We stopped after planning and they handed everything over without complaint.
Planning took four months longer than anybody wanted. They were straight about it throughout.
Fees published stage by stage. We knew what we were committing to each time.
The director was on site, not a junior. Every time.
They talked us out of the roof we wanted. They were right, but it took a while to accept.
They have written publicly about a roof they got wrong. That is why we hired them.
What clients ask first
Mostly about money and time, which is fair.
What do you charge?
Can I stop partway through?
How long does a house take?
Do you work outside Kingston?
Will I deal with a junior?
What happens if something goes wrong on site?
We would rather meet you where the building is going
An hour on the ground tells us more than a morning in an office. There is no charge for it and no obligation afterwards.
Start a project
Tell us where the site is and roughly what you are thinking. The first meeting is on the ground and there is no charge for it.
3 Hillcrest AvenueKingston, Saint Andrew