Are you looking for an architect in the Bath area? If so, you’ve come to the right place.
It’s difficult to choose the right architect to suit your scheme, so we’ll guide you through some `do’s and don’ts’ and give you some pointers.
Bath and the surrounding area have many great architects’ practices, so to pick the most suitable, think about whether their experience matches your project and find out if they get good reviews.
These are just two key points and there are plenty more things to consider. But don’t be daunted, we’ll help you identify the perfect architect to bring your plan to life.
This elegant statement staircase was designed by Bristol Design + Architecture.
Bath’s architecture
Bath was founded in the 1st century AD by the Romans as a thermal spa due to its hot springs and ancient baths.
In the Middle Ages it became a market town and a centre for the wool trade, before becoming a health resort in Elizabethan and Stuart England.
In the Georgian era it became a fashionable town, and the iconic buildings which give it its renowned architectural integrity were built, notably the Royal Crescent and Circus. Such buildings followed the 18th century trend for placing architecture in the landscape to create picturesque views and interlinked crescents and squares. Palladian buildings such as the Pump Room and the Assembly Rooms were also built at this time.
Bath grew slowly during the early 20th century but there was a period of house building between the wars. In 1987 it was declared a World Heritage Site for its unique cultural value, protecting many properties from development. The Bath and North East Somerset Local Plan contains a core policy stating that development detrimental to the city’s World Heritage setting is not allowed.
Today, many of the Roman remains are well preserved, along with the city’s Georgian areas.
Planning priorities
The architectural challenges facing Bath stem from increasing levels of tourism, leading to concern over how to manage development. New development must be sympathetic and aim to retain Bath’s historic qualities. The council wants to use the Heritage designation to boost prosperity and tourism must continue to give Bath a high-quality offer.
Housing is expensive, leading to many people commuting. There is a need for more affordable housing, and areas of derelict land are in line for development. Much of the housing is energy inefficient and council policy aims to enable improvements to buildings.
Other aims are to encourage existing businesses to grow, move towards a carbon neutral economy, improve transport links and invest in the city centre.
How an architect in Bath can help you
An architect’s specialist skills and experience of building construction can add value at all stages of your project. They can help with simply the initial technical drawings or play a more involved role, guiding you through obtaining planning permission, building regulations compliance and carry out project management through to the finished product.
This can be helpful as they can deal with tenders for the work, contract administration and monitor costs and build quality along the way.
Their attention to detail can result in savings, for example by designing energy efficiency measures and selecting materials. An architects’ firm will also know the local authority’s policy regarding planning applications and will be aware of its environmental aims, which may involve reusing old buildings or promoting nature-based solutions.
Architects can also ensure the required amount of bio-diversity net gain (BNG) is included in a scheme to satisfy planners.
All architects must be registered with the Architects’ Registration Board and most become members of the Royal Institute of British Architects RIBA.
Amazing architecture projects in Bath
Here are some of our favourite architects based in and around Bath and a sample of their most eye-catching projects. Hopefully, they will inspire you and help give an idea of the type of architect that you might need.
Lord Architecture
Lord Architecture works across a wide range of scales and budgets and gets excellent reviews.
Projects involve exceptional extensions and one-off houses, and the firm says it has a “passion for contemporary architecture and re-imagining of historic buildings.”
This inspired pod house was created in a Victorian property in Chiswick.
Studio Hearth
Studio Hearth is based in Devizes and gets great testimonials. It offers full architectural services and says that it is: “committed to producing beautiful and environmentally-conscious buildings.”
This is a stunning example of one of their recently completed house reconfigurations. Old Cobblers was originally three small cottages built around 1600. When Studio Hearth were called in it was one cottage with three staircases and separate upstairs spaces; to solve the problem they created a new staircase to bring the house together and fill it with light.
Studio Four Point Ten
Studio Four Point Ten is a small design focused practice in Bath which creates tailored architectural and interior solutions for both residential and commercial projects.
It gets good reviews and carries out a full range of building design work including historic building works, conversions, eco homes and restorations.
This is a beautiful example of a scheme to extend and remodel a bungalow to transform the original three-bedroom property into a five bedroom, open plan space. It involves creating a new double height space and works to reduce energy consumption by increasing insulation to the walls, roof and ground floor.
Batterham Smith Architects
Contemporary design is a specialism for this Bath-based practice which enjoys using passive solar design, natural materials and low impact technologies.
This stylish and award-winning house, 64 Thomas Street, was formerly a listed pub. The client wanted a contemporary, energy efficient house built to make the most of views towards Glastonbury Tor, and an open plan layout was designed to maximise space and light. The scheme used natural building materials, low embedded energy, integral stone dust render and cedar boarding.
Ink Architecture
A full design service for all types of construction projects is offered by this Bath practice which has five-star reviews.
This superb project at a Victorian terraced house involved recreating what was originally a single storey extension and reconfiguring the room layouts. Substantial structural alterations were made to open up the narrow kitchen to create a large space and the garage was rebuilt to create a wonderful garden room.
What next?
Seeing these amazing schemes should have provided you with ideas and demonstrated what can be done with the right architect on board.
There are many Bath architects covering a range of specialities, and often they will guide you through the whole process from getting planning permission to the finished project.
Before contacting an architect to discuss your scheme, have a list of questions ready to ask.
Also, we would love to hear about your project once it is done. Please tell us about it for a chance to be featured on this website.
