This award-winning architectural design and surveying practice, based in Preston, Lancashire, specialises in sustainable high-spec modern properties. With expertise in architecture, building surveying, project management, and property development, Carter’s Building Consultancy works on projects in the north west and around the UK.
Architectural services
The practice provides full architectural services, from concept design to completion, and its work ranges from simple extensions to sympathetic historic refurbishments, large-scale housing, and commercial architecture. High professional standards are central to these architects in Preston and the team includes architectural designers, visualisers, building surveyors and project managers. The architectural team work closely with trusted partners and consultants in planning, structural engineering, quantity surveying, mechanical and engineering, along with a network of furniture, technology and materials manufacturers in the north west.
Design award finalists
Carter’s Building Consultancy has been announced as a finalist in the categories for Architectural Practice and Best Residential Project in the Northern Design Awards 2023, which aim to find the best architects who are making a significant impact within the industry. Their nomination in the Best Residential category is for the Royal Oak Apartments in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, a building project where they were the architects and project managers.
This new three-storey development, which stands in a designated conservation area, was inspired by Victorian architecture and given a modern reimaging. It comprises 16 self-contained one- and two-bedroom apartments and duplexes, and the design includes pitched roofs, protruding bay windows clad with copper or aluminium, underfloor heating and mechanical heat recovery and ventilation to provide maximum comfort.
The build encountered many challenges, such as soaring material prices during Covid-19, lockdowns, and a shortage of materials. Due to the latest construction techniques, it’s a thermally efficient building, with sustainable features including high insulation levels, a thermal bridge-free design, airtight construction, energy-efficient boilers, appliances with smart meters, highly insulated windows, and a sustainable drainage system.
Let’s look at more bespoke designs by these architects in Preston:
The Lanes, Poulton-le-Fylde in Lancashire is a luxury contemporary development in the open countryside. Planning permission was received last year, and work is due to start on-site before the end of this year. The site will be acquired by Carter Unique Developments, which is co-owned by Harry Carter, director of Carter’s Building Consultancy.
Modern open-plan living and capturing light are at the heart of this building project and the materials and finish have been chosen to reflect luxurious 21st-century living. No two plots are the same, and Carter’s has pushed the design boundaries by using materials such as zinc, polished concrete, Venetian plaster, and natural stone. We particularly like the beautiful feature windows to the rear and the striking two-storey vaulted ceilings.
Eco-homes
This four-plot residential development is in a secure gated area with great views over the surrounding countryside. Each plot will have a modern, four or five-bedroom, detached family home built on it, with private gardens, a garage and off-street parking. The bespoke designs exceed building regulations requirements making these houses highly thermally efficient. The scheme has excellent sustainability credentials: entertainment and communication futureproofing are central, with wiring for multi-room Bang and Olufsen sound systems, IT, and smartphone-controlled lighting, heating, and security.
Director and architectural designer Harry Carter commented:
This scheme has been an exciting challenge, and every aspect has been carefully designed. We wanted to bring a bespoke design to the table for this project with a focus on sustainability. The setting of the site is a vital influence and ensures the development sits well within its current White Belt Land setting. White Belt Land is defined as ‘land without any specific proposal for allocation in a development plan, where it is intended that for the most part, existing uses shall remain undisturbed and unaltered’.
With this in mind, we are looking to develop this parcel of land within the open countryside with a design that is to the highest architectural standard with sustainability at the forefront.
What we like about these architects in Preston
As well as expertise in high-spec new properties, Carter’s has an eye for historic refurbishments, giving them an all-round appeal. This firm is also keen to use exciting materials in an interesting way to create the best solution, which makes their modern designs very appealing.
