Commercial Architectural Services

Graham Lea Architecture provides Comercial Architectural Services to a wide range of business. With more than half of our work being commercial we are well placesd to meet your Architectural needs.

At Graham Lea Architecture we love the challenge and variety of commercial architectural projects. Typically a commecial architectural services are dictated by the busnesess need and the cost to benifit. In addition to local planning and building regulations, each business has its own industry led rules, regulations and best practices. At Graham Lea Architecture we can work with you to meet your industruy requirements.

Some of the commercial architectural design projects we have worked on in recent years include:

Childrens Homes Change of Use (C3 to C2 Use class)
Flat conversions (Class E to C3 Use class)
Dentists Change of Use (C3 to C2 Use class)
Nursing homes New build and extensions (C2 Use class)
HMOs – Houses of Multiple Occupation (C3 to C4, class E to C4 and Sui Generis)
Children’s Nurseries
Industrial units
Opticians
GP surgeries
Cafes
Retail outlets and shops
Offices

We’re used to working with clients from across the business spectrum, from large corporations to SMEs and sole traders, so give us a call or drop us an email telling us a bit about your commercial architectural project and we’ll get back to you to discuss it in more detail.

Initial meeting

We begin each commercial project with a client meeting. Through discussion we will establish:

Your business needs
What budget you have
What image you want to project to your customers – if that is something that is important to your business
How we can help you maximise your return on investment

Pre-application advice

There are many factors to consider before you embark on a commercial architectural build. It’s always best to find out what is and is not permitted by the local Council before you make a formal planning application. That’s why we always do a pre-application. This highlights any potential restrictions or obstacles to the development which can then be reflected in the design before planning permission is sought. This makes the project more cost-effective in the long-run.

Things the local Council will expect you to consider include:

If you are increasing your workforce, will there be enough parking? How will they get in?
What is the impact of extending the business on the local community?
If you are thinking of relocating, what will the impact be on the area?
Do the plans for your business tally with the sustainability plans for the area?

This is just a taste of some of the issues we can help you prepare for.

At this stage it may be necessary for us to prepare a massing model, which includes a 3D drawing that illustrates how big the building will be along with documentation to support the design (this could include copies of emails and site visit reports for example).

Creating quality work spaces

We offer a spatial planning service to help you create a working environment that maximises your employees’ productivity whilst keeping them happy. We will consider your current space, your business needs and those of your employees and reshape the space to suit all involved. This may involve knocking down walls to create a more collaborative work environment or you may need a new space to accommodate a new service that meets technical demands such as a laboratory. Whatever we do we always work within the parameters of health and safety paying particularly close attention to fire safety evacuation routes.

Balancing the ‘wow’ factor and functionality

For some commercial enterprises first impressions of their premises can make or break their business. That’s why we design to suit your business needs and to maximise your income. Take the hotel business for instance. We would invest a significant amount of resource into designing a jaw-dropping foyer for a 5-star hotel that guests will be talking about for years to come, whereas if we were commissioned to design a motel, our design and planning time is best spent focussing on maximising the space to accommodate as many guests as possible, to ensure the hotel owner hits the minimum price per room.

Visit our Projects page to see just how we have adapted our designs to fit the specific business needs of our clients then give us a call to find out how we can help you take your business to the next level.