Journal

Passivhaus | Devon Architects

Tim Offer Architects always look to make our designs as energy efficient as possible, and we talk a lot with clients about measures they can take to improve their homes.  We often talk about a ‘fabric first’ approach to design, based on Passivhaus principles.

We have now signed up for further training to qualify as acredited Passivhaus Designers with the Passivhaus institute.  This will give added authority to our advice and expertise.

We are really looking forward to developing our knowledge and working closely with our clients to develop beautiful and energy efficient homes.

Newton Ferrers | Work in Progress

Tim Offer Architects have recently started work on a new project in Newton Ferrers, South Hams.  We are developing designs to make an existing coastal home better for entertaining and family life.

Click on the heading to find out more.

Home Improvements | A place for a table

As architects in Devon, we are often involved in projects to extend or improve peoples’ homes. A common question that often comes out in the briefing process for projects on peoples’ homes is, ‘how can we create better space to come together as a family or to entertain?’ Sometimes this requires a bit of extra space, but often the process reveals that you can achieve a lot by making some simple changes. These can bring this family and entertaining space into the centre of the home, and allow better connections and relationships as a result.

Click on the heading to find out more.

Architecture Home School | Animal Architecture

This week is a slightly longer project from the RIBA learning team for you to work on over the coming weeks.

This is a project about animal houses.  Eventually you will be working as an architect to design an animal home.  This will use some of the skills that we looked at in weeks 1 and 2 – Architect Friends (which looked at scale) and A Place of My Own (which looked at site and place).

Click on the heading to download the task.

Architecture Home School | Cereal Box City

This week we are borrowing a project designed by Katie Kennedy for the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) education team.

In this fun model making activity you’ll explore architecture, landscapes and cities to learn how to design and make a 3D model of a city that fits inside a cereal box!

Click on the heading to download the task.

Architecture Home School | A Place of My Own

Many of us around the UK are getting used to having the kids around a little more, and are beginning to understand how amazing our schools and teachers are to keep our kids occupied and learning everyday.

To help you survive this time I will be posting a series of architecture related activities to get your kids thinking about the world around them. These are projects I will be doing with my kids over the coming weeks. I intend that anyone could do these projects – no special skills are required. Hopefully you may learn something on the journey too!

This week’s tasks are inspired by ‘A Place of My Own’, by Michael Pollan.  This tells the story of his journey to create a small wooden hut in the forest near his home.  A ‘shelter for daydreams’, this cabin was to be a new space for Pollan to ‘read and write and daydream’.

Click on the heading to see more.

Home Improvements | Case Studies

As we all spend more time at home we may be wishing we had a little more space, a little more natural light, a better connection to the garden or somewhere secluded to work.

Over the next few weeks we will be presenting some common home improvement projects through case studies of recently completed work. Click on the heading for more details.

If you have been thinking about improving you home environment and want to have a chat about how we can help, we would be very happy to hear from you.

Architecture Home School | Architect Friends

Many of us around the UK are getting used to having the kids around a little more, and are beginning to understand how amazing our schools and teachers are to keep our kids occupied and learning everyday.

To help you survive this time I will be posting a series of architecture related activities to get your kids thinking about the world around them. These are projects I will be doing with my kids over the coming weeks. I intend that anyone could do these projects – no special skills are required. Hopefully you may learn something on the journey too!

This is not about training to be architects; its more a crash course in looking, analysing, problem solving and participation that may help to understand your environment better. These are skills we architects use everyday to help us to create settings that can promote meaningful relationships with the environment and wider society.

The exercises will draw on my experience teaching degree level architecture courses, and a couple of useful books: Utzon’s Universe by Malene Abildgaard and Julie Dufour, and 101 Things I learned in Architecture School by Matthew Frederick.

This first workshop is ‘ Architect Friends’. Click on the heading to see more.

COVID-19

Here at TOA we take the health and safety of our colleagues, collaborators, clients and guests extremely seriously.

We have been carefully monitoring expert advice regarding the coronavirus outbreak and are regularly assessing any implications for our activities. We are working hard to ensure that any risk and disruption is minimised.

At the moment our studio is still open and its very much business as usual for most projects and activities. Our phones are still working, the emails are active, and other lines of communication like skype and zoom will keep us in contact with the wider world. We will not be hosting any meetings, however, and we are trying to limit the amount of face-to-face contact that is needed with clients, other consultants or on site.

The situation will naturally have wider implications for certain stages of projects. The progress of projects on site is being carefully monitored and discussions are on-going between clients and contractors regarding progress and the need to pause work. The early stages of projects, where briefing and site analysis ideally involve meetings and site visits, will need to be managed in different ways. These can be discussed on a project-by-project basis to determine the most appropriate way to proceed.

The work of other consultants and services will also be affected. Site surveys and assessments will need to be carefully managed on a case-by-case basis to minimise risk of transmission. We are also expecting that there may be delays to the processing of planning applications and other statutory consents. Work on site is being carefully monitored with regards to advice for social distancing. It is likely that in the coming weeks most site work will be affected by official advice.

If you have any questions please get in touch. If you are thinking about a new project we would love to hear from you!