Concept design

Our approach to concept design involves exploring the potential of all options. This involves understanding the context and rigorously testing our ideas against the planning requirements and site opportunities and constraints to ensure they fulfil the brief. Our process involves challenging our concepts’ massing, capacity, building layouts, forms and materials through sketching, digital and live modelling. As a result, we use both 2D and 3D visualisation to deliver dynamic, well-considered design concepts that are ready to be refined and developed into functional scheme designs.

Placemaking

We believe in creating places that transform people’s lives, and our design approach is far from ‘one size fits all’. Instead, we develop schemes that respond to the physical and social context around them as we look to understand what makes a place or neighbourhood special or, in some instances, problematic. Using this information, we develop a shared vision that places people at the heart of our design process and approach.

By understanding what makes each place or neighbourhood special, we forge a unique, shared vision that places people at the centre of our design approach.

Urban design

Creating inspirational, sustainable, and inclusive places, our Urban Design team provides comprehensive services for masterplanning, regeneration and public realm-led design in collaboration with councils, developers, communities and stakeholders. Our commissions range from urban design strategies, development frameworks, area-specific design guidance and design codes to outline and hybrid planning applications underpinned by visionary design approaches.

Ham Close Regeneration - Essence of Ham

Community engagement

We recognise that successful projects are not designed in isolation. By understanding the needs and desires of residents, communities and other key stakeholders and empowering them to be involved in the design process, we can create places that people love. BPTW has a leading reputation for implementing effective community engagement and co-design programmes. We use a range of communication and engagement tools with an approach that centres around proactive participation and engagement. Through this, we keep local stakeholders and communities informed, encourage local ‘champions’ and demonstrate how communities’ views have shaped our development proposals.

Sustainability

At BPTW, sustainability is at the forefront of everything we do. We are responding to the Climate Emergency with designs focused on carbon emission reduction, fabric-first approaches and circular economy principles, supported by our Sustainability Group and Passivhaus Certified Designers.

Our ‘fabric-first’ approach locks in the performance benefits of new homes, future-proofing them against legislative change and minimising their reliance on complex solutions to meet environmental targets. Subscribing to circular economy principles, we design out waste and optimise for a cycle of disassembly and reuse.

As designers, we recognise our responsibility to address economic, social and environmental challenges and aim to create schemes that support health and wellbeing, without compromising on cost, quality or aesthetics.

Tramway House

Innovation

With a focus on exploring innovative ways to design and build better homes, we emphasise research and development and Design for Manufacture and Assembly solutions. Our experience with many offsite construction techniques allows us to explore ways to improve efficiency, build quality and environmental performance while reducing waste and improving delivery. We remain committed to exploring new ideas and embracing new technology as the way we work evolves.

Collaboration

At BPTW, we believe that a diversity of ideas and opinions stems from close collaboration with others, paving the way to better design solutions. Whether this be working in partnership with other architects or specialist consultants, this shared sense of understanding and ownership in projects is at the heart of our collaborative process. For us, bringing together the right skills and knowledge is increasingly important as the scale and complexity of the projects we deliver grow.

Neill Campbell and Asri Asra

BIM

BIM is a core part of our service, and the implementation of our BIM protocols has seen successful planning outcomes and delivery of many projects designed in Revit. In line with the UK BIM Framework, we are able to work as part of an integrated design team, with projects illustrated in 3D and updated collaboratively throughout the design development stages. With our dedicated BIM team, we have the capability to undertake Information Management, BIM Coordination and BIM Consultancy roles and we are continuing to assist clients in understanding the positive impact it can have on their organisations.

Visualisation

Our talented visualisation team are experts in providing multimedia design solutions, transforming concepts for the built environment into reality. We specialise in modelling and producing visuals for a wide range of interior and exterior architectural spaces. From 2D conceptual visuals for planning purposes to high-quality, photorealistic 3D images for sales and marketing purposes, we produce interactive environments and create visuals to inspire and excite, and meet every client’s exact specifications.

We create a multitude of visualisation solutions for planning, consultation, exhibitions and sales and marketing purposes

BPTW, Chelsea Creek, London

Technical design

BPTW understands the importance of getting a design right at the planning stage and as a team, we believe that early technical involvement is key to securing design quality and preventing the need for changes and value-engineering later on. With half of our architectural work involving post-planning design, we know that every project can be improved through a commitment to collaboration and mutual understanding at this stage. Priding ourselves on our attention to detail, we believe this balance is essential to achieving a beautiful, well-detailed building and ensuring the project’s success.