Services
Typical services are listed below but do get in contact if you are unsure if CJ consulting could help.
CJC has a wealth of practical experience taking diligent care of buildings and helping people with their building projects from concept to completion. Work on historic structures is challenging often requiring multidisciplinary teams which CJC can lead. CJC will support and guide you through the maze so that your ideas can be converted into built form with minimal impact upon your historic fabric providing reassurance and confidence to all concerned that your project is appropriately resourced.
A typical project involves the following sequence:
The title of Architect is protected by law with the Architects Registration Board (ARB) set up by Parliament to regulate the profession. It is a criminal offence to use the title Architect if the individual is not on the register - please do check by clicking on the ARB logo opposite. British Architects will have undertaken at least 7+ years academic training and practical experience before being allowed to enter the register and must maintain their competency with continuing professional development each year. In addition to prescriptive qualifications, an Architect also has to follow a professional code of conduct with minimum levels of professional indemnity insurance. Any Architect that’s fallen below the expected professional standard faces the Professional Conduct Committee with risk of being fined, suspended or removed from the register to protect consumers.
Chartered Architects are members of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) who have their own Code of Professional Conduct and disciplinary procedures. Chartered Architects must study a wide range of mandatory topics with audited training records each year.
The RIBA Code of Professional Conduct clearly states that members/chartered practices must "respect the importance of Heritage Assets" [Principle 2: Competence, paragraph 9.1] and "only carry out work affecting Heriage Assets if they are sufficienctly qualified, competent or experienced to do so in the circumstances" [Principle 2: Competence, paragraph 9.2]. In addition "members/chartered practices who are unsure of or unable to establish the significance of a particular Heritage Asset on which they are proposaing to undertake work must first seek specialist advice and/or advise their client to instruct an appropriately accredited specialist professional to undertake the work" [Priciple 2: Competence, paragraph 9.3].
The work of conserving and adapting heritage assets is a highly skilled art and it typically takes 12+ years for and Architect to become conservation accredited. We have a very different mindset - always worrying about the impact of intervention both now and in the future. It requires a much deeper understanding of building materials and construction methods spanning centuries of development. Most of us spend decades observing the same buildings when most designers don't look back at previous work. We have to adeptly collaborate with multiple stakeholders whilst navigating complex regulations and requirements in order to meticulously plan and execute building work to ensure heritage assets and cultural significance are safeguarded.
Many claim to specialise in listed buildings but conservation accredited Architects have demonstrated knowledge, experience and responsibility which has been assessed by an independent panel of experts so you can be confident this is true. This assessment is repeated at regular intervals with ongoing training and examples of work are submitted for approval. Most major sources of grant funding and some client's therefore require an Architect from one of the following professional schemes:
If you decide to work with CJ consulting, be assured you will be working with a Chartered Architect that has RIBA SCA accreditation.
It's a sad fact but over 65% of CJC clients have worked with someone previously on their project suffering real losses in terms of time, money as well as heartache.
Please make sure that the person you appoint has the necessary expertise and experience.
CJC designs have a 100% success rate with statutory applications.
If you need just a little support or second opinion, why not book a paid consultation session. Within a few hours (or what ever duration you'd like), CJC could help you on all manner of built heritage topics.
CJ consulting is part of the Local Authority Building Control Partner Authority Scheme. Clients gain frmo a single point of contact, consistent approach and improved pre-application service whilst still benefitting from local knowledge and excellent liaison with other services such as fire, police and environmental health and no additional cost. LABC members also have access to exclusive training.