REFERENCES
RUTH TREASURE-SMITH
‘We were introduced to James by a friend who is also an experienced architect. How pleased we are to have trusted her professional judgement.
Our brief for James was to design and acquire planning permission (with some complexities) for an additional building on the plot of our home in North Somerset.
We interviewed three other architects before we met James, but he became our first choice very quickly as the most experienced, understanding and skilled to work with us on our project.
James has that rare combination of precision and fine attention to detail whilst being an excellent communicator and attentive listener. He is at all times honest and thoughtful about every aspect, however small or tricky. He has a very keen eye for aesthetics but also thinks practically about so many details we would never have thought of ourselves. Nothing is ever too much trouble and we have always had a deep sense that he will work on our behalf until each detail is right. He is able to communicate with all parties and trades in the same clear and respectful manner and is universally liked and appreciated by everyone he deals with.
Endlessly patient, he is good humoured, resourceful, and responsive. Not only is he a fabulous, creative designer with excellent and innovative ideas but also a really lovely human being. The collaboration with James has been a very enjoyable and rewarding experience.
We have no hesitation in thoroughly recommending James as a first class and talented architect.
Ruth and Peter T-Smith’
SIMON GIBSON
We were introduced to James early in 2023. We had just bought a barn that was converted into a house in the 1980's and we were keen to make structural and decorative changes as soon as possible including adding new windows and a spectacular entrance which was a reinstatement of an original feature of the barn which had been demolished in the earlier conversion. James came to see us for an initial meeting and we were immediately comfortable with his manner and obvious experience. Working together James produced some excellent drawings which were very detailed for the remodelling of our home and he prepared the planning application quickly and concisely. He cautioned that we were asking for a lot of changes, some of which may not be approved. It was clear he knew the planning pitfalls very well. In fact we ended up getting our planning with no element being refused or compromised thanks to James's direct contact with the planning officer and responding to and dealing with their comments and feedback. Indeed the planning officer commented positively on our plans and whole approach which was thanks to James. James also recommended and liaised with the engineer needed to provide the technical drawings as well as building control. In summary we soon start the work on our barn with full confidence that the end result will be exactly what we hoped for.