About Us - Practice Profile

The practice was formed in 1987 after I had withdrawn from a larger Partnership of Architects, Engineers and Quantity Surveyors. Since then, we have endured the vagaries of the Economic Situation, Planning and Government Offices, Conservation Officers, and sometimes clients, and carved a working niche for ourselves, seemingly (and thankfully) concentrating on interesting and challenging projects.

We work out of a Listed former barn on the other side of the yard from our Grade II* Dartmoor Longhouse on the (sunnier) Eastern fringe of Dartmoor, and thinking time is done walking on open Moorland rather than during a commute.

I empathise with the (Architect, Robert Venturi’s) quote: “Architecture can be considered the business of synthesising sites, briefs, clients, materials and ideas into “the difficult whole”. In material terms, good architecture is achieved through the consideration of the relationships between the component parts. It creates a building that is bound together with, and projects, harmony.” We have vowed to offer a “Client centred service”: we are paid to interpret the client’s wishes or instructions, and look after their interests. This demands time to be spent talking, but more importantly, listening. It is also vital to engage with builders, the people on the tools, to listen to their views and experience, and to work with, and not against, those that have to implement the concepts and instructions.

We work on an “efficient going on hysterical” principle , as sensible planning of workload is impossible. We have a large network of Associates and Specialist Consultants, Engineers, Artists, Interior Designers and Decorators, etc. Most projects involve my Associated Quantity Surveyor, J.A.Dain BSc., and Computer Aided Designer (CAD) Colleague, Paul Martin. John wields the calculator, Paul the computer, and me the soft pencil and high anxiety. My wife, Veigh, a designer, illustrator and painter, is also my business partner, and she brings a whole raft of vital and different sensibilities into the building design.

We recognise, as a fundamental principal, that good design, good project management and good budgeting and cost control are inseparable ingredients for successful projects. The budget control exercised by the Quantity Surveyor has a tangible yield and benefit for our clients. Accurate control of the financial side results in the ability to specify better materials and processes to deal with problems, and thus the end result is more attractive, more efficient and closer to the realistic budget that will be set. If budget and aspiration do not coincide, some compromise must be negotiated and forged.

We have had rather grim experiences of clients being unwilling to compromise their aspirations when faced with the facts of the costs or other limitations that arise. It can be truly frightening to add up how much things cost these days, but the ever increasing intrusion of legislation into the Building Process ratchets up the cost of even a simple task.

We are sufficiently battle scarred to know what we offer and how it compares with our competitors. Reputation is a long time gaining and a short time losing, and I will not risk what we have achieved. Work can only be done thoroughly, if one wants to avoid so many of the pitfalls that can beset an ill-considered proposal; and thoroughness takes time.

Being a small practice and working hard, fast and diligently, we are able to keep our overheads low, and costs competitive. There will be practices cheaper than us, without doubt, but we are quite confident that when the assessment is based on quality of results, we are relatively reasonable. Cheap fees require cheap work, and this is a false economy for clients and ourselves.

Over the years, we have acquired a reputation for doing the difficult projects and buildings, and with difficult Local Authorities. Perhaps 50% of the work is within the Dartmoor National Park area, which provides it’s own particular sparkle, and we are known to Local Authorities throughout the South West, and other agencies such as English Heritage, SPAB, CABE, etc. The workload seems to be part new-build, part conservation, part extensions, part refurbishment, part reconstruction, part conversion, many Listed and Historic Buildings, works in Conservation Areas, etc. We are experienced in work on many different types of buildings.

We work using experience, intuition, empiricism, pragmatism, practical knowledge, and hard logic. However, building is art and science, beauty and mud, refined proportions and drains, and building can be unpredictable.

We use best endeavours, close scrutiny and where necessary expert advice to understand the nature of the materials we have to deal with. We do have a good success rate in working our way round actual and potential problems. Sometimes, even being Psychic is not enough, and one is occasionally surprised. Pragmatism is then vital, and we are very good at that. We have no pretentious design philosophy, as each project demands it’s own approach, but we have a passion to achieve attractive, efficient buildings and well managed projects.

The nature of the work, requires that we sit at the centre of the web of influences, the desire of the client, the budget, the possibilities, the difficulties, the Planners, the Conservation Officers, aesthetics, function, and increasingly, new legislation involving environmental concerns, safety in construction, legal liability for client and designer. We have to keep up with new technology and materials, as well as study the use and conservation of Medieval Building Materials.

We aim to work economically (for the clients), efficiently (for us), diligently and humanely, and intend that the buildings are respectful of their surroundings, sympathetic with their required functions, are a pleasure to look at and be in, and are within a realistic budget. We now have the experience to know that investment in thought and design does have a cost benefit to the client, and that good design DOES help to achieve success for the client and the project.

Home About Us Terms Contact
Marmot Associates LLP, Partners, B.A. Marmot, V.A. Marmot | Higher Tor Farm Dartmoor Devon TQ13 7PD | Tel: 01364 631 566 | Fax: 01364 631 556 | Email: marmot-tor@zen.co.uk
Designed and produced by SpotOn — 01803 407407
[edit]