Browning Architects Ltd

Oliver Browning's expertise and experience in the residential market has proved invaluable in my full house renovation project. His design of my extension and loft conversion has delivered a distinctive, stylish and very liveable space which has exceeded my expectations. Browning Architects navigated the process through design, planning and tendering, providing a seamless end-to-end service. The project was delivered on time and on budget - what more can you ask!?

Oliver managed the design, planning and build of my full house refurbishment and two storey extension. I found Oliver originally through houzz after admiring his previous work, and post meeting with him and following up on references (glowing), he was the clear choice over other architects I had been in conversation with. I appreciated his straightforward approach (necessary for a renovation novice) and his clear ability to translate my ideas into a stunning and practical design. He successfully managed a non-standard application first time through the planning process, in part due to his great relationship and experience with the Wandsworth council team, and also managed and helped me navigate the tender process and final selection of contractor. He oversaw the build process, attending weekly site meetings, successfully managing the technical elements, but was also invaluable to me in supporting with the with the sourcing of suppliers and materials along the way. I’m so happy with the final result and would thoroughly recommend Oliver.

We went from a dark Victorian terrace house to a bright and lovely contemporary home thanks to Oliver. Before we employed Oliver Browning architects we met with about 5 architects, and we chose Oliver because we were impressed by the recommendations from his previous clients and his honest and practical can-do attitude to our own project. Our project was a complete rebuild (lasting 12 months) that included the redesign of a Victorian terrace house, a mansard roof extension, and a side return extension. Oliver guided us through the planning process (successfully securing planning permission ), helped us source the builders (he managed the tender process, going out to 4 builders), fulfilled our brief to maximise at every opportunity the amount of light in the house, ensured we chose the right suppliers (including the doors, windows, zinc cladding, roof), helped us chose the correct materials for the roof and exterior and helped sort out the snagging issues at the end of the project. Being complete novices to the house renovation world I admit that there were times when the multitude of decisions we had to make were rather overwhelming, but Oliver always found a solution, made the decision process less stressful, was always conscious of our budget and never took short cuts that compromised our project or his own standards. Oliver attended weekly site meetings with ourselves and made himself available to meet the builder at critical stages when technical related issues arose, before mistakes could be made! He is very exacting which meant that at times he took a firm hand to get the project done and we respected him for this. I would definitely recommend Oliver and am sure that you will develop a trustworthy and enjoyable relationship with him like we did.

We used Oliver Browning for design and planning and also as the build project manager. From our first meeting I was really confident with Oliver. We were the first on our street to extend our house by 4 meters and Oliver was able to get this through planning for us. As this was our first major build we asked Oliver to recommend some builders which he did and I was very happy with all of the recommendations and we ultimately went with one of them. During the build we had Oliver around for weekly site meetings and this was instrumental in the amazing results we got. Olivers knowledge of design, function and form and the way he communicated this to the builders resulted in a very contemporary and sharp finish.

Oliver has managed our projet for a roof terrace, including the design and the planning application. The process was smooth and efficient, Oliver found good solutions to our problems and managed efficiently the dialog with the borough.

Oliver was our architect for a substantial refurbishment of our family home. We met through a recommendation from a local real estate agent and starting working together on a planing application to convert the end of terrace block from bed sits into a completely remodelled family home over c. 3500 sq ft. The planning permission was granted in a relatively short period of time and it was helpful that Oliver had a good relationship already with Wandsworth Planning and Conservation team. Oliver worked in conjunction with our interior designer which was helpful at early stages in regards to space planning, they had a strong relationship. Oliver provided the tender pack for main contractors and managed the tender process, going out to 3 or 4 builders. We/he reviewed in detail their submissions and decided to go ahead with a main contractor who he had worked with before. Throughout the build process, which was 12 months, Oliver attended weekly site meetings with ourselves and made himself available for other meetings with builder directly on technical related issues. Overall we were very impressed with Oliver, he did a first class job for my wife and I and we developed a strong, trust worthy and enjoyable relationship throughout the c. 18 month process. I would be happy to recommend his services.

Oliver was really helpful from before we even bought our house when he came to a couple of viewings with us right through to the end of the build. He was incredibly helpful during the process of choosing a builder with lots of advice and assistance in finding a decent builder at a budget we could afford. His design transformed the top of the house bringing in an incredible amount of light and he was fully involved throughout the whole build being on hand at all times and also at weekly meetings at our house with the builder. We entirely trusted him and would definitely use him again.

We hired Oliver to be a consultant architect on our loft conversion and interior remodelling of a Victorian Terraced house in Wandsworth. Oliver was fantastic, providing invaluable assistance to us interpreting the requests and issues that would be raised on site as well as sequencing and structuring our thought process on design and procurement. Oliver proved his worth within 5min on his first day identifying that the contractors had placed a steel in the wrong place which would have meant we breached our planning permissions and could have cost around £50k to move if it had not been spotted at the time.

Oliver went the extra mile in meeting us at times that suited us (evenings, weekends and early mornings) and seemed to always be available. He was totally transparent in telling us what could, and more importantly what couldn't, be done. His pricing is fair and in my opinion, good value for money.

We engaged Oliver Brownings services as architect in 2015 and he was helpful from the outset. He came free of charge to talk about the work which could be done to a house we were hoping to buy, and gave very helpful and practical advice even without knowing whether or not we would successfully purchase that house. In due course we didn't buy that house, but when another house came up, which needed extensive work, he was prepared to come out and view it with us, with the estate agent, for free, to advise on what work could be done, even as we were walking around the house. This was extremely helpful and it influenced our decision to buy the house. After we bought the house we engaged OB formally and he listened carefully to us and drew up plans and drawings swiftly. The plans were for a loft bedroom to be installed, and the whole of the ground floor to be extended very significantly, both to the side and to the back of the house, involving amongst other things moving the staircase, installing laundry room, new bathroom etc on the ground floor, moving the kitchen and completely changing the layout. He gave us a holistic explanation of the process of applying for planning consent, getting a party wall agreement, etc, all of which we knew nothing about at all before this. He stressed the importance of the timetable and the importance of getting certain things done before other things, which was very helpful because it meant we didn't lose any time on unnecessary thing or things which could be done later on. He was able to recommend a party wall surveyor, and had builders he knew if we needed them. When we found builders who had already been working on our street and done similar work, he came to talk them with us and gave advice that we were better off to use them in our particular circumstances, which was also helpful. He found an instructed a structural engineer also, saving us considerable work. He was available to advise at very short notice even with his busy schedule. I felt like I could bother him with something I thought was trivial, and he showed great patience with that.. Plus on his visits to the site with us during the work, he volunteered suggestions of tweaks and improvements to our plans as we went along (size and shape of windows etc in order to maximise natural light for example). Regarding the planning process he took complete control of submitting the plans to the council, and he continued to liaise with the council about the finer details, which meant we could relax completely and the permission came through as if by magic.. This was invaluable. He liaised with building control also and advised on what would and would not be permissible, again this was extremely helpful. All in all his knowledge of the workings of the council process and building work was considerable and saved us countless bits of research and work. When we faced a problem we couldn't solve regarding a joint drain with our neighbour, he hand drew a diagram at v short notice which solved the problem for all parties. I would recommend him to anyone as he did a very good job for us. I look forward to receiving a photo book of our “journey” from dilapidated small house to much bigger nice house..! CW

Oliver Browning worked with us to secure planning permission and design the renovation of a Georgian maisonette in Marylebone in 2014/15. He was a delight to work with throughout, thoroughly professional, charming personally, and very sage about how to approach planning issues (especially with regard to listed buildings). My wife and I have can thoroughly recommend Oliver and his firm as architects of the highest rate, who make the experience a pleasure.

I have worked with Oliver over the last 3years. Most recently however he as acted as architect & project manager on a project in London. This has involved converting a house into 4 flats. Oliver always takes a considered approach to dealing with contractors. Something which is invaluable to any client in an industry which has a number of dodgy operators. Oliver has been instrumental in ensuring that payments are released only on work completed and has firm but flexible way of working which ensures that the project runs smoothly. I hope to do more projects together in the future.