Our national heritage is one of our most valuable assets and works to historic buildings require great care, understanding and a sympathetic approach. Cornwall Architectural Design is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and works with historic and listed buildings throughout Cornwall. The practice can provide an extensive range of professional services from individual historic building survey reports to designing, specifying and administering projects on site through to completion.

 

With regards to our services on historic buildings, we offer the following:

 

• Surveys – Historic and Listed Building Surveys

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The ability to understand how a building works and has been constructed is integral to being able to undertake and complete a thorough building survey. The expertise of experienced Chartered Building Surveyors helps us to understand historic buildings and structures. We prepare an in-depth report written in a free text format which is tailored to the individual property or client. The report will provide you with detailed information about the construction of the property, give technical advice on any defects present and how these issues should be rectified. Any substantial defects found can be used to negotiate on the buying price, often more than outweighing the cost of the initial survey.  

 

• Architecture – Alterations, Extensions and New Builds

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Working with older buildings calls for a particular set of skills and expertise especially with regards to design work. Our design work encompasses both traditional and contemporary schemes to heritage buildings although we generally favour more modern designs for extensions to listed buildings.  Listed building consent is required for all internal and external works including demolition, alteration or extension to a listed building and its outbuildings. For new buildings in an historic environment we encourage sympathetic, contemporary design. 

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We have extensive experience in Cornwall (and previously in Bath) with historic listed buildings and have gained listed building consent for many differing projects including extensions, internal alterations, restoration works as well as a church conversion. We generally restrict our work to Cornwall to ensure knowledge of local vernacular as well as having close access to our projects for inspections. Having undertaken numerous planning and listed building applications for heritage projects, we have both experience and knowledge of the local planning regime, policies and regulations as well as a good working relationship with the Parish,Town and City Councils.

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Listed building applications typically require the following:

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• structural survey

• historical appraisal

• impact assessment

• design statement

• large scale details

 

All of the above are prepared in-house by CAD.

 

• Consultancy – Restoration and Repairs

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Our advice can relate to a small problem of damp up to more serious structural issues. Upgrading the energy performance of historic buildings is also vitally important and needs careful consideration so as not to have a detrimental impact on the historic fabric of the building.