Masterplan for a site in West Dorset
TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTS IN BATH
At James Armitage Architects we are passionate about creating buildings and urban spaces that are beautiful, respond to their context, and are sustainable – ones that people will admire and want to continue using for generations to come. Our RIBA Chartered practice is based in Bath, and specialises in traditional and classical architecture that focuses on contemporary requirements.
The aspirations of our clients are realised by adopting or, where necessary, adapting traditional forms. Our urban design work therefore focuses on creating an engaging public realm and our architecture aims to be legible and well-crafted.
The practice has extensive experience in providing architectural services for masterplans, buildings and interiors. Whether designing mixed-use developments, houses, apartments, extensions, offices or schools, we enjoy the challenge of responding positively to the toughest of briefs. We are also well versed in dealing with conservation projects, including extending or refurbishing listed and historic buildings.
If you have a project that you would like to discuss with us, please do get in touch.
OUR WORK
Many of our projects are located in Bath, Somerset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds. We also undertake work more generally across the Southwest and South of England, and further afield as required. Our clients include developers, institutions or private householders. We engage fully with them and are responsive to their needs, delivering high quality projects to a given timeframe and budget.
New projects include masterplans in Sussex, Suffolk and Dorchester, as well as new houses in Bristol. We have recently received planning permission for traditional houses around a village green on a site near Exeter.
Building work has just finished on two new houses in Lansdown (Bath), an extension, stables conversion and refurbishment to a listed house in Marshfield (Gloucestershire), and an extension and complete refurbishment of a Victorian house in Tetbury (Gloucestershire). Construction is about to commence on an Edwardian house in Bath.
James Armitage has recently been invited to be an Academician at the Academy of Urbanism, a Create Streets Fellow and acted as Course Director for the Create Streets Urban Design Summer School in Sherborne, Dorset.
We've also been busy compiling some informative guides dealing with new house design, extensions and listed buildings.
TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN
In embracing traditional and classical architecture, we aim to produce a built environment that is physically and culturally durable. This involves drawing on time-honoured solutions in order to meet modern-day challenges.
Our urban design work is based on forming streets and squares to create a durable and vibrant public realm in which communities can flourish.
Similarly, our architectural designs employ a recognisable language that is sensitive to its context, using vernacular forms and craft techniques. We use traditional materials such as stone, brick, lime render, slate and clay tiles, as well as carefully selected modern materials where appropriate.
SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
Within our traditional design framework, we take sustainability issues very seriously. We are keen to ensure that the projects we undertake do not have a detrimental impact on the environment. To this end, at an urban design level, we believe in creating walkable mixed-use neighbourhoods wherever possible. At a building level, we are constantly looking at ways to improve thermal performance and reduce carbon emissions. We have recently been involved in a project to develop a comprehensive set of house types using Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) with the aim of significantly reducing materials and energy consumption.
By designing buildings and public spaces to endure, our goal is to reduce the energy involved in construction over the long term. In using and modifying forms that have proven their physical and cultural durability, the practice offers genuinely sustainable solutions for the built environment.