Converting Offices To Student Accommodation

August comes to a close and it’s been and eventful month, I was reminded yesterday that ‘Christmas was just around the corner’ which filled me with some sadness! Where has the summer gone? 

We have secured more work over the month, both residential and commercial which is always good news.  But what a month! Riots, mmm that was totally shocking and I must admit it made me mad and sad at the same time.  Mad due to such blatant disregard for both people and property and sad that if this is what the current generation is like what will the next one be like?

I am not going to tar this whole generation with the one brush, there are so many positive things that they achieve.  For example they all can’t be that bad which is reinforced by the fact that the GCSE and A Level results were so high.  Why can’t people try and follow a simple philosophy of helping where they can ?

Anyway before I go off babbling on and on about the subject I shall move on.

The works on the vet’s practice are moving on at quite a pace and we should be finished there shortly, I will get some photographs and post them on either the blog or the web site.  The builders are performing well as expected, whilst trying to work around a lot of difficult issues.

More planning submissions made this month. We have been using the ‘Planning Portal’ to make the process more efficient, however we are finding that the Government’s Planning Portal may be efficient but the interface with the different planning authorities doesn’t seem to be too great.  We may go back to the old fashioned method of printing off drawings and forms and posting them via ‘snail’ mail’!  Nevertheless we shall keep persevering.

We surveyed an old office building this week with a view to changing it into student accommodation. Our client has been informed that there is a considerable shortfall in student accommodation for the forthcoming academic years, which I think is positive in two ways - more work for us chaps and also more of the youth going through further education – “Win Win”.

As a continuation of our ‘working with Europe theme’ we were appointed to undertake a project in London for a client based in Italy.  After the initial meetings we have kept a beneficial dialogue via emails etc. Again the power of modern technology has meant that we can really be global, and that both clients and companies should embrace this. There is no real reason why both clients and consultants can’t work anywhere.

I reported in my first instalment about working with two generation of the same family. Well as an update, team mother and father have only altered their scheme twice but team daughter and son-in-law have altered five times.  I’m really enjoying working with them both, as I think the schemes are progressing well and we are creating designs that the clients are both involved with. This client participation is actively encouraged at Agrarian and in reality, as we say to clients; it’s easier to move walls on paper than when they are half built!

I aim to write the next instalment within a couple of weeks, always grateful for any feedback or comments.