Better than the Best
After London, the Lake District is probably the best known and loved tourism area in the UK. In recent years Cumbria Tourism along with partners from both the public and private sectors has undertaken market research to identify what is needed to maintain the Lake District as a premier rural holiday destination in the UK. The research provided the evidence and need for a major regeneration initiative, this initiative is called the Lake District Renaissance (LDR) Project. A number of pilot projects have been spawned under the LDR umbrella, one of which is the 'Better than the Best' pilot project.
The LDR project wished to re-examine and redefine what a 'quality accommodation experience ' means in the context of the Lake District. Design companies were invited to take part in the project. Their findings and suggestions were presented to Cumbria Tourism. The findings have been divided into five categories and a summary the ideas and suggestions can be viewed by clicking on the links below.
Do's and Don'ts
Town House Hotels
Country House Hotels
Bed & Breakfast/Guest Houses
Self Catering Accommodation
Hostel Accommodation
For contact details of the designers involved with the Better than the Best project please click on the link below.
Architectural, Interior and Landscape Designers
Using the links below you can view a selection of Cumbrian Architectural, Interior and Landscape Designers who expressed an interest in this project. Please feel free to contact them for their views and expertise. Pricing policies vary but many offer a free initial consultation.
If you are a Cumbrian Architectural, Interior or Landscape Designer and would like your details included on this page please contact Sheila Lindsay on 01539 825052 or email slindsay@cumbriatourism.org for further details.
RIBA Advice
The Royal Institute of British Architects has this advice on their website www.riba.org
Fees and hourly rates
A new edition of the RIBA's "A Client's Guide to Engaging an Architect" has just been published. It is different from previous guides in many ways – in particular the introduction makes clear that there are no 'standard' or 'recommended' fee scales and that the fee is dependent on the specific requirements of the project and the client.
The guide starts with an explanation of the need for a written form of appointment between the client and their architect, preferably a Standard Form of Agreement (SFA). It explains the main purpose and content of the appointment document including defining the extent and type of services to be provided, copyright, fees, dispute resolution, determination of the agreement and what is required of both client and architect.
The section on fees sets out a range of options for fee calculation including percentage of construction cost, lump sums, time charges and the new 'value-added' concept of fees. It highlights the fact that fees are a matter of calculation and negotiation based on the services to be provided, the procurement method, the programme and the cost, type and complexity of the project.
The client is given guidance on the range of average fees for new work, based on a recent independent survey of architects' fees (Mirza & Nacey Research: Architects Fees 2004). Again it is made clear that the actual fee may vary from this graph due to the specific requirements of the project. For example, fees for work to existing buildings (refurbishment and extensions) are likely to be between 40% and 60% greater than the fees for new-build work shown on the graph. There is no longer any guidance on indicative hourly rates as the survey data proved the wide variation in hourly rates between different sizes, types and locations of practices, as well as between different sizes, types and locations of projects.
The RIBA Practice Department is now working on an architect's guide to calculating and negotiating fees which should be available by mid-2005. This will encourage architects to properly calculate their fees based on the resources required to carry out the agreed services, and to take account of the degree of risk involved. The old method of relying on recommended fee scales is not appropriate for the more varied and complex world that architects now have to operate in, and it is clear that the old methods did not necessarily result in a fair price for the client - or good remuneration for the architect.
"A Client's Guide to Engaging an Architect" (May 2004 edition), price £5, is available from RIBA Bookshops on 020 7256 7222 or at www.ribabookshops.com