Studio Basheva
Honest answers to the questions clients ask most often — about fees, planning, programme, and how we work. If yours isn't here, ask us directly.
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There are a few reasons clients choose to work with us.
We are qualified and accountable. We are a RIBA and ARB registered practice, led by Kathy Basheva, who is also a chartered planner (RTPI). Our registrations can be checked directly on the Architects Register the RIBA directory of chartered members, and the RTPI consultants directory. We work across London and Valencia on refurbishments, extensions, and new builds.
We listen first. Our process begins with questions, not answers — about how you actually live, what the building has been, and what it could become. The brief comes from that conversation, not from us.
We work stage by stage. You can appoint us for planning only, or through to technical design and delivery. Fees are fixed or capped per stage, so you stay in control of scope and cost.
We see projects through. Every stage is connected, so decisions stay consistent. You will not need to re-engage another architect midway.
We are proud to have our work featured in The Wall Street Journal (March 2024) — a restoration project that took eighteen years to complete.
We design homes and spaces — refurbishments, extensions, loft conversions, and new builds.
Most clients appoint us for planning and design. Many continue with us through technical design, tender, and construction administration. A smaller number ask us to lead the full journey, including interior and landscape coordination.
We work across RIBA Stages 0 to 7 — from initial brief through to completion on site. Because no two projects follow the same path, we agree the right scope with you at the outset, and adjust it as the project develops.
Our two markets — London and Valencia — have different climates, regulations, and building cultures. We bring local knowledge to both.
Most of our projects are carried out remotely in part, with key site visits at the moments that matter.
We work across the UK, Spain, and occasionally further afield. Video conferencing and screen sharing allow us to review drawings and discuss ideas in real time, without unnecessary travel. This reduces cost, avoids delay, and is often more convenient for clients.
For London projects, we attend site. For Valencia projects, we are on the ground locally. For other locations, we agree a site-visit schedule that suits the project stage — usually at survey, planning submission, and key construction milestones.
Planning is one of the most common concerns, and one of the areas where experience matters most.
Since 2012, we have secured planning consent on approximately 97% of our submissions1 — across London boroughs, Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust, conservation areas, and Spanish municipal authorities.
Each authority applies similar principles, tested against national policy. Our experience across different planning contexts means we can anticipate objections early, prepare the right evidence, and, where necessary, challenge unfair assessments on your behalf.
For sensitive sites, we often work alongside a local planning consultant to increase certainty. We guide you through the process clearly — saving you time and unnecessary stress.
Yes — we take on projects of all sizes, from a single-room refurbishment to a full new build.
Once we understand what you're trying to achieve, we provide a fixed or capped fee that reflects the time the project actually needs. Small projects often benefit most from good design, because space, light, and storage have to work harder.
If we're a good match, we'll say so. If your project would be better served by another practice, we'll tell you that too.
Design is not a commodity, and it cannot be compared on a like-for-like basis.
Every architect will offer a different solution and a different way of working. The right question is not who is cheapest — it is who is most suited to your project and how you want to work.
We work best with clients who understand the value good design brings: fewer costly mistakes, better decisions, and a home that will still feel right in thirty years. Exploring a considered design solution takes time — but that time is what makes the outcome certain.
Choosing your architect is the first major decision of the project. It's worth getting right.
From inception, we can typically be ready to submit for planning within 6 to 8 weeks.
Many projects take longer, because the process depends on how quickly we receive your feedback and how many rounds of exploration a design needs. Once we receive your comments, we normally return revised ideas within 5 to 10 working days.
If you are working to a specific deadline — a lease ending, a school term, a family milestone — tell us early. We will plan the programme around it where we can.
We don't impose a house style.
Our portfolio spans contemporary new builds, sensitive restorations of historic buildings, and quiet, light-filled extensions. What connects them is not a look — it's a set of principles: light first, honest materials, considered proportion, and a long view.
If you have a clear design direction, we work with it. If you don't, we explore what the site, the context, and the planning framework suggest — and develop a proposal from there.
Either way, the design is yours. We are here to shape it, not to override it.
Two different costs are involved: our fees, and your construction budget.
Our fees depend on scope, project size, and the stages you appoint us for. We provide a fixed or capped fee per stage, so you always know what you're paying for. We don't work on a percentage-of-construction basis unless you specifically ask us to.
Your construction budget is separate. We recommend allowing 8–10% for the unforeseen, particularly on refurbishment projects, where existing conditions can only be fully understood once work begins.
We discuss budget early — before design begins — so the design we develop is realistic from the outset.
As much or as little as you'd like.
Some clients want to review every drawing. Others prefer to approve key milestones and leave the detail to us. Both approaches work — we'll agree the rhythm at the start.
What we do ask is that decisions are made at the right moments. Late changes cost more on site than on paper, so we build in clear review points at each stage where your input shapes what comes next.
You will always know where the project stands, what's coming, and what we need from you.
Changes are part of design. They're easier — and cheaper — to make on paper than on site.
If you want to revisit a decision, we'll explain the implications for cost, programme, and planning (if consent has already been granted) before any work proceeds. Then you decide.
Once construction begins, changes become more expensive. That's why we build so much review into the design stages — so that by the time work starts, the decisions have already been made.
A builder builds what is drawn. An architect decides what should be drawn — and why.
Good design solves problems before they reach site: how the light falls, how the space flows, how planning risk is managed, how the budget is spent where it matters most. It also protects your investment, because a well-designed home is worth more and lasts longer.
A builder can construct a house. An architect shapes a home. Most of our clients come to us because they want the second thing — and because they don't want to carry the risk of getting it wrong alone.
A fixed or capped fee for each stage, quoted before that stage starts. Each quote lists what it covers: drawings, meetings, applications, and who pays statutory fees. We do not bill a percentage of construction cost unless you ask. You can stop after any stage without owing for the next.
As a share of the agreed total: 35% for the planning stage, 45% for detailed design, 5% for tender and contract, and the remaining 15% for the construction phase. Detailed design carries the largest share because it is where most of the drawing work happens.
Nineteen projects on the site, each with its own page, drawings and photographs. Old Forge, a Grade II forge conversion in Buckinghamshire, was published in the Wall Street Journal in March 2024. We can also arrange to show you a completed project in person where the owners are happy to host.
We can, and most clients ask us to. Under construction administration we run the tender, help you select a contractor, inspect at agreed stages, review valuations and sign off completion. We do not employ the builder — your contract is with them directly — which keeps us free to act in your interest on site.
Routinely. Both change what is possible and both add consents: listed building consent sits alongside planning permission, and permitted development rights are usually withdrawn. Kathy is a chartered planner, so we assess the constraint before design rather than discovering it at submission. Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust has its own separate approval too.
All 33, plus the Home Counties. Each borough interprets national policy slightly differently — a rear extension depth that passes in Barnet may not in Westminster — so we check the local plan and recent decisions on comparable sites before drawing. We have worked most often in Barnet, Brent, Camden and Westminster.
Call us on 020 8133 7125, or send a few details about your project and we'll come back to you within one working day.
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