Designing and building a new project, whether it is a standard home, some kind of elaborate architectural project or a community building, is a long and involved process involving a large number of different people and careful ideas.

It involves architects, planning officers and builders in Wolverhampton who know their stuff and the local area.

This makes it baffling that a farce such as 20 Fenchurch Street could ever have occurred.

Initially proposed as London’s highest public park, 20 Fenchurch Street and its top floor “sky garden” were designed by Rafael Vinoly, an Uruguayan architect known for daring and typically very effective designs such as the Curve Theatre in Leicester and the Tokyo International Forum.

Its initial design had an unusually bulbous shape that was wider at the top than it was at the bottom, resembling the look of a two-way radio, quickly garnering it the nickname “Walkie-Talkie”.

There were concerns that it would affect nearby St Paul’s Cathedral and the Tower Of London, although it was ultimately approved.

However, besides being considered amongst the ugliest buildings in the capital, it was found that for two hours each day, the curved glass facade focuses light onto the streets south of the building.

The result is a death ray effect and street-level temperatures of over 90 degrees Celsius, enough to fry eggs on the pavement, melt cars and set a doormat on fire.

This led to the building becoming known as “Walkie-Scorchie” or even the “Fryscaper”, and it was a particular point of embarrassment until the temporary screens were installed to stop this happening.

Whilst this was later fixed with a brise soleil and installing non-reflective film, it did not help the reputation of a building that was considered to be amongst the ugliest in the country and with a selling point that visitors argued did not live up to expectations.

Whilst not always a common question, something builders in Codsall are sometimes asked is about whether it would be okay to personalise their homes or places of business and design them in a way that reflects their personality, interests, history or some combination.

The answer is complicated and it is always worth asking architects, builders and your local planning authority, but there are plenty of cases where people have taken personalisation to the next level.

Officially known as mimetic architecture, it is a design principle built in response to the common building motto that form follows function, by having buildings where the form is the function itself, typically resulting in, for example, shop buildings shaped to resemble the products they sell or part of the brand’s identity.

An example of this would be the Tonneau Bistro & Bar in Okinawa which is built to resemble the look of a beer barrel, complete with a pouring tap.

Other examples include the Brown Derby restaurant in Los Angeles, which resembled the hat of the same name, the High-Heel Wedding Church in Taiwan, the Wolfartsweier Cat in Germany and the Longaberger Basket headquarters in Ohio.

Because these buildings are unusually designed and typically require some more unusual materials to construct and clad, they can be trickier to get planning permission for but are often worth it if you want to stand out.

However, there is one exceptionally notable exception to this in Ireland, with the mimetic architecture concept being adapted not to stand out but to blend in.
The Mimetic House is built in rural Dromaheir, County Leitrim, and uses a mirrored facade to reflect the changing countryside around it, taking the concept of reflecting the external world that mimetic architecture was constructed around and flipping it around entirely to build closer to nature.

When it comes to complex construction work, it is always best to work with professionals from design to completion.

Part of this is to avoid any headaches, as architects and builders in Wolverhampton know about local planning regulations and work with local planning authorities to ensure that your work is safe, legal and gets the proper permissions.

Another part of it is that the more expertise and greater care you have over a design, the less likely you will need to undertake expensive repairs later on, as was the somewhat infamous case of the Citicorp Centre. 

Completed in 1977 and designed by William LeMessurier, the Citicorp (now Citigroup) Centre had several rather unusual design features, including diagonal steel bracing to resist strong winds and a base that was raised on four stilts.

Typically the building would not be troubled by strong winds due to the mass damper system that absorbs vibrations, but in the case of a power cut, its ability to resist gale-force winds was reduced far more significantly than was originally thought.

An engineering student at Princeton University, Diane Hartley, was the first to raise concerns that in the event of a power outage that could be possible in hurricane conditions, which started a chain of events that led to a much bigger problem being discovered.

Ms Hartley’s discrepancy was combined with the revelation that the welded building joints had been substituted for bolts which was not a feature in 

his original design.

After a call with architecture student Lee DeCarolis, Mr LeMessurier decided to recalculate the wind loads and found out to his horror that a 70 mph wind could potentially knock the skyscraper down, causing untold casualties.

After contemplating hiding the issue or much worse, he ultimately decided to fix the problem in secret, setting up emergency generators for the damper and arranging for welded panels to be fitted at night to avoid causing panic, scandal and reputation damage.

As it happened, all three local newspapers were on strike at the time, and the story was only published in 1995, nearly three decades later.

The current economic uncertainty will leave many people worrying about the value of their homes. Fortunately, if you live in the West Midlands you are more likely to have seen its value increase in the last year than anywhere else in Britain, with the latest Halifax House Price Index revealing a 3.1 per cent year-on-year rise in prices across the region.

However, it is risky to count on such a trend persisting and while many people will add house extensions in the West Midlands purely for practical reasons or just to enhance the living space, it is worth considering how much it may add to your property’s value.

This has been a live issue recently, following an article in the Daily Mail by the head of sales at Purple Bricks Vince Courtney, in which he said conservatories can knock up to £15,000 off a home’s value.

Taking particular aim at “dated” conservatories built at the peak of their popularity in the 2000s, featuring “cheap-looking white plastic or dark wood”, he also slated them for poor energy efficiency and a lack of space.

Among other criticisms, he said the current fashion is for open-plan layouts instead, a point that may resonate with some people keen to extend their home without adding more internal walls.

Not everyone agrees with Mr Courtney; the Daily Telegraph published an article that acknowledged the issues concerning some conservatories, but also quoted India Alexander, the head of appraisals at two estate agencies, as backing them to add value to old homes that might otherwise lack natural ventilation, due to having “low ceilings and dense materials”.

Of course, your own plans and needs may not involve a conservatory anyway. However, it is worth considering research about the impact different kinds of home improvement can have on property values.

According to a Property Price Advice article in 2021, a cellar conversion came out top, but others high up the list included converting a garage into living space, or the loft into a bedroom.

Curiously, the list did also advocate adding a conservatory, claiming it would add ten per cent to a home’s value. Maybe it’s not such a bad idea after all.

Whether you’re looking to sell or simply want to add value to your property for the future, there are many ways you can renovate and update to increase the value of your home.

This can include anything from cosmetic work to complete renovation. Depending on the current state of your home you may have very little left to do, or a whole lot, in order to add as much value as possible to your home.

Aesthetically speaking, if a property looks nice and is in good shape, it will be worth more than one which has been allowed to become run down. A lick of paint, some minor repairs and a good clean can really boost the appeal of a property and make it more valuable.

Keeping on top of maintaining like this will help to preserve the value of your home and make it much more appealing to potential buyers if you are trying to sell up.

Having a well-kept garden is also a great way to add value. Landscaping can be costly however if properly maintained, it can help to improve the overall look and quality of a property, therefore increasing its value.

There are other, more extreme ways, to boost value. One of these is to extend the property. More space means more value. A single-story or double-story extension can add thousands to the value of your home and also give you and your family much more room to enjoy in your house

Fitting a new kitchen or bathroom will update the house and give it additional value. Adding modern gadgets such as fitted washing machines and integrated fridge freezers, as well as having a modern bathroom help to bring up the value.

Converting lofts and garages and cellars can also do this without having to add an extension. Having additional space that isn’t used is a waste, so conversion is a great way to utilise as much as possible.

Looking for kitchen fitters in Telford? Contact Meyrick Builders & Roofers today!