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Benefits of feasibility studies and project appraisals

Whether a potential site for a new build project, or the conversion of an existing building, a feasibility study will provide valuable insights into whether the project is worth pursuing in the first instance and if so, to be able to plan ahead to manage budget, cost and time.

At the rpa:group, we have valuable experience when it comes to providing feasibility services and we understand the importance of making the most of whatever information is available. We ensure that we analyse the needs and requirements of our clients against any site information such as location, context, topography and any known constraints there are such as flooding, utilities, existing structures, trees, ecology and heritage. We also review the local and national policies and planning history of a site, which enables us to review the buildability of it, and to highlight any constraints and risks, that will help ensure that we can maximise all of the opportunities for our clients.

Although Feasibility surveys can be taken at any stage, such as at project briefing, site evaluation, technical assessment and risk assessment; the best time to conduct feasibility studies is at RIBA Stage 0. This is because investment early on can save money in the long term. In fact, the earlier that architects and planning consultants are engaged on the scheme, the earlier it is that opportunities can be drawn out, and any planning constraints can be highlighted. Furthermore, clarification can be obtained about what guidance and policies the proposals need to adhere too. All of this enables clients to plan investments, optimise their budget and avoid potential financial loses.

However, it is also worth noting that it is never too late to assess a project and to re-evaluate it. Often, feasibilities can offer a “health check” at different stages of a scheme. A recent example of this is when the rpa:group was appointed as Lead Architects for RIBA 4-7 for Penry Street, a new build social housing scheme in London. As part of the handover, we were asked to review the original design and we were able to re-evaluate and streamline this, omitting unnecessary details, and effectively redesigning certain elements, which reduced our client’s costs, whilst still meeting the necessary building regulations and industry standards.

What feasibility entails:

Design constraints and opportunities
Local context that includes transport links, local facilities, amenity spaces
Environmental risks
Requirements for legal and regulatory approval
Assessing the principle of development

The benefits:

Testing options and exploring opportunities before financial investment
Identify potential risks and early intervention, mitigating financial loses
Understanding any planning constraints. Architects even at this early stage will consider building control.
Enable better project management and planning

The Build to Rent Boom

According to research conducted by Knight Frank, one of the world’s leading independent real estate consultancies, investment in the UK’s Build to Rent (BTR) surpassed £5 billion for the first time in 2024, and is the fifth consecutive record year for investment. The full year figure stands at £5.2 billion, up 11% on 2023. What this demonstrates is the continued confidence from investors in the sector and that the UK remains an attractive market for global capital, with Knight Frank disclosing that there was a 51% year-on-year increase in cross-border spend in 2024. We look more closely at the factors contributing to this growth and any challenges to overcome.

What is driving the demand

This boom in the BTR sector has been sparked by various factors, but is being propelled largely by the changing attitudes of professionals, who now see renting as a more long-term solution to their housing needs, as affordability challenges make home ownership increasingly unattainable for many of them.

Then there is the fact that BTR projects are purpose-built for long-term renting, and are modern and energy-efficient and often feature desirable amenities such as on-site gyms, laundrettes and shared spaces for socialising. BTR developments also tend to offer on-site management and maintenance, to help provide peace of mind and a more seamless and community-driven living experience. These make them a very attractive and possibly more secure alternative to what is offered by some private landlords.

Diverse housing options

More than 22,300 new BTR homes were completed in 2024, and encompassed co-living, multi-family and single-family housing, which now stands at over 126,000 homes, and is up by 21% year-on-year. A further 57,400 homes are currently under construction and 106,500 have full planning permission granted, taking the total size of the sector to 290,000 homes.

Growth in regional markets

Importantly, the supply also continues to grow in regional markets, with 68% of completions in 2024 outside of London, and being led by Manchester and Birmingham. The North West region accounted for 16% of completions, followed by the South East and the West Midlands. Scotland accounted for 10% of delivery in 2024.

Challenges to overcome

For those not in a specific middle- and higher-income bracket, affordability is likely to be an issue, which might deter them from considering BTR living. However, an increase in options for middle- and low-income renters, such as providing more limited amenities and making the accommodation more basic could be a solution to make it more affordable.

While planning restrictions might also have been an issue in the past, the new government is looking to prioritise tackling the current housing shortage and planning reforms are underway to potentially unlock opportunities.

What the future holds

BTR is transforming the UK rental market and is redefining what renting can look like in today’s housing landscape. If the current growth trend continues, it will become an essential element of modern society in the UK, helping to respond to current housing demands and setting a foundation for future developments.

With investment potential estimated at £100 billion, BTR will expand beyond major cities to regional hubs and ‘commuter locations’ such as Milton Keynes, Bedford and others. This will maintain demand and opportunities for developers and construction service providers, as the appeal of BTR increases for a growing population in the UK.

We can also expect to see BTR developments integrate more and more sustainable practices, considered and energy-efficient designs and the incorporation of smart home technology. These are set to make them very attractive to the renters of the future.

At the rpa:group, we have been working with our retail clients to explore BTR housing above their stores or on unused land. This is an opportunity to utilise brownfield sites, by making better use of potentially dead space above stores and turning these into much needed affordable homes. Many of our clients’ sites are in prime locations with accessible transport links, reducing commuting times and reliance on cars and therefore making potential residential development attractive to professional renters from the onset. On a social and economic level, BTR not only eases the housing shortage, but would also bring people back into town and city centres, revitalising deteriorating high streets.

About the rpa:group

With over 40 years of experience in the built environment, our team of experienced Chartered Architects, CIAT Technicians, Quantity Surveyors and Specialists are best placed to help with your next BTR scheme. We will ensure that any proposal made meets stringent planning and building regulations, offering peace of mind at every stage of the project life cycle.

As a multi-disciplinary practice, we offer a range of services, including initial feasibility and viability studies, technical packages to completion, supported by our experienced Design, Architecture, Project Management team.

If you would like our help or would like to know more, please contact Christine Lee RIBA Senior Architect on c.lee@therpagroup.com.

The 15-minute city

Perhaps the only advantage we can extract from the recent global pandemic is that we have learned to be more “local”. We have worked from home, shopped in the vicinity and learned to extract the most we can from our immediate neighbourhoods – and this notion seems to have stuck as we return to some form of normality.

In my own small village, I have recently seen new wine bars, eateries and a number of artisan shops open that sell local produce. This is breathing new life into a tired little high street and is helping to create a thriving local community that answers local needs.

The notion of a thriving local hub that fulfills the needs of its community isn’t only restricted to small communities such as my village. I recently heard about the concept of the “15 minute city” and having delved deeper, have learned that entire cities can also serve their local communites within them, when they provide everything the local community requires within a 15 minute radius.

The concept “The 15-minute city” has been inspired by French-Colombian scientist Carlos Moreno. He believes that in cities both large and small, our sense of time has become warped by all the hours that we spend navigating our urban landscape. He feels that cities should in fact be responding to our needs, rather than vice versa.

His concept highlights that it can and should be attainable for people to have access to everything they need within a 15-minute walk or cycle of their dwellings. The six essential functions within this radius should provide living, working, commerce, healthcare, education and entertainment. This in turn makes neighbourhoods ‘human-sized’, accessible and easy for all who dwell within them.

The framework of his model lists the four components to consider as density, proximity, diversity and digitalisation. In regards to density, Moreno cites the work of Nikos Salingaros, a renowned mathematician known for his work on urban, architectural and complexity theory and design philosophy. Saligaros theorises that an optimal density for urban development exists, which encourages local solutions to local problems.

Proximity refers to both space and time. In an increasingly “time-poor” society, having everything we need in close proximity aids our quality of life and reduces the amount of space and time necessary for each activity. We can also consider the environmental impact. Simply put, less driving means less pollution.

Diversity refers to mixed-use development and facilitating diverse and multicultural neighbourhoods, both of which can inherently improve the urban experience and boost community participation in planning processes.

The final element is digitalisation, which is a key aspect of the 15-minute city. The mammoth enhancements in technology in what we may call the “Fourth Industrial Revolution”has given us all access to a connected and virtual world. Online communication and shopping makes everything easily accessible from our own homes.

When these four components combine on a mass scale, the results are accessible cities, which provide a higher quality of life and that are green and sustainable for all who live in them.

What will 2021 and beyond hold for Architects?

A RIBA statement in October last year, revealed that over £3.5 billion of work was scrapped, with a further £7.5 billion on hold. There is no doubt that times are tough and as a result, competition is fierce, which is bringing about a “race to the bottom” on price. It is up to the industry to retain consistency and standards without compromising on quality, which occurs when costs and corners are cut.

For architects involved in retail, there are additional challenges due to the pandemic escalating the popularity for online shopping. The customer journey is changing, and we need to respond to this across both the retail and hospitality sectors, by looking into placemaking and taking a multi-faceted approach. The role of designers should be transforming experiences and collaborating in a more community-driven environment. There are going to be opportunities for architects as spaces need to be repurposed to adapt to the rapidly changing market and make them work differently.

Post pandemic, making people feel safe is going to be an important criteria in how space is utilised. Airport lounges for example will increase in numbers and popularity, as people feel safer in less crowded spaces and will be prepared to pay for this premium.

The pandemic has highlighted the opportunity to be innovative. We will start to see the regeneration of town centres, with vacant office and retail units making way for more placemaking facilities, with spaces for people to live, work and play.

What of rural areas? There is concern over the impact that Brexit has had on these communities, which have seen funding all but disappear. Rural estates need to be optimised to work a little harder, and to look into opportunities for change of use, such as including holiday accommodation, conference, leisure and lifestyle facilities.

And what of London and the larger cities? Interestingly, certain sectors respond more slowly to change, and what is referred to as “critical impact” can take up to three years. What we will start to see more of is changes to the profiles of buildings and some environmental changes, with more and more green spaces.

Overall, there is optimism about the residential sector. The large government debt will see the need for more jobs to be created, to generate taxes to help the economy recover. This will result in more employment in the construction industry. Advancements in construction methods will be explored more than ever, prioritising the use of off-site modern methods of construction (MMC) to deliver homes at a faster pace than traditional methods. Schools can also take advantage of this form of construction to speed up the shortfall.

However, off-site needs to think very carefully about the environment and sustainability, for what is basically moving boxes of air over vast distances. A way round this is to source things as locally as possible.

There is no doubt that sustainability is going to be increasingly important regardless of sector. With government targets set to achieve net zero carbon by 2050, advancements in technology can support this initiative by utilising collaborative tools such as BIM level 2, which gives an accurate picture of initial costs and whole life costs, encouraging clients to implement sustainable solutions upfront. BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) will become an increasingly important factor in architecture, being the world’s leading sustainability assessment method for master planning projects, infrastructure and buildings.

In conclusion, there are certainly going to be challenges, but also opportunities that arise from the shifting needs for buildings and spaces and how we will use them.

transforming office blocks

As we all experience the profound impact of Covid-19 and the changes we have had to make, it has probably had some of the greatest impact on our working lives. Previously, flexible working was mostly pioneered by a few of us who had “earned our stripes” and the right to work remotely. Forced into this situation, what has undoubtedly been proven is that we can all be adaptable and productive, while working from home and that this seems here to stay. Already, a BBC study has discovered that at least 50 major UK employers have no plan to return all their staff to their offices on a full-time basis.

Of course, remote working isn’t suitable for everyone and there are circumstances when face-to-face communication is the most effective way to get things done, but this won’t be on the same scale as before. Many large companies are already dramatically saving costs on office space and associated utilities, by having most of their work force operate from home. Employees also benefit because they save on commuting costs and gain the ultimate gift of time.

As architects, we at rpa:group believe that this major shift towards working from home will have a significant impact on the built environment and begs the question; what is to become of vast office blocks, as the need for them and the demand for commercial office space declines.

We think that an obvious solution is to repurpose them into homes. According to the BBC’s Housing Briefing, it is estimated that we have built 1.2 million fewer homes than we should have, and the need for more homes is increasing. Calculations suggest that it will take at least 15 years at current building rates to close the gap and more concerningly, not enough of what is being built is affordable.

Office blocks lend themselves to this cause for several reasons, with a prime benefit being that so many are open plan. Partition walls can easily divide vast spaces into new living areas. Another key advantage is the existing health and safety standards that would have been in place when the buildings were used commercially, which surpass residential guidelines. Repurposing buildings also benefits the environment as there is less need for new materials and land to be utilised.

Structurally, large open office spaces tend to be solidly constructed and surround a central service core containing lifts, plumbing, ducts and risers, fire stairs, bathrooms and equipment. Wet areas located against the core can easily be connected to the building services and systems. Most modern office buildings already have the advantage of a 3-meter floor to ceiling height and large windows to allow plenty of natural light. There is also often scope to move various exterior walls, in order to create outside spaces.

Many office buildings accommodate ground floor shops and restaurants that rely on high levels of commuting office workers to survive and who are suffering as their trade dries up. Converting office spaces above into residential will provide a steady stream of local customers. Add to this the scope to include sports facilities, health centres, hair and beauty salons and childcare centres, among others, will result in the formation of micro-communities, breathing essential new life into the business districts of our towns and cities.

However, this all comes with a word of caution. The influx of vacant office spaces available is enticing developers to take advantage of the new Permitted development Rights (PDR). What this means is that offices can be converted into residential units via a “fast-track” process, without planning permission. As attractive as this new planning system seems to be, it comes with limitations and conditions.

Firstly, prior approval must be sought from the local authority to ensure that PDR can be allowed. Without the expertise of consultants, there are growing concerns about the increase of micro flats, lack of amenity space and little or no consideration for the needs of the local community and how this can impact negatively on them. Low-quality housing and inadequate housing standards are also on the rise and being reported with inconsistencies in the delivery of PDR developments.

We at the rpa:group strongly believe that what should never be compromised when transforming office blocks into homes, is the creation of environments that have been sensitively designed to provide a high quality of living. As architects and experts in the planning process, we can help realise projects and assist with all important prior approvals, helping to achieve a successful scheme that considers the wider community, and safeguards and maintains better housing standards for all.

launching the bim revolution

Colour coding would vary from organisation to organisation. Designers wishing to share information with contractors would have to explain their standards on each project. There would be no continuity from job to job, massive duplication of effort between parties and inevitable conflicts between designer, contractor, facilities managers and clients. Clearly such a system would be unworkable. A common standard is a must to optimise efficiencies, safety and cost effectiveness. Pity then the architects, engineers, contractors, clients, et al, who are tasked with working from shared BIM information…

Designed to avoid conflicts, optimise efficiency through materials and time savings and provide valuable data after the initial build for the operation, maintenance and modification of the buildings, the lack of standardisation (or “social BIM”) makes the full realisation of the BIM’s potential impossible. “My business was an early adopter of BIM and we have for some time been realising significant efficiencies on behalf of our clients. Nevertheless, the lack of common standards outside of our organisation can be extremely frustrating. So who is going to drive this need for standardisation?” asks Derek Pratley, director at rpa:group.

Government is capable of forcing the issue, of course, through legislation or economic imperatives. David Philip, Head of BIM implementation for The Cabinet Office, has stated that government tenders will soon require BIM. “We are developing simple guidance and templates through the first tranche of our (funded) work packages, which will be complete by Q1 2012, allowing BIM tenders to start entering the pipeline… towards full adoption by 2016”. Adam Matthews of Autodesk’s Government Affairs team and supporting the BIM Task Group, asserts that while the Government is not saying BIM is mandatory, it is specifying outcomes and deliverables that add a commercial imperative to the adoption of BIM for those wishing to work on public sector projects, and so creating impetus for change.

Matthews points out that, in a quest to meet its target of reducing the cost of constructing and running public buildings by 20% by 2016, the Government has, as part of this strategy, adopted a five point plan. The idea is to look for savings in the key areas of inter alia procurement and facilities management, something that BIM lends itself readily to the pursuit of. Accordingly the Government now requires building information to be offered in a format called COBie (Construction Operations Building information exchange). It’s a long description for something quite straightforward: the COBie file contains the information required by an owner/operator to manage a building through its operational phase. Additionally traditional drawing submittals to public clients are not going to be acceptable simply in PDF formats; going forward BIM models will be required in native file formats along with the COBie file. And in June the British Standards will publish the new PAS1192:2 standard: a guidance note for how the supply chain on public works can share information and collaborate with themselves.

But if the Government, while falling short of making BIM mandatory, is encouraging its use by the construction and FM industries, who has the influence necessary to put BIM centre stage in the private sector?

An example of large organisations making the running would be the BIM For Retail forum. Comprising Asda, Waitrose, John Lewis and 3 others, with advice from architects HOK and engineers Romboll, the forum is designed to “agree standards and processes for BIM that will improve the quality of design information, what standard to work to and how to manage it”, according to James Brown, head of model and specification for Asda. Wal Mart, owners of Asda, is of course an American company. It is worth noting that in the US the application of BIM has been more readily seized upon and the level of advancement there is now some way ahead of UK practice. There companies in the Retail, Healthcare and Education sectors have readily embraced the value realisable from BIM, in terms of the supply chain, and are much more inclined to mandate the delivery of BIM.

Another view is that contractors themselves should be responsible for agreeing common standards. Chris Gilmour of BAM Construction UK, says “contractors need to accept the responsibility of being the integrators.”

“There is no doubt that there is a swell of activity across the industry responding to the government’s BIM strategy. The clear message I hear from those already adopting it is that it’s better to start early and gain the internal efficiency and value benefits from BIM rather than trying to play catch-up”, says Adam Matthews. Whoever drives it, there needs to be a standard for BIM. There’s a convention for AutoCAD; everyone knows that. If you pick up a drawing anyone can work from it. And with an estimated 68% of firms stating that they have shared BIM information with firms outside of their own organisations, the urgent need for common standards is clear.