Design Lab is a young, dedicated & enthusiastic design practice based in Canterbury, Kent. Our expertise covers all sectors of the construction industry with our main workload coming from the residential sector for large-scale national housing developers. We design buildings and environments of various scales and complexity and have a broad range of clients. We work together with clients, contractors and all those involved in the building process to achieve the clients’ aspirations and provide the highest possible standard of services and products which meet customer specification within agreed parameters of cost, quality and delivery.

We wish to create the highest quality contemporary architecture, combined with our commitment to advancing the technology of the built environment, making beautiful, sustainable and intelligent buildings which inspire the end users. We seek to have a positive impact on the environment in which we work, live & operate. We are dedicated to reducing our carbon footprint and producing sustainable designs. The company is proud of its good reputation for responsible practices and dedicated client care, which are a result of the company’s ethical culture, skilled, committed staff and quality control over its services and products.

As a progressive practice with a reputation for reliability and quality, our principal aim is to design exciting and elegant buildings that are efficiently and sensibly planned so as to enhance the lives of those who use them now and in the future. In this respect we regard issues of sustainability and the environment as an integral part of all elements of design and strategy for our projects and this is recognised by our commitment to:

–   Always work with the local climatic conditions and to use them to generate elements of the design. This might involve any combination of use of daylight, passive solar gains, air movement for ventilation and use of movable building elements to provide simple control mechanisms on the internal environment.

–   Reduce the need for mechanical or other energy consuming systems in the environmental control of our buildings.

–   Comply with all regulatory and legislative requirements and exceed government targets in the use of insulation against heat loss and reductions in energy consumption.

–   Whenever possible, make use of local materials, local suppliers and local workforces to carry out our projects.

–   Use recyclable materials whenever possible.

–   To investigate the possibilities of new technologies and systems and their potential benefit to the carbon footprint and life time cost of the project.

As a company, we have introduced a comprehensive environmental management system which forms an integral part of our organisational culture and commitment to continual improvement. Through this we aim to minimise our environmental impact by:

–   Reducing energy and material use, waste production and recycling where possible

–   Promoting sustainable travel to work to our staff including the cycle to work scheme

–   Our web & email hosting is supplied by an Eco Friendly webhosting company called Green Geeks  where our account will have a positive energy footprint on the environment as they replace, with wind power, 3 times the amount of energy our webhosting will use.

Design Lab takes an active role in community engagement and public consultation and views this as a fundamental part of the planning process. We adopt an appropriate strategy for each individual project which may involve public exhibitions, surveys, meetings and a structured analysis of feedback.

We use all our presentation skills to communicate ideas to communities who have an interest in, or are affected by, our proposed schemes. Our techniques include 3D and graphical presentations, one-to-one group presentations and the use of polling and questionnaires, as well as promoting events through local advertising allowing the community to get involved.

We also feel it is important to give something back to the community and we are involved in fund raising for local worthwhile charities and sponsor the Canterbury Youth Football Club under 14 team who play in the FA East Kent Youth League.