Do I need an architect for a house extension?

Not legally, but for anything beyond a small permitted development extension, an architect's drawings are usually needed for planning and building regulations. An architect also helps avoid costly design mistakes before building work starts.

How long does a house extension take from design to completion?

Design and planning typically take a few months. Build time depends on size and complexity, a single storey side return is far quicker than a two storey rebuild.

Can I extend without planning permission?

Many single storey rear and side return extensions qualify under permitted development. Larger extensions, wrap-arounds, and properties in conservation areas or listed buildings usually need a full application.

Do I need a party wall agreement for a house extension?

If your extension involves work on or near a shared wall or boundary with a neighbour, you'll usually need a party wall agreement under the Party Wall Act. We flag this early so it doesn't hold up the build once work is ready to start.

Does a house extension add value to my home?

A well-designed extension usually increases a property's value, though the actual return depends on the local market, the quality of the finish, and how well the new space suits the house.

Architects in Fulham

Fulham is where Design United Studio has delivered some of its most visible local work, including projects at Fulham Prep School and Fulham Senior School. Led by director Jürgen Kuppers, we bring the same level of care to individual homes across the borough.

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A Track Record You Can Actually See in Fulham

Local Work Beyond Just Houses

Most architecture practices ask you to take their word for it. In Fulham, we don't have to, our work at Fulham Prep School and Fulham Senior School is part of the local landscape, not just a line in a portfolio.

The majority of what we do in Fulham is still residential, extensions, loft conversions and interior redesigns, but the discipline of designing for a school, where far more people use a space than in a single household, carries over into how we think about family homes too.

Fulham's Housing Stock Rewards a Careful Read of the Street

A significant share of Fulham sits within a conservation area, particularly around the older Victorian and Edwardian streets near Bishops Park, Hurlingham and Parsons Green.

Several of these streets also carry an Article 4 direction, which removes permitted development rights that would otherwise apply automatically.

We check both before a design starts, so a scheme is built around what's genuinely achievable rather than redrawn later after a refusal.

Extending a Fulham Terrace Without Losing the Facade

A side return or rear extension is the most common project we take on in Fulham, usually to open up a kitchen and living space at the back while leaving the street-facing front untouched.

Kirana Laonipon, our Part II architectural assistant, coordinates the drawings and specification through building control, so the project stays on track between design and site.

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Working With Hammersmith and Fulham's Planning Team

Fulham falls within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, whose planning team we've worked with on projects ranging from a single house extension to a full school building. That range means we know what evidence a straightforward application needs, and what a more complex one has to include.

Making the Most of Fulham's Narrower Plots

Many Fulham terraces sit on narrower plots than elsewhere in South West London, which makes layout decisions matter more than they would on a wider site.

A well-placed side return, or a loft conversion that adds a bedroom without eating into the rooms below, tends to do more for a Fulham house than a larger, less considered extension would.

Proof in the Portfolio, Not Just the Pitch

From School Buildings to Family Homes, the Same Two People

Design United Studio is led by director Jürgen Kuppers, a RIBA and ARB registered architect with a background in large-scale projects at Foster + Partners, working alongside Part II Architectural Assistant Kirana Laonipon.

Alongside our residential work, we've delivered projects at Fulham Prep School and Fulham Senior School. Fulham is one of eighteen areas we cover as part of our wider South West London architects practice.

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