Home Renovations
Do I need Planning Permission to build a Garden Home Office?
“Can I work from home in a garden office?” Working From Home Covid-19 has meant that many of us have had to alter how we
24th June 2020
Reading And Berkshire Architects
Looking For An Architecture Firm In Berkshire Or Reading?
AURA Architecture are an award-winning residential architecture firm based in Reading. Our architects are well placed to serve Berkshire and know the area well; why not call us on 0118 309 0000 to discuss your exact needs?
Our team have managed many residential developments in Reading and the surrounding areas. View our residential architecture projects gallery for both homeowner projects and property developer projects, many of which are in Berkshire.
Are you outside of the Berkshire/south-east England area? Read our tips for finding a good residential architect near you, otherwise read on to learn how we can help realise your dream home build or extension.
We can help you with all the stages of renovating or extending your home, from optimising the design process through to site monitoring.
Our home designers cover all aspects of residential architecture, including extensions, loft conversions, basement conversions, kitchen extensions, home and garden offices, and full house refurbishments.
AURA Architecture is proud to have a team of Reading based architects, having been operating in the home counties since 2014. We are also established architectural design advisors to property developers in and around Berkshire, assisting with upgrading housing development designs to maximise return on investment.
Most Trusted Architects In Berkshire
We have vast experience working on home owner and property developers’ projects and have won the BUILD Magazine’s award for the Most Trusted Residential Architecture Practice for our Cromwell Road project.
Whether you need residential architects in Slough, Newbury, Windsor, Reading, Bracknell, Maidenhead or Theale, you will find that we have Berkshire covered for residential architectural work.
Our architects understand the needs of homeowners to add value to your property while simultaneously helping to create more space for growing families and adapting to work more from home, and our approach has earned extensive positive reviews on both Google and Houzz, see below.
Residential Architecture Projects In Reading And Berkshire
Why not check out some of our work?
Help And Advice To Select The Best Architect In Berkshire
Hiring an architect can be a daunting prospect, particularly if it is your first project and you are very limited for time. We want to make everything as easy and transparent as possible, as we know that some of the architecture jargon can get very confusing!
Because of this, AURA have created an easy to follow Blogs and FAQ’s Pages and also a Youtube Channel which we regularly update.
Architecture fees can be looked upon as an unnecessary cost rather than the value that they can bring, but a good architect will use their experience to fully understand your brief, while offering suggestions to give more options, and will deliver far more value than the cost of their fees.
Architecture Firm Costs
AURA have a transparent fixed fee structure, which can be viewed online here. This differs with many architects in Reading and Berkshire, who charge a percentage of the project costs.
The quotes that we provide are fully itemised, this means that you can make an informed decision on which architect that you chose. It also means that you can see how and where your budget is being allocated, maximising your budget to its full capacity will mean that you can get more of the things that you want in your home, however, we never like to see our clients go above the line.
Getting everything laid out from the start means that you will not be left with any unpleasant surprises. AURA is open and transparent and want to work with our clients to maximise the value of the property and meet their desires and needs.
Our Online Reviews
Scott Robertson
June 20, 2023
Professional, reliable, great to work with.
Highly recommended if you are renovating your house.
Carina Isabel Lopes De Carvalho
May 2, 2023
It is a company of excellence
Emily Stuart
January 25, 2022
I used Aura for a side return and rear extension, and a renovation of my first floor bathroom. I wanted something unique and characterful, with lots of natural light. Aura really went above and beyond my expectations, creating me a space that truly is more than I could have imagined.
From the initial consultation, where I felt immediately at ease with the team, to the transparency in their costings, all the way through the design process and project management, Aura have been consistently professional, communicative and flexible.
It certainly hasn’t been an easy time for anyone in the industry, but Aura’s solution-first attitude and their adaptability made it so easy to work with them through lockdowns, supply chain challenges, pingdemics and everything in between. It was a true pleasure to work with the team - they really do their utmost to make the process as straightforward, simple and enjoyable as possible.
I’d not hesitate to recommend Aura. They team are the perfect balance of creative and practical, imagination and solutions, to make whatever dream you have come to life.
Rob Birkin
November 18, 2021
Georgina
February 9, 2021
I chose to use Aura based on their reviews in June 2020. At first it was a really good experience and I was impressed with their professionalisim.
I received my drawings and wasn't completely happy with them. The 4 options I was given were all basically the same thing.
They never came to my property to see the space or get a feel for where the light was coming in etc. The bathroom on the drawing didn't make sense as it was so small. (See below). The snug was also like a meter so again didn't make sense.
I tried to escalate this to Ben, and I was offered another call but I had lost confidence in them.
My neighbour was also doing work on her flat which is a similar layout and in contrast her drawings were really well thoughtout. In the end I had to pay again to get my drawings redone. (Attachment P&S - one example of my new drawings below - the more detailed drawings).
I asked Aura for a partial refund as I never actually received a final drawing from them (despite paying for them) and they refused.
It was just a disappointing and expensive experience.
Anthony Egan
May 22, 2020
I recently contacted Aura Homes Ltd to discuss a small development project. The project was unusual and a lot of factors needed to be taken into account due to the location, site surroundings and practicality of the proposal.
I originally discussed it with Ben Richards who I found to be helpful, knowledgable and very accommodating in that he listened intently to give a fair assessment of feasibility.
Iris Kouneni was assigned to me and met with me to thoroughly discuss and understand what my intentions were. Like Ben, she digested my layman’s view and proceeded to give me her professional opinion.
Iris and Ben were an absolute delight to work with, professional, knowledgeable, enthusiastic and communicative to mention just a few of their qualities.
Unfortunately due to the COVID19 lockdown we have had to shelve the project.
It's been a pleasure to work with Aura Homes Ltd, refreshingly honest and professional.
I look forward to working together with them in the future.
Brendan Quinn
May 20, 2020
Thanks for reading this review. Ben is one of my monthly sponsors of the Property Events that I have run and also of the National Development Summit earlier in 2020. In a business setting I really appreciate Ben's support, particularly during COVid19- Ben had the option of pulling out of my events as a sponsor- as I have had to pivot- moving them online. Ben has continued to support these events as a sponsor, when he could have easily turned his back and moved on. Also at the National Development Summit 2020, Ben could see the effort I had put in to make the event, a great event, and himself and his team also equally put in huge effort. When you organise events, you ideally want things to go smoothly in terms of presenters turning up on time/before time, and with slides which are hassle free, and this Ben has done so. I have been to Ben's office several times and the staff have been really friendly. Ben's knowledge of working at Berkeley Homes, puts his company at a very high level.
Louise Hancock
April 13, 2020
Aura Homes is a highly professional firm of architects that always have the clients best interests at hart. The quality of their plans and drawings is superb and their turn-around when making amendments well within expected timelines. For bespoke projects, their research and recommendations (both in terms of quality and costs) is superb.
Harry Bucknell
April 10, 2020
Couldn't recommend Ben and his team more. We were in a really tricky position with our building project and Ben navigated us safely out of it. Superb guidance, great technical knowledge and what I really valued the most was the communication. Always got back to me promptly which makes a real difference when stress levels are high. Thanks Aura!
Eugene Clarke
April 9, 2020
The quality of work from Arua Architecture is to an excellent standard. We worked primarily with Ben and Gabby, they provide a friendly and professional service that minimised the worry and stresses associated with building projects.
We hired Aura Architecture to assist us with our building project. We appointed them for the following work:
- Regularisation on previous designs
- Planning conditions discharge
- Building regulation drawings
- Detailed designs
They came recommended from a Structural engineering company, and we were not disappointed.
Our Blog
Home Renovations
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Home Renovations
“Most Trusted Residential Architecture Firm: Greater London”
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16th April 2019