81 North Architecture

81 North Architecture We use our experience to save you time, headaches & money on your construction development projects.

We do love a barn here at 81 North ArchitectureReally pleased for our client to have recently secured planning for three...
20/08/2026

We do love a barn here at 81 North Architecture

Really pleased for our client to have recently secured planning for three Class Q barn conversions in North Yorkshire.

A few CGI ideas here of what the scheme could look like, but the plan now is actually to revisit it and see whether there’s an opportunity to move towards a more traditional brick-built design.

This one has been a few years in the making, which I think is something people sometimes underestimate with development. It isn’t always about finding a site, chucking an application in and building six months later.

Sometimes the game plan is years long.

It’s about having the right team around you, knowing where you’re trying to get to and having the right planning strategy from day one.

Planning secured. Now we see what else we can squeeze out of it. 👀

Need help with your own potential barn conversion? Drop us a message and we'll do the rest.

08/07/2026

Before a project gets built, bought into, funded, approved or priced properly, people need to understand it.

That’s where good design and proper visuals earn their keep.

At 81 North, we help homeowners, developers, landowners and commercial clients turn ideas into something people can actually see, understand and get behind. New builds, extensions, commercial conversions, shopfronts, awkward sites, tired buildings with potential, and the occasional “I’ve got this mad idea, is it possible?” conversation.

The answer is usually: maybe. Let’s have a proper look before anyone starts knocking holes in things.

CGIs are a huge part of that process. They help clients see the finish, help planning officers understand the proposal, help developers present the opportunity, and help everyone stop pretending they can visualise a scheme from a flat elevation and a tiny materials note.

Good drawings matter. Good design matters. But being able to show the finished idea before it exists can be the thing that gets people excited, reassured, funded, sold or simply brave enough to crack on.

So whether it’s a home extension, a new build, a commercial conversion, a shopfront, or a site that needs a bit of imagination rather than another beige box with windows, we can help.

81 North Architecture

Planning a project? Drop us a message.

You may be sitting on a building plot without realising it.Got an old barn, yard, backland plot or awkward bit of land d...
07/07/2026

You may be sitting on a building plot without realising it.

Got an old barn, yard, backland plot or awkward bit of land doing absolutely nothing?

It might be worth more with the right planning strategy.

This is where 81 North is heading more and more: helping landowners create planning uplift.

Not just drawings.
Not just pretty CGIs.
Actual value.

A redundant barn with Class Q potential.
A tight infill plot that could take one or two homes.
A bit of backland behind an existing property.
A tired old building that might have another life.

The trick is working out what the site can realistically carry before everyone starts spending money and getting excited.

We look at:

Planning route
Design potential
Access
Privacy
Neighbour impact
Ecology
Drainage
Buildability
Likely GDV
Exit options
Whether there is actually a deal in it

And because we are developers as well as designers, we look at it through both lenses.

Could you build it?
Could you sell it?
Could a builder buy it?
Could a self-builder fall in love with it?
Could the landowner get paid without having to take on all the risk?

In some cases, we can also look at subject-to-planning or option-style deals where we help unlock the planning value and agree a structure that works for both sides.

No waffle. No smoke and mirrors. No promising that every old shed is about to become Grand Designs with a hot tub.

Just a proper look at whether there is planning value hiding in the land.

If you have a barn, yard, garden plot or bit of land and you are wondering what it could be worth, send it across.

We will tell you whether it is worth exploring in a confidential discovery call.

A redundant backland infill plot.Most people would probably have looked at this and assumed it was a one-house job, or n...
06/07/2026

A redundant backland infill plot.

Most people would probably have looked at this and assumed it was a one-house job, or nothing could work without overlooking issues.

We managed to get two bespoke executive homes on it.

Not two squeezed-in boxes. Two proper homes, with private gardens, good outlook, strong natural light, and a design that feels like it belongs on the site rather than being dragged out of a house type catalogue and squashed into place.

White render. Anthracite frames. Natural slate roof. Full-height glazing. Clean contemporary detailing.

But the pretty CGI is only the front-of-house bit.

The real work is in making the site stack.

Can we get planning?
Can it be built without the budget having a little episode?
Will the layout work?
Will the gardens and outlook feel right?
Will the GDV justify the grief?

That is where we come at things differently.

We are not just designers drawing dream houses for "one of those episodes" of Grand Designs. We are developers ourselves, so we look at planning, cost, value, access, privacy, buildability and whether the scheme actually makes sense.

If you have an infill plot, backland site, large garden or awkward bit of land and you are not sure what it can carry, send it across.

We will give you an honest read before you spend a penny on drawings.

We can also help you gain planning without some of the upfront fees that might be putting you off creating your own schemes, so if you have some spare land, don't know what to do with it and would like to see how it can make you money, let's have a confidential conversation.

Lovely little client win today.Householder planning permission approved in York.Always a good feeling when that approval...
04/06/2026

Lovely little client win today.

Householder planning permission approved in York.

Always a good feeling when that approval lands, because behind every green stamp there’s usually a client who has been waiting, wondering, refreshing emails, and quietly hoping the council gods are in a reasonable mood.

So first things first:

Congratulations to our clients 🥳

This is their home, their project, their next chapter, and we’re genuinely chuffed to help get it moving.

And that’s the bit we care about most at 81 North Architecture.

Helping people get from:

“We’ve got an idea…”

to

“We’ve got permission.”

Because whether it’s a small extension, a major remodel, a change of use, a tricky site, or one of those “is this even possible?” conversations, the job is the same:

Understand the brief.
Understand the rules.
Find the best route.
Draw it properly.
Explain it clearly.
And help the client win.

This one might be in York, but we’re not just working around the corner.

We’re helping clients across the country, from the North East and Yorkshire to projects further afield, including London.

Different councils.
Different policies.
Different planning moods.
Same aim.

Get good projects moving.

So if you’ve got a property idea and you’re wondering whether it’s possible, whether the council will entertain it, or whether your home can be made to work harder…

That’s where we come in.

81 North Architecture
Good design. With a little nonsense.

www.81northarchitecture.com

Some houses don’t need replacing - They need unlocking.This is a pretty typical 1940s / 1950s bungalow.Nice area.Good pl...
04/06/2026

Some houses don’t need replacing - They need unlocking.

This is a pretty typical 1940s / 1950s bungalow.

Nice area.
Good plot (they don't make them garden like they used to!)
Decent footprint.
Plenty going for it.

But, like a lot of bungalows from this era, it has one big problem:

The roof space is about as useful as a chocolate teapot.

Shallow pitch.
Limited head height.
Not enough usable space for a proper loft conversion.
Just enough space to stick the Xmas tree (so long as it's lying down)

And no amount of wishful thinking, Pinterest scrolling, or “my mate said you can just dormer it” changes the geometry.

If the height isn’t there, it isn’t there.

So the answer here wasn’t to squeeze a sad little loft conversion into a roof that didn’t want one. No warning signs on the new stairs saying "loft only to be used by persons of 5' 6" height or below.

The answer was to rethink the roof properly.

We’re sympathetically raising the roof pitch to create usable head height in the loft, while keeping the eaves line the same so the house doesn’t suddenly look like it's grown a huge forehead by simply increasing the space between window lintels and soffits.

From the street, the proportions still feel familiar.

But inside, it completely changes what the house can do.

We’re extending the ridge line back, creating proper room in the roof, and using box dormers to give full-height space to three new bedrooms and a family bathroom.

Downstairs, we’re also adding a single-storey extension to open up the kitchen and family living space.

So what starts as a tired two-bed bungalow becomes a five-bed forever family home.

Same plot.
Same street.
Same home, technically.

But completely reworked for the way this family actually wants to live, and that’s the bit we love doing.

Creating houses that work. Schemes that will get built and are affordable to clients.

Not just drawing pretty extensions for the sake of it.

Solving the awkward stuff.

The low roofs.
The tight layouts.
The “we love the area but we’ve outgrown the house” problem.
The moment where moving feels like the only option, but staying could be better if the design is right.

Because sometimes the dream home isn’t somewhere else.

Sometimes it’s hiding under a crap roof pitch, waiting for someone to draw it out.

81 North Architecture
Good design. With a little nonsense.

Thinking about extending, remodelling or trying to make your current home work harder?

Let’s have a chat.

www.81northarchitecture.com

Always nice to get back out to site and see clients properly cracking on.This one has gone from a decent but slightly po...
28/05/2026

Always nice to get back out to site and see clients properly cracking on.

This one has gone from a decent but slightly pokey four-bed detached house into something much more serious.

The plan?

A proper family home.

Five bedrooms.
Mostly en-suite.
Big open-plan living space.
More room, better flow, space for family gatherings, and a house that actually works for modern family life.

And the best bit for us??? It’s actually getting built!

That might sound obvious, but anyone in design, architecture or construction will know it’s not always the case.

There’s often that exciting early-stage moment where everyone says:

“Right, while we’re doing it…” or worse... "I was watching Grand Designs last night and...."

Suddenly the brief grows arms, legs, a head, and the budget runs North!

More space.
More glass.
More bedrooms.
More wow factor.
More “can we just…”

Which is fine, by the way. That’s part of the process, but if the budget conversation doesn’t keep pace with the ambition, those schemes can quickly become drawings that sit in a folder rather than houses that get built.

That’s why we try to design with the end in mind.

Not just what looks good on a planning drawing.

Not just what gets a nice reaction on Instagram.

But what can actually get through planning, be priced properly, be understood by builders, and make it out of the ground without the client needing to sell a kidney and a classic car.

This project is a great example of that balance.

A big transformation.
A proper upgrade.
A dream family home in progress.
But still rooted in something buildable. and achievable within what has become a tricky planning department!

Because good design isn’t just about drawing the exciting bit.

It’s about helping clients get from “we’d love to do this” to “we’re actually doing this”.

That's where we come in....

81 North Architecture
Good design. With a little nonsense.

Need help creating your dream extension?

www.81northarchitecture.com

Grant Hewitt has had his crayons out...Potential new build barn in a rural location for a client. This one will be amazi...
01/05/2026

Grant Hewitt has had his crayons out...

Potential new build barn in a rural location for a client. This one will be amazing 😍😍😍

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