Architectural design — Jersey only

Looking for an architect in Jersey

Q: Do I need a registered architect in Jersey?

No. Jersey does not require the person who designs your extension or conversion to hold the protected title "architect". What matters is that whoever prepares the drawings understands Jersey planning policy and the Building Bye-Laws. Our team are architectural technologists and technicians with the specific qualifications listed on this page.

Q: What is the difference between an architect and an architectural technologist?

An architect holds a protected title after a long academic and professional route, and tends to lead on large or complex buildings. An architectural technologist specialises in the technical design and construction detail — the drawings a builder actually works from. For domestic extensions, conversions and alterations, a technologist is generally the better fit and the cheaper one.

Q: Do you design the scheme as well as apply for permission?

Yes. Design and application are one job here. We survey the property, design the scheme against what Jersey policy will actually approve, then take it through both planning and building bye-law approval.

Q: Can you work from my own sketches or an existing set of drawings?

Yes. Bring whatever you have. We often start from a homeowner sketch or a previous set of drawings that stalled, and we will say honestly whether the scheme is worth pursuing as drawn.

Q: Do you do 3D visuals?

Yes, in-house. They help on neighbour-sensitive schemes and in conservation areas, where showing the officer what the finished thing looks like in context is worth more than another elevation.

Most Jersey homeowners searching for an architect actually need an architectural technologist — the person who produces the technical drawings a builder can price and build from. That is what we do, and we have done it on the island since 1993.

Architect, technologist, or planning agent?

The titles get used interchangeably in Jersey and they should not be. "Architect" is a protected title held after a long academic and professional route, and it is the right appointment for a complex or large building. An architectural technologistspecialises in technical design and construction detail. A planning agentruns the application through the States but may not design anything at all.

For a domestic extension, loft or garage conversion, replacement windows or a new build house, a technologist who also runs your application is the shortest and cheapest route. Jersey law does not require a registered architect for this work.

The people who would do your drawings

Three people, all Jersey-based. No subcontracted drawing office, no overseas CAD bureau.

Mike Smith

Director & Architectural Designer, Associate Member RICS

Mike is the owner of J.Design and an Associate Member of the RICS. He first came to Jersey in 1984, working for the Planning Department as a Development Control Officer — processing Building Bye-Law applications, inspecting works on site, and helping write the Jersey Building Bye-Laws themselves. After a period with Allan Miller Architects he joined J.Design in 1993 and purchased the firm in 2004. Today J.Design submits around 100 planning and building bye-law applications a year, with an 85% planning success rate and a 100% bye-law success rate.

Ian McCoy

Architectural Technician & Energy Assessor

Ian has worked in architecture since 2000 and has been with J.Design since 2004. He holds an HNC in Building Studies, is a registered Domestic Energy Assessor, and holds the NOCN Level 3 in Energy Efficiency Measures for Older and Traditional Buildings. Ian manages all aspects of planning and building control applications, from the initial site survey through to completion.

Stuart Mulholland

Architectural Technologist & Energy Assessor

Stuart holds a BSc (Hons) in Architectural Technology from Highlands College and is an Accredited Domestic Energy Assessor with over 20 years of industry experience. He works across residential and commercial projects, taking them from early concept design through planning and building bye-law applications using CAD and 3D software, and providing on-site advice during construction.

Qualifications held in-house

Mike SmithAssociate Member, RICS
Mike SmithFormer Development Control Officer, Jersey Planning Department
Ian McCoyHNC Building Studies
Ian McCoyRegistered Domestic Energy Assessor
Ian McCoyNOCN Level 3, Energy Efficiency in Older and Traditional Buildings
Stuart MulhollandBSc (Hons) Architectural Technology
Stuart MulhollandAccredited Domestic Energy Assessor

Two of the three are accredited Domestic Energy Assessors, so the energy calculations a Jersey bye-law application needs are produced in the same office as the drawings.

What we design

Each of these is a full service with its own detailed pages.

House extensionsSingle-storey, double-storey, rear, side, wraparound, kitchen.Loft conversionsDormer, Velux, hip-to-gable.Garage conversionsLiving room, bedroom, office, annexe.New builds and outbuildingsNew houses, self-build, annexes, garden rooms.Alterations and windowsReplacement windows, wall removals, reconfiguration.3D visualisation and reportsSee the scheme before it is built.

Drawings that do not stop at planning

A planning drawing only has to convince a planning officer. It can be dimensionally vague and still get approved. Your builder then cannot price it, and you pay a second designer for a second set. Our drawings carry every dimension, beam size, junction and specification, so the set that wins permission is the set the builder works from.

Across roughly 100 applications a year our planning success rate is 85% and our building bye-law success rate is 100%.

How Bylaw Plus drawings work

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a registered architect in Jersey?

What is the difference between an architect and an architectural technologist?

Do you design the scheme as well as apply for permission?

Can you work from my own sketches or an existing set of drawings?

Do you do 3D visuals?