Our Vision is to deliver amazing, environmentally friendly, architecture coupled with outstanding customer experience at all times, for ALL people, because everyone deserves good architecture that changes their life for the better. This is architecture that people love. This is our purpose.
1997 – now. Over 28 years of valuable experience
Ikonografik Design was established in 2005, by myself, Nathan Oliver, initially as a vehicle to help provide freelance services to large architectural practices in the Sheffield region. During this time, I mainly worked on large scale, publicly funded, healthcare and education projects. I was one of the senior designers on the c£550m Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham while working freelance at Building Design Partnership [BDP – a major, award winning, international architectural practice]. Before working at BDP I worked at several architectural practices up and down the country, some large and some small.
During the last 28 years I’ve had the privilege of working on hundreds of buildings and projects. Some of these include healthcare, education, domestic, cafes, funeral, medical research, leisure, retail, offices, industrial, agricultural, student accommodation, churches and several heritage properties.
Working as a freelancer went well for several years until the recession of 2008. This led to a downturn in publicly funded projects from central government and eventually in 2011 I was made redundant, twice.
Considering the options available at that time I decided to try and establish Ikonografik Design as a standalone micro architectural practice, offering architectural design and project management services for smaller scale projects. This meant I could remain local in Sheffield as I love living here, didn’t have to commute long distances and could see more of my family.
This also meant I could renew my interest in low energy, sustainable buildings. This was a focus during my architectural studies but when working for large practices, I observed this was not often taken seriously and physically implemented in meaningful ways. I’ve aimed to change this and since establishing Ikonografik Design as a standalone architectural practice, I’ve been fortunate to have worked on some innovative projects, where true sustainability has been a genuine focus. I’ve learnt a lot and I’m continuing to learn. Further study and sustainable architectural qualifications have been obtained, with further qualifications on the horizon, all aligned with sustainable architecture and building.
28+
Years experience
100+
Commercial +
Domestic Projects
10+
Services provided
Nationwide
Client + project base
Our unique design method, which involves a meticulous and obsessive attention to detail and technical performance, has also been able to flourish. We really feel this approach saves our Clients’ money and time, in the long run, of a project life cycle. We believe we have many satisfied Clients who can testify that our method works.
We’ve also come to understand that buildings are essentially about people, the people who use and enjoy them, people like you and me, and our families. This is the key ingredient to understanding how to make buildings work.
We don’t have a minimum project value. We feel any project, no matter the size has the potential to change someone’s life for the better. Whether that is a small-scale rearrangement of a couple of existing rooms, to a large-scale remodel and extension, to a full strip back and deep retrofit, to a new build project. As long as the project makes a positive difference to the lives of our Clients, we are happy.
We’re trying to buck the trend against consumerism, changing fashions and ‘disposable architecture’. We’re aiming to design and build attractive, durable and low maintenance buildings that stand the test of time.
We also love being fully involved in all aspects of a project and building relationships with the people who will use the building, from start to finish, which rarely happens on larger, commercial projects.
We always try to provide a professional and friendly personal service that makes things as easy as possible for our customers. We try to take care of everything with minimum involvement from our Clients. We try to respond to all queries within 24 hours, rapid communications are essential for a successful project. No question is too small or stupid.
If you’re bouncing around ideas…
… or if you’re ready to start your project or anything in between — please click the ‘Let’s talk’ button, send us a quick message and we’ll get back in touch soon to arrange your design consultation.
We often work with people who have very little or no experience with architectural design or building projects. We are on hand to help guide our Clients’ to the best solution, that is best for them and their unique circumstances.
All projects are checked and overseen by myself, Nathan Oliver. With over 28 years’ experience I have first-hand experience of many situations and circumstances and know how to deal with them.
We have established valuable relationships with reliable and quality building contractors who we can recommend with confidence.
We have also built up effective relationships with many other construction specialists, such as Structural Engineers, Quantity Surveyors and other associated professionals. If we think you should use the services of such experts, we will only recommend firms we are confident of working with. We’ve done the homework so you don’t have to.
The company primarily comprises myself, Nathan Oliver, supported by a range of external professional assistants. We support a remote working environment, backed up by regular meetings, including real world, in person meet ups, to build strong relationships. We are intending to expand slightly by taking on part time architectural staff to support the growing demand for our services.
We feel we can help you create something beautiful, practical and long lasting, that brings all the above factors together at the right time.
In my spare time I enjoy spending time with my family and friends and trying to cycle around the Peak District. I also spend some of my time serving and volunteering as a Sheffield Street Pastor.
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