The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Pandemic driving work adjustments
Along- established Scottish firm of architects reports that it is receiving more inquiries from property owners seeking to add a study to their home since the Covid-19 outbreak.
Muir Walker Pride also says another strong trend is the desire to improve existing houses to make them more energy efficient and spacious.
The business has a long history, with its roots going back to a venture set up by Jesse Hall in St Andrews 170 years ago.
In 2011, it merged with Muir Associates – which had been co-founded in Perth in 1995 by husband and wife Ian and Reseda Muir – and the enterprise then became Muir Walker Pride (MWP).
The business, which has its headquarters in St Andrews and also an office in Perth, has a team of eight professionals.
Reseda, the business development director, said
MWP is currently working on around 60 projects at d i fferent stages o f development, from preplanning consultations to overseeing construction works.
She added: “We enjoy a long-standing reputation of go-to architects for challenging projects that require a specific and meticulous approach, an open mind, and patience.
“The practice has won prestigious professional awards and enjoyed working with many interesting clients and suppliers – it makes our job fascinating.
“We success fu l ly achieved challenging planning consents for many of our clients who struggled to obtain permissions for years.
“Building is not an easy process, so it is very satisfying to know that we help people to resolve complicated issues.
“We a lso are the custodians of one of the o lde s t con t inuou s businesses in Scotland – we are proud to be at the helm.”
Reseda said the firm has been successful due to having a great team crafting attractive and functional buildings which clients appreciate.
But she added: “We still must adapt and develop every day, so the ability to learn and move with the times is also very important for this business.”
Most of MWP’s work is in Fife and Tayside, but it also has projects elsewhere in Scotland as well as farther afield in London and Moscow.
Jobs under way include a development of flats in the h is tor ic cen tre o f St Andrews, on the site of a former police station on North Street.
Reseda said: “It is the first building in the heart of St Andrews to have an underground car park and lifts. The main challenges were obtaining planning consent in a conservation area and the technical constructional difficulties posed by the tight infill site.
“An archaeological dig was carried out prior to construction with some curious findings going back to medieval times”.
Asked about the impact of coronavirus on MWP, she said the business had a good 2019 and it was anticipated that this year would also be very successful – but then came the lockdown.
“We made use of the jobretention scheme for some employees,” said Reseda.
“It really was helpful as it bought us precious time unt i l work star ted returning.
“The restrictions meant that our team worked remotely, meetings were online and we became more reliant on technology.
“It was hard work to manage the process of adjusting to such a sudden change – we think our team did very well.”