Haxton Koyander

“When you're halfway through a build and hit a problem, you swiftly have to find a solution. More often than not, it ends up being a better solution than you'd originally planned.”

Working on the famous Chatsworth Estate

I re-engaged with Koyander’s old clients, one of them being the Chatsworth Settlement Trustees  and landed several projects with them. One was for the Cavendish Hotel in Baslow, a beautiful 17th century coaching inn. We came up with the idea of turning a dilapidated coach house in the grounds into accommodation and gave the hotel not only a new income stream, but also its first accessible bedrooms.

The design was simple and subtle. We made the bedrooms multi functional, giving all levels of accessibility with the same degree of quiet style and luxury which is evident everywhere at the Cavendish. It worked well, and they became very successful.

We were invited back to create the hotel’s new garden room, a beautiful space opening out onto a new terrace we created, with views of Chatsworth estate. It not only gave the hotel more space for customers taking breakfast, brunch and lunch, but also the first fully accessible route into the hotel for people with mobility issues.

We were also part of the redevelopment of the commercial kitchen, working closely with the head chef on a design that gave him a much faster turnaround of food, higher staff levels, and better access to the new restaurant.

Working for the Chatsworth Settlement Trustees was one of our major triumphs and they were extremely happy. We've also done a number of farm conversions for the Trustees, too, turning redundant buildings into holiday lets; giving them a new life.

Current heritage building project

Our work on the hotel’s coach house won us an award with the Derbyshire Historic Buildings Trust - and that brought about an introduction to a new client - the Strutt Cousins Trust, descendants of the Strutt family, who owned several farms around Belper.

We are now in our fifth year of working for the Trust on a potential regeneration project.

Creating new, bespoke luxury homes

We also love creating bespoke, unique homes from scratch. A project of this kind really fires our imagination - and our passion for researching the latest materials and methods such as renewable energy, heat and water conservation.

We completed one such project recently in Derbyshire. A couple had bought a redundant farm in a beautiful location and wanted to demolish it and build their dream forever home on the site. It was contrary to what we'd normally push for - the retention and reuse of an old building - but a restoration would have cost them a lot more than building new.

Planners wanted the road-facing side to be traditional in style, but on the rear we were able to use large amounts of glass, bringing lots of light into the building and maximising the fabulous views. We worked with their desire for big entertaining spaces coupled with intimate living spaces.

There's a gym, too, balconies and a stunning walk-in wardrobe. The couple also bought the field next door so they could put in a ground -source heat pump, meaning the house has no need of a gas supply. We used a technique called SIP panel construction - structural insulated panels on a steel frame and clad in stone. The house is as stunning as it is super-efficient - and the client is extremely happy with it.

What I love about the job

I love meeting clients and reaching that point where you click and they understand you are on the same page - and the chase for new projects. But I also love the fact that I see every project through from start to finish. Working from that first conversation through to the successful completion of the task a client entrusted me with, and seeing their happiness with the end result, is so very rewarding.

I also really enjoy solving problems; finding workarounds. Like when you're halfway through a build and the client changes their mind about something, or the builder hits a problem, and you very swiftly have to find a solution. More often than not, it ends up being a better solution than you'd originally planned.

From the (literal) drawing board to AI – a changing industry

I started my career using a drawing board - sketching everything out by hand and using lots of tracing paper. Now that work is done via AutoCAD, and we're moving into the realms of AI. We have tools now that enable us to explore changes from something we have photographed - a more sophisticated, architectural version of what most people now do on CHAT GPT when they want to see what a new room colour will look like.

For example, there's a bridge built by the Strutt family in Belper. It has no bearing on our current project there, but the client wanted to open it up as a footpath. It is open to one side and it's listed.

We were tasked with finding a solution which satisfied the conservation officer and which allowed people to cross in safety. We used AI to mock up various changes and it was incredibly quick - I think we produced six presentations in an afternoon. It would have taken days without AI.

Leading on education of old buildings

You still get builders and developers who cause long-term damage when they restore old, non-cavity wall properties. They think it’s fine to knock lime plaster off an old wall and dot-and-dab plasterboard straight on, and cover stone-flagged floors with concrete, but they are taking away the building’s chance to breathe. Some of their ‘renovation’ methods mean moisture has nowhere to go but up the walls. The job may look wonderful when it’s just been completed, but the building is going to suffer in the future.

Thankfully though, there is now a growing understanding in the construction sector of how old buildings were made, and why - what methods and materials were used and how they work.

These old methods make perfect sense - and they teach us how to do things when we re-work old buildings. Creating breathable floors, for instance. Breathable insulation made from glass fibre can be put beneath stone flags set on earth. Walls need to be pointed and finished with lime-based mortar, plaster or render so the whole building can breathe and moisture circulates naturally.

The main hurdle is educating people in the industry, or home-owners doing a renovation themselves, to respect old methods and principles and learn how to use them for the long-term benefit of our old properties.

Investing in the future

Being at the forefront of that understanding is very important to our practice. Our technician Scott is currently on a postgraduate course in this arena and is already bringing these skills into our work.

Our employee John is a structural engineer retraining as an architect on a two-year release course with Cambridge University. He's just finished his first year, and is bringing new knowledge and developing skills to the team.

Working with Gravitate

"Gravitate are much more than accountants; they are strongly motivated by a willingness to advise and not just be simple number crunchers"

I've been with Gravitate for a number of years - we have grown and changed in that time and so has Gravitate.

Its team has always been very patient with me - I'm not knowingly ever on time with receipts or responding to email requests and questions! When you’re hands-on, running a business with a small team, you always think there’s something much more important to do. It’s a good company to have as an accountant.

I’ve already touched on Gravitate’s patience, but other key attributes are their overall understanding of what it takes to keep a small business going and the fact that they have many other contacts we can call on if required.

I would say the Gravitate people are much more than accountants; they are strongly motivated by a willingness to advise and not just be simple ‘number crunchers’.