Design collaboration
Bespoke Solar Design
Bespoke solar design is the studio's core discipline: treating the array as part of the composition rather than a bought-in add-on. We collaborate with architects and self-builders — from concept sketches to detailed specification — to resolve solar as a considered element of the building.
The array as part of the design
On most projects, solar is decided last and looks like it. Panels are dropped onto whatever roof area remains, in whatever pattern fills it, with no regard for how the elevation reads. Bespoke solar design reverses that order: the array is laid out as a deliberate composition, aligned to ridges, hips, rooflights and the rhythm of the elevation.
That might mean a full-pitch integrated roof, a precisely centred in-roof zone, or a mix of technologies across different faces of the building — resolved so the finished result looks intentional from every approach.
Working with architects and self-builders
We are used to sitting inside a project team. For architects, we act as the solar specialist who can carry an integrated idea from concept through to a buildable detail without diluting it. For self-builders, we translate an aspiration — a clean roof, a strong energy story, a home that will still look right in twenty years — into a specification that trades and planners can work to.
- 1 Concept and feasibility — what is achievable on this building, and how it should look.
- 2 Technology selection — solar tiles, BIPV, in-roof or a considered combination.
- 3 Layout and integration detailing — the array set out against the architecture.
- 4 Specification and coordination — clear information for the wider design and build team.
Independent, and on your side of the table
Because we are not tied to a single product, our design advice is genuinely open: we recommend the system that serves the building, not the one we happen to stock. That independence is what lets us sit alongside a client and their architect as a specialist adviser rather than a supplier pushing a range.
Frequently asked questions
Do you work directly with our architect?
Yes — that is how most of our projects run. We join the design team as the solar specialist, working from your architect's drawings and intent to resolve the array as an integrated element rather than an afterthought bolted on at the end.
Can you help at the concept stage, before detailed drawings exist?
Ideally, yes. The earlier we are involved, the more freedom there is to design solar into the roof or façade properly. We are happy to advise from concept sketches on what is achievable and how it should look.
Are you tied to particular manufacturers?
No. We specify solar tiles, BIPV and in-roof systems from whichever manufacturer best suits the building, which keeps our design advice independent and focused on the result rather than on selling a single range.
Considering bespoke solar design?
Tell us about your building and the stage you're at. We'll advise on the right approach and, where it fits, take the project through to a finished installation.