We curate and maintain a core library of design and construction components through a systematic approach, optimising site value for clients. Key aspects include:

Intelligent Replication: This allows us to apply perfected standard design components in creative ways to create locally distinctive homes and places.

Core Library Development: Including construction details, plan elements (like stairs, balconies, kitchens), standard house types, and modular apartments. It streamlines design processes, saving time and reducing costs.

Collaboration and Flexibility: we work with clients and consultants to develop proposals that incorporate standardized components.

Quality Control and Continuous Improvement: Our Knowledge Hub ensures technical advice and continuous updates to the library, keeping components aligned with current regulations and best practices.

Project Quality Plan (PQP): Each project follows a PQP, ensuring consistent application of library components and effective project management.

We offer expert knowledge and valuable industry insights on a range of specialist topics:

• KS01    Design Coding for Quality
• KS02    Innovative approaches to suburban development
• KS03    Co-location
• KS04    Co-Production and Engagement
• KS05    Retrofit and Regeneration Opportunities
• KS06    Later Living Design and Context
• KS07    Deck Access
• KS08    Shading
• KS09    Distinctively Local
• KS10    Sustainable Design of Homes and Neighbourhoods
• KS11    Infill Development
• KS12    Social Value & the Happy Homes Toolkit

If you're interested in arranging a session, please get in touch with us KnowledgeHub@ptea.co.uk

We write, design, edit, and publish design codes and strategic guidance for local authorities, housing associations, developers, and housebuilders which are regularly cited as exemplars in the UK’s National Design Guide and National Model Design Codes.

Our design guides, shaped through collaborative workshops with client teams, have played a key role in steering long-term development, promoting affordable and healthy neighbourhoods across the country.

We co-create product books with industry partners, standardising products while maintaining quality through continual review and analysis.

Intelligent replication is the term we use to describe the use of standard design components that have been perfected over many years in our projects. These components, recombined in creative ways to produce locally distinctive homes and places, ensure we can deliver cost-effective, site-specific designs. Intelligent replication was central to the design of:

• Beechwood Village, Essex
• Juniper House, Walthamstow 
• Marleigh, Cambridge 

We offer industry-leading expertise in building safety, combining regulatory knowledge with hands-on experience to support clients in meeting the highest safety standards.

As a qualified Principal Designer under the new Building Safety regime, including for higher-risk buildings, we bring RIBA-registered expertise to ensure compliance and risk management. Our dedicated Knowledge Hub team acts as project guardians, overseeing safety, buildability, and regulatory adherence from concept to completion.

We specialize in building remediation, applying rigorous risk assessments and our ISO-9001 accredited Project Quality Plan (PQP) to identify and mitigate hazards. Our Design Risk Assessments proactively address construction, use, and maintenance risks, ensuring seamless collaboration and accountability across all stakeholders.

By integrating safety into every stage of design and remediation, we can deliver secure, high-quality solutions that meet evolving industry regulations while protecting building users and communities.

Compliance is integral to every stage of our work, ensuring safety, quality, and regulatory integrity. We stay ahead of evolving regulations and safety standards through ongoing training, discussions, and CPD sessions, especially in response to post-Grenfell reforms. With expertise in housing guidance and regulatory frameworks, we've contributed to key policy documents like the London Housing Design Guide, helping us influence industry standards.

Our in-house Knowledge Hub offers technical support, design reviews, and audits for compliance at each stage. Specialists in fire safety and regulations ensure best practices and risk mitigation. Non-combustible materials are specified for buildings over 18m, with case-by-case reviews for lower-rise developments.

A Project Design Guidance schedule ensures consistency across planning, regulatory, and technical aspects. Independent audits and Design Risk Assessments proactively identify and address potential hazards. Ongoing staff training equips our team with up-to-date knowledge, ensuring safe, high-quality, and future-proofed developments.