£50,000 funding will expand HomeNotes app with low carbon advice, EPD access, and an interface to help architects guide and monitor clients through projects
A practice led by two female architects has been awarded a £50,000 grant from Innovate UK to scale up their homeowner renovations advice app.
Amy Poulsom and Jane Middlehurst, co-founders of south London practice Poulsom Middlehurst, created HomeNotes to help homeowners navigate the challenges of renovations, from budgeting to design management, providing online courses, one-to-one consultations and free webinars.
A six-month research and development project will now see the tool expanded with AI functionality; the ability to make personalised recommendations for low-carbon materials and products; and to suggest renovation strategies that align with government sustainability targets.
Additionally, a new login will give architects access to tutorials and advice on how to run small-scale projects efficiently, manage client communications and follow a schedule for taking clients through brief making, budgeting and product specification.
Middlehurst said: ‘A lot of people have created retrofit-type apps, but the missing piece is getting the homeowner on board. The end goal is sustainability, but the first step is to get them in control of their projects so they can make those decisions. Without that, sustainability doesn't even come into play.’
The professional user subscription will cost £24 per month and was informed by Poulson Middlehurst’s experience working client-side and hearing homeowners complain about being left in the lurch after designers left pre-construction.
‘Architects often take a very light touch approach, working up to planning and Building Regs, then leaving clients totally on their own,’ says Middlehurst, ‘The other option is to hold their hands the whole way through, which is so time-intensive it just doesn't make the project viable.’
The app aims to find the middle ground by allowing architects to remain connected with clients after they move on, allowing them to oversee the rest of the process. ‘They're working within a framework, so architects can monitor it and ensure they don't veer off into difficult territory,’ says Middlehurst.
No code developer Million Labs is building the first iteration of the app and Poulsom Middlehurst plans to quiz potential end users on which aspects of the app would most benefit from AI functionality.
‘We're looking into whether it would suggest types of work, boil down the Building Regs so homeowners know which aspects are applicable to their project, or create basic scopes of work depending on the information input,’ says Middlehurst.
The designer also wants to ensure that running the AI and related servers isn’t too energy intensive, which would conflict with the app’s focus on encouraging low carbon, sustainable design.
The plan is to link the app to the European Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) database, allowing it to surface product carbon footprint information, which on supplier websites might remain hidden. The tool’s advice will also align with the UK’s carbon targets and government guidelines.
Readers can join a ‘waitlist’ providing updates on the imminent launch here