JH Architectural Ltd is a chartered architectural practice based in Aberdeenshire, working with homeowners and families on extensions, new builds, conversions and refurbishments across Scotland.
2007
JH Architectural began working with homeowners on residential design projects.
2012
The practice completed its first project involving a place of worship.
2014
JH Architectural undertook its first project involving a listed building.
2014
Recognition of the practice's professional standards and technical competence.
2016
The practice expanded its experience with its first new build and off-grid project.
2019
JH Architectural completed its first church conversion project.
2022
Energy assessments and SAP calculations were brought in-house.
2023
JH Architectural Ltd was incorporated.
2026
The practice completed its first office conversion project.
James established the practice in 2007 and has worked on residential projects across Scotland ever since — from single-storey extensions and loft conversions to steading conversions and new houses in rural settings.
His focus is residential design: buildings that people live in every day. That means paying as much attention to circulation, daylight, storage and running costs as to the way a building looks from the road.
Clients consistently describe the same priorities in his approach — replies that arrive quickly, explanations without jargon, and a design developed with an eye on what it will cost to build.
Chartered status was achieved in 2014, and in 2022 James qualified as an OCDEA SAP assessor, allowing energy calculations to be carried out within the practice rather than outsourced.
Understand how the household actually uses the property before drawing anything.
Weigh the ambition against the building, the site and the budget.
The design follows the brief, not a house style.
Plain language about planning, warrants and what happens next.
Engineers, surveyors and assessors brought in only where needed.
Prompt responses and steady progress through each stage.
Chartered status held since 2014, as shown by the CIAT Chartered Practice mark in the practice identity.
Qualified in 2022 to produce SAP calculations and U-value assessments for new builds and conversions.
Aberdeenshire is home and the majority of projects are within the county and the surrounding north east. Site visits, surveys and meetings are straightforward across this area.
Work has also been carried out in Dumfries and Galloway, the Highlands and further south in Devon. Projects elsewhere in Scotland are welcome — get in touch and we can talk through whether it will work well.
A short conversation is usually enough to work out what is possible and what the next step should be.