At AED the user's needs are paramount and remain centre stage in the design process. The accent is on providing a sympathetic design suited to the client's requirements in terms of spatial needs, building function, and budget to produce designs of character and quality that respond to the surroundings and context. Environmental concerns and long-term maintenance are priorities and care is taken in design to ensure energy efficiency and the use of renewable resources.

A project architect is responsible for each project from design right through to completion on site, administering the project under the supervision of the director.

AED provides full architectural consultancy services on the majority of projects, also acting as project managers, and carrying out budget estimating and cost control in house. AED believes that the Client and Architect make the majority of cost expenditure decisions at the outset of the project and that cost awareness at the point of design is the best method of budgetary control. On large projects AED offers a "one-stop shop" consultancy to its clients enhancing its in-house skills with specialist sub-consultancies such as engineering and quantity surveying. AED believes that with the whole design and project under a single point of command the client is better served by a fully co-ordinated team acting through one contact.

Projects are undertaken with computer aided design and co-ordinated project information utilising AutoCAD and the National Building Specification. AED writes its own project specification and carries a wide range of technical and product sources.

In keeping with its aim to simplify the project team and minimise conflict within the team AED provides its own Planning Supervisor consultancy. Health and Safety decisions and information are fully incorporated into the design and production information process.

Each Architect is sufficiently familiar with all projects in the Practice to oversee progress and quality and cost control. Periodic meetings review and monitor each project at critical stages to ensure that project objectives set out at project inception are achieved. On completion each project is reviewed, critical data recorded and a project appraisal retained.