Regenerative Practice The idea of regenerative practice now underpins all of our thinking as a studio. It seeks to go beyond traditional ideas of sustainability by framing the role of architecture within the wider ecosystem: to meet society’s need for buildings without breaching planetary boundaries. As founding signatories of the environmental movement Architects Declare and the RIBA 2030 Challenge, we now have a growing number of exemplary projects in development in the UK and internationally and are keen to work alongside clients who share our vision. We have found that a building project can also be an opportunity for us to help organisations re-evaluate their own purpose and mission in the face of the planetary emergency. To support this, we have four in house qualified Passivhaus designers and offer embodied carbon assessments, life cycle assessments for BREEAM accredited projects and Post Occupancy Evaluations amongst other related services.

Building Design One-off building projects have been our staple diet in the 30 years since our foundation. Over that time, we have acquired an international reputation for public cultural buildings, designed an award-winning portfolio of residential architecture of all scales and a growing expertise in education and making spaces, industrial intensification projects and workspace architecture. Historically we have not differentiated between new build and refurbishment in our attitude to new commissions, as a result of which we are particularly well placed to extend our expertise in the radical retrofitting of existing buildings that the environmental emergency now require.

Masterplanning and Urbanism We have completed a wide range of master planning projects, both as team leaders and as part of larger consultant consortia. We have worked in the public and private sectors with many of the UK’s top developers and consultants, seeking to design humane environments and vivid places for urban and rural situations. Increasingly on projects of urban scale we are able to be part of an early dialogue with progressive clients and local authorities to enrich use mixes, drive down carbon intensity, protect biodiversity and maximise human wellbeing.

Conservation and Heritage Much of our work has been completed in highly sensitive historic settings and on listed buildings. We see these designations not as constraints but as additional layers of richness and possibility, which we have folded into many award-winning adaptations (some radical) of existing buildings, landscapes and urban places. Working with imaginative clients, technical experts and forward-thinking conservation officers, we are actively engaged in the processes needed to bring historic buildings and estates into responsible alignment with environmental best practice and fiscal sustainability without sacrificing richness and resonance.

Public Consultation Architecture is for people, so a major aspect of our architectural practice is to build consensus and trust around emergent designs and to communicate as clearly and candidly as possible with the widest possible range of stakeholders. Working with clients and local authorities and sometimes collaborating with specialist facilitators, we have developed an effective presentation methodology for public consultation that is open to a genuine exploration, allowing for constructive criticism and the incorporation of good ideas from whichever source. We can draw on many successful examples of consultation at every scale of project, from a Grade I listed building upgrade to an urban masterplan.

Interior Design Whether for a new workspace, a housing project or an historic theatre, the interior texture and atmospherics of a building are at least as important as its external appearance. We enjoy imagining the day-to-day human interaction with buildings and so we fully design the interiors of the majority of our projects. We also regularly collaborate with specialist interior designers, visual artists, specialist makers and contractors from the early design stages and are well versed in the coordination and direction of multiple authorial voices.

Product Design Our projects occasionally demand bespoke designs for lighting, furniture, ironmongery and signage systems. These processes are intensely enjoyable, involving deep creative relationships with fabricators and craft-based makers. Where there is a wider potential market, we have set up retailing relationships so that our products can have a life beyond specific building projects. We are interested too in one-off projects for lighting and furniture design.