Curl la Tourelle Head Architecture

If there’s one thing we’ve learned makes better buildings, it’s empathy. Architecture never happens in isolation—and simply by being interested and engaged, we’ve found it’s possible to open up the conversations that connect a scheme to its clients and community.

We believe that the more constraints there are, the better the architecture. If there aren’t any constraints, we create them. Challenging sites, existing buildings and complex briefs almost always present incredible opportunities for great design.

To limit our environmental impact, we start with what is already there. By manipulating the form and fabric of a building—whether new or existing—we can work with the existing conditions of topography, light and orientation, and harness the natural energy sources offered by air, ground and water.

If a site’s constraints guide the bigger design decisions, then it’s empathy that informs the smaller, social details. These details frame the human narratives that aren’t included in the brief, anticipating specific moments in the users’ lives.

Good architecture is as much about what happens on the building site as it is about what’s on the drawing board. By working alongside contractors as well as clients we can ring-fence the ideas and details that matter, championing the quality of the building throughout its construction.

Curl la Tourelle Head

Sailor's Church & Former Home for Smack Boys, Ramsgate

Sensitive restoration of Grade II Listed buildings
Retention and re-use, fabric first approach to sustainability

Alfreton Park Community Special School

Open, light-filled spaces for a range of activities
Outdoor learning spaces connected to park surrounds

The Clock House Ramsgate

Restoration and repurpose of a Garde II* Listed building

Constrained and costal environment within the Grade II* Listed Royal Ramsgate Harbour

Walpole Bay - Testing New Uses

Community engagements to shape the project brief
Public wellbeing spaces connected to the Grade II Listed Tidal Pool

Hornsey Library

Preservation and restoration of a Grade II Listed community asset
Retention and re-use, fabric first approach to sustainability

Herne Bay King's Hall

‘Access for All’ cultural, creative and community destination

Iconic symbols within the Herne Bay Conservation Area

Revitalise Peckham Rye

Tight site and budgetary guidelines 
Extending the park into the new buildings

Morland Gardens

Rooftop gardens and sheltered courtyard green spaces
100% social housing, adult education and affordable workspace

New Towns, Stevenage

DETAILS from the UK's first New Town
Quality detailing during an economic downturn

Whitehall Museum

Five hundred year old Grade II* Listed museum
Sensitive extensions improving access for all

Big House for the Arts

Pockets of interaction in circulation spaces
Efficient form to absorb messy activities

Models

A tool for designing and testing space
A tool for understanding and communicating space

New Towns, Milton Keynes

Details from the 'city of firsts'
Individual character within the kilometer grid

Public Library and Archive

Herne Bay Central Bandstand

‘Access for All’ cultural, creative and community destination

Iconic symbols within the Herne Bay Conservation Area

Carlisle Library

Preservation and restoration of a Grade II Listed community asset

Retention and re-use, fabric first approach to sustainability

Carshalton Boys Sport College

Timber lined Judo Hall
Thermal mass and natural stack ventilation

1A Community Centre

Unity Hub at Craig Park

Co-designed with the hub's young people
Reusing, extending and transforming an existing youth club

Barbican Flat

Sutton Social Housing

Multiple small garage sites with access constraints

Chimneys for passive stack ventilation

Wanstone Court, St Margaret's Bay Dover

Sensitive extension of Grade II Listed Farmhouse

Locally sourced windfall timber frame and cladding

Teviot Avenue

100% social housing, mixture of housing and apartments

Designed to meet the needs of existing and future residents

Military Road Housing for the Homeless, Dover

100% social housing with sustainability focus

Sloping garage infill site overlooking Conservation Area

Central Library

The community back at the heart of the High Street
Re-use and re-purpose of an existing retail unit