For us, design is a contemporary response to people and place, that, at its best, is meaningful, functional and accessible.

Our work is consistently recognised in major industry awards, including winning 55 RIBA awards. We are proud to have won the RIBA Stirling Prize for Accordia, a scheme widely regarded as setting a new benchmark for housing in the UK. We started small 40 years ago and continue to be committed to social and humanistic values in our work, to deliver acclaimed buildings and to take part in dialogue on place, heritage and climate change. 

From large-scale urban design to the all-important incidental spaces in our buildings, architecture can have a positive impact on society and humanity. We create buildings and spaces that develop our culture and enhance our communities. It’s also a way of life for us and gives us a platform from which to engage in wider political issues from a cycling culture to a stance on creative education and an approach to heritage in the built environment.

The practice was founded in 1978 with a specific ambition to produce environmentally and socially responsive design. This ethos has flourished and developed and FCBStudios continues to have a holistic approach, at the forefront of low energy design, working with heritage and existing environments, One Planet Living and the Declare Climate Change Agenda. Through our knowledge of the performance of the buildings we have designed, we provide solutions to support the imperative transition to a zero-carbon economy.
Read more at fcbstudios.com/Climate

Our architecture is rooted in a humane modernism that is socially progressive and environmentally responsible. Our work starts with forensic research on the, often multiple, uses for the building and its physical environment. Creating engaging spaces internally and sensitivity to external surroundings. Our architectural language is pluralist, generated by context – of its time and of its place. Each design having its own character and identity with a shared sensibility towards materials and the craft of making.

Social value and environmental responsibility is at the heart of our practice. We are committed to designing communities at home and abroad that support sustainable lifestyles and accommodate different patterns of living, learning and working. Our buildings aim to provide a strong sense of identity for their users.

We actively support community and educational projects in East Africa through our own charity, The Feilden Foundation.

Our architecture comes from a response to place. This includes the physical and environmental context, its history and its potential futures. We blend typologies to create places for people that add to their surroundings. Using the technologies of our time we craft the material language and form which express the particularities of an urban site or a rural landscape. Working with a sense of place we create and recreate bespoke and imaginative places where people can thrive.

Our priority is helping clients make great architecture that serves their particular needs and responds in a vital way to its context. We work in collaboration with like-minded consultants and we have global connections with organisations and charities that enable us to share our skills and test evolving knowledge about sustainable design, changing approaches to city dwelling and our requirements of our homes and workplaces. We invest in a wide programme of research which enables us to be inventive and to find new, unexpected solutions as well as learning from projects in use.

We enjoy the ‘making’ of buildings: crafting light, space and form to create memorable and functioning places. We continually explore new developments in the technology of materials and, whether working with traditional craftsmen or design subcontractors, we believe strongly in creative collaboration.

Modelmaking plays an important role in design development at FCBStudios, and is considered integral to the design process. The practice has workshops across its studios, providing state of the art facilities accessible to all.

The impact of buildings on our health goes beyond light and ventilation. Research shows that building design contributes to the success of medical treatment, that the relationship with nature and the development of a sense of community have had a strong impact on the success of housing developments and the success of creating a healthy office environment is proven. We bring this learning not only into our health projects, but to create healthy communities.  

A collaborative multidisciplinary shared way of working is the key to successful projects, both internally within our open studio culture and externally with our clients, consultants and contractors. We actively work with wider stakeholders as participants, not only to ensure practicality and economy but to ensure we produce designs that are owned and loved. Our architects regularly engage in teaching and research maintaining links and exchanging ideas and experience with peers, academics and the next generation.