Andy discusses the purpose of Design Review, how it’s use can promote good design and how it might work for your project.

Every week we have an office catch-up where we get together and talk about what we’ve been working on and the challenges we have faced. This week the challenges were particularly interesting, so we thought we’d write them down.

Andy explains how our collaboration with Chris & Rob from 'With Love' came about and how he tried to avoid it. 

Earlier this month, three of my friends and I took on the challenge of cycling 910 miles from Lands End to John O Groats. Having been back for a few days I have had the chance to think about why I ride, and what it means to me.

How the right questions, and our answers to them can reveal a lot about our mindset and attitude towards learning.

“There is no better form of motivation, than helping to inspire other people to do great things”. Andy reflects on Murmurations 2018 and how it came about in the first place.

River Swimming, Yoga in the grass and airborne marquees… it must be the Raise Summer Feast.

Has your work ever been rejected?

Rejection can be hard to bear. It nibbles away at your confidence and sows the seeds of self-doubt. But the reality is that rejection is an illusion, here’s why.

As we quickly approach the time of year where we look to take on new students for their year out in practice, we asked the team what books they would recommend for the new students about to join us. 

It's a big step from the world of education to the world of work. Jennifer, one of our architects-in-waiting joined us straight from university last October.

She's keeping a diary of her transition from student to architect, and has shared some excerpts with us. 

Although it tends to be dominated by flashy, multi-million pound projects, this year a couple of smaller scale, sensitive projects caught our eye. 

At a recent catch-up meeting, we asked everyone 'if you had the opportunity to influence the design of a future project, what would you do? What one thing would you bring to the project?'

Recently, Chloe happened to mention that she loved cooking for people and that she’d like to do more. This was obviously an opportunity that couldn’t be missed, and so, the Raise Supper Club was born.

In his latest article for the Sherborne Times, Andy explores the idea of the threshold, and what it means to someone just starting out in their architectural career.

I went for a walk, got muddy and discovered that I knew nothing about leadership. 

This is how it all began. I listened, whilst sipping a cocktail, as my friend outlined an ambitious and exciting plan for developing a business and it seemed that there may be a place in the middle of this for me!

How can you find new influences and inspiration when you need it? Andy explores the answer to this question in his latest piece for the Sherborne Times. 

Sometimes, you read a book and you forget it the next day. Other times you read a book and it changes the way you think for ever...

When it is given a name? When it is branded? When it is marketed? When it has a website? When it forms a community? When it is seen to be socially useful? Yes, all of these things, and much more...

How do we work out what's holding us back? And how do we overcome it? Andy's thoughts on overcoming obstacles and working out what we really want.

In November, we assembled the Bristol Collective to discuss where we've been, and where were headed. Here's what we got up to.

A few weeks back, Andy asked us all to have a think about our motivations, aspirations and what gets us out of bed in the morning. Here's Anja's take on it.

In the past few months four new team members have joined us: Liam, Jennifer, Chloe & David. Here are some clues as to how they are going to influence us.

I only had one problem to solve. There was nobody to tell me what to do or how to do it. I had the opportunity to learn how to do one thing well. And how often does that happen?

Back in July, Robert and I  were married in Tipperary, Ireland.

Rob is Irish and, rather predictably, he’s an architect too. So where do two architects choose to go for their honeymoon?

Everybody watches TV. What we choose to watch can give an insight into the types of people we are. With three new faces in the office this month, we thought it would be interesting to share a bit about ourselves...

It turns out we're all 'topophiliacs'. But what does that mean, and why is it important?

Andy's take on what makes places special.

To what extent should new buildings in Chester make reference to the incredible architectural legacy of the place? 

On 17th May we held an event at Storyhouse, the amazing new theatre and cultural centre in Chester. Over a hundred of our friends turned out to hear about our plans...