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 quality and sustainability throughout construction.

Curl la Tourelle Head

Alfreton Park Community Special School

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

Alfreton Park Community Special School, RIBA National and East Midlands Awards 2024, Winner

Revitalise Peckham Rye

Creating a more flexible and accessible community asset
Stitching the building into the park

Sutton New Social Housing - Large Sites

Multiple small garage sites with access constraints

Chimneys for passive stack ventilation

Walpole Bay - Testing New Uses

Project brief shaped by community engagement
Public wellbeing spaces connected to the Grade II Listed Tidal Pool

Communicating through modelmaking

A tool for designing and testing spaces
Engaging with ideas away from the screen

Conservation in action - The Grove

Whitehall Museum

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

Unity Hub at Craig Park

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

Priory SEND School

Forest school in an urban context

Woodland setting as an extension of the learning environment

Big House for the Arts

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

Hornsey Library

Sensitive restoration of a Grade II Listed community asset
Future-proofing the building fabric with a focus on decarbonisation

Carlisle Library

Revitalisation of a Grade II Listed community asset

Embedding playfulness into the design

Herne Bay King's Hall

‘Access for All’ cultural, creative and community destination

Iconic symbol within the Herne Bay Conservation Area

Celebrating Alfreton Park Community Special School

A heart-warming message from Derbyshire

CLTH journey in school design

Studio Life at CLTH Barbican Office!

Herne Bay Central Bandstand

‘Access for All’ cultural, creative and community destination

Iconic symbol within the Herne Bay Conservation Area

Teviot Avenue

Sustainable Social Housing Scheme

Creating moments for community interaction

Later Living in Bromley

Creating moments for social interaction

High-quality homes and specialised facilities

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

Sensitive restoration of Grade II Listed harbour buildings
Rationalising the historic fabric to create community space

The Clock House Ramsgate

Restoration and repurpose of a Grade II* Listed building

Constrained and coastal environment within the Grade II* Listed Royal Harbour

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

Modelmaking workshop

A tool for designing and testing spaces
Engaging with ideas away from the screen

New Towns, Milton Keynes

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

Bethnal Green Heritage Centre

Community hub for the past, present, and future of London’s East End

Historic collections accessible to the public for research purposes

Carshalton Boys Sports College

Mass timber framed Judo Hall
Classrooms future-proofed for changing learning needs

1A Community Centre

Barbican Flat

Careful preservation and restoration of Grade II Listed interior

Greening architecture specifications

Sutton Social Housing

Multiple small garage sites with access constraints

Chimneys for passive stack ventilation

Military Road Housing for the Homeless, Dover

High-quality homes for those in urgent need

Sloping garage infill site overlooking the sea

Central Library

Bringing the community back to the heart of the High Street
Retrofit of an existing retail unit

Repurposing a Petrol Station Site

Infill site overlooking Kennington Conservation Area

Designed around existing mature vegetation

Newport Housing Rebuild

Zero Carbon 100% social housing scheme

Bedding new homes into the natural topography

UCL Student Gateway

Clock House Ramsgate Model

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