The Soho-based architecture and design practice, Szczepaniak Astridge, take a research-led approach to their work, prioritising wellbeing and the climate whilst marrying artistic spirit with the strength of science to create ‘Sensory Architecture’.

Szczepaniak Astridge’s approach to the procurement, collaboration and fabrication of their designs results in efficient and affordable outcomes that allow the culture’s they complement to thrive. The practice embrace the ephemeral, and consider it a key component to their designs, as it allows their constructions to change with time, growing into their true depth through their unrepeatable experience.

Szczepaniak Astridge work with ambitious individuals and organisations across the world, taking on all manner of projects – from residential homes to beauty and spa brands, and world-leading technologists – to create spaces that invigorate the senses and balance commercial and emotional value masterfully.

Image credit: Nicholas Worley

@szc.ast

Tamzin Greenhill was born and educated in London and studied at the London School of Design, forming Tamzin Greenhill Designs in 2003. She prides herself on her style that is sophisticated, comfortable and timeless. Her work has taken her to projects in London, New York, Geneva and Los Angeles and she has designed for clients including Charles Finch, Eddie Spencer, Nat Rothchild, Ellie Shultzman and collaborated on homes for David Bowie and Claudia Schiffer.

Thomas Griem holds a BA and a diploma in architecture, studying in Berlin and London, where he won the Hubert Sands Memorial Award. In 2011 he formed TG-Studio, an interior architecture practice offering tailored bespoke concepts and architectural services to commercial and residential clients in the UK and internationally. The Studio offers planning, new build and refurbishment architecture, interior design and decoration and product design. They work in the UK and internationally.

The AU was founded by UK-based interior stylist, Anna Unwin, as a curated resource of beautiful, one-off interior objects, lighting, textiles and furniture. The collection includes antique, mid-century and vintage items, each chosen due to their distinct design or idiosyncrasy. Some pieces are rare, some totally unique, and most are handcrafted using age-old skills that have passed through generations. All are sustainably sourced, balancing ethical and environmental considerations with Anna’s refined aesthetic.

As an interior stylist, Anna has worked for Aucoot Design Directory favourites Bauwerk Colour and House of Grey.

@anna.unwin

Founded by Alfred Newall, the London and Sussex-based cabinet makers The London Workshop specialise in designing and making historically inspired furniture using traditional joinery methods, with particular attention paid to proportion, functionality and longevity.

After training at the Building Crafts College, Newell took up a post at hallowed kitchen makers Plain English for two years, where he finessed his alchemic talent for transforming blocks of wood into beautiful pieces of furniture. He then set up his own practice in 2010 and continues to design bespoke, freestanding and fitted furniture for both private and commercial clients, using sustainably sourced materials. Last year saw him launch his first collection with The New Craftsmen – a selection of colourful tables in signature bobbin style, each one hand-turned on a traditional wood lathe. Other, simple items – such as bath racks, chopping boards and library steps – are stocked at Labour and Wait and LASSCO. Newall, a Brother of The Art Workers’ Guild, credits most of his inspiration to the Arts and Craft movement, and aims to replicate the simple, vernacular style with his own designs.

@alfrednewall

The New Craftsmen works with a selection of Britain’s finest craft makers to showcase the materials, skills and craft products of the British Isles. Founded in 2012 in Mayfair, London, The New Craftsmen currently represents a network of over 75 makers working in textiles, silverware, furniture, ceramics, jewellery, glassware and beyond. They represent a vision of sustainable, real luxury, expressed through dedication to makers, materials, method and design

They sell a carefully selected range of products and limited editions, forging collaborations with designers and makers to give a contemporary take on specific skills and materials. This enables customers, interior designers and architects to customise, commission and collaborate with them, developing bespoke pieces.

Interdisciplinary architecture and design studio, THISS, is driven by a sense of curiosity and exploration. Led by Tamsin Hanke and Sash Scott, projects by the London-based practice sit within the realms of architecture and landscape and by using carefully selected materials and low-impact methodologies, they apply a climate conscious approach, with Tamsin recently Passivhaus Certified. The studio has an adventurous perspective and specialises in nurturing a spirit of possibility, collaboration and resilience, finding interesting ways to make challenging things happen. Both Tamsin and Sash are actively involved in teaching architecture which carries a continual focus of innovation and experimentation through the studio’s work.

@thissworks

Aucoot Property Sales.
Grange Grove, Canonbury, London N1

Founded in 2015 in South West London, Tom Massey Studio takes on horticultural projects both in the UK and internationally, producing award-winning, sustainable and ecologically designed gardens for a mix of commercial and private clients. Since opening his studio, Tom has brought to light a range of pressing issues through his thought-provoking garden designs, most notably; the effect of climate change, food supply, drought and prejudice faced by refugees.

The studio’s recent accolades include a gold medal and BBC People’s Choice Awards for its 2021 Yeo Valley Organic Garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Alongside running his studio, Tom also tutors frequently at the London College of Garden Design in Kew and has recently appeared as a garden designer on BBC Two’s Your Garden Made Perfect.

@tommasseyuk

Image credits: The Yeo Valley Organic Garden, RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2021  by Britt Willoughby Dyer (cover and 1-3); East London Garden by Justin De Souza (5-6); Twickenham Garden by Alister Thorpe (7-9); and The Yard House by Alister Thorpe & Landscape Associates (10-11).

Tom Raffield founded his eponymous company in 2008, just after completing his degree in 3D Sustainability & Design. Having discovered the traditional, age-old technique of steam bending wood over his studies, he was determined and eager to put it to use, creating intricate curves and pleasing twists that mimic the organic shapes found in nature – Tom’s primary source of inspiration.

Today, Tom Raffield Ltd’s team of designers and craftsmen hand make lighting, furniture, accessories and spaces, all from the company’s Cornwall base. The remastering of this ancient craft for modern times leads to low levels of wastage, and negates the need for toxic glues. And, a deep understanding of both material and process means that the studio’s attitude to creativity is both broad and exciting.

Sustainability provides a further, central tenet for Tom Raffield Ltd, as their ethos sees it as integral to good design. Pieces are built to last and to be used through generations, and the efficiency of the steam-bending process means less waste is produced and less energy is used. The company recently became members of the WWF 2030 Circle to support the Trillion Trees programme.

@tomraffield

Established some 12 years ago by Founding Director Carl Turner, Turner.Works (formerly Carl Turner Architects) take on a wide range of projects – each bringing them together with like-minded people, organisations or communities to create places of purpose that imbue creativity. From shipping containers and car parks to exhibitions, work spaces and residential homes, Turner.Works design from a foundation of forward thinking, with imagination, determination and ambition as their central tenants.

With a highly skilled and multi-faceted team of architects, urban designers, makers and thinkers behind them, Turner.Works rethink spaces and places to create unique buildings to live, work and learn in. Highly energised and intuitively responsive, this design and architectural studio have collected a number of awards over the years, including the AYA Small Project Architect of the Year winners in 2017 and the Royal Institute of British Architect’s Manser Medal for Slip House in 2013.

Image credits: Kinnerton St, a collaboration with Well St Studio, by Lorenzo Zandri (1-6) Dutch Barn by French + Tye (7-10); Camberwell Coach House by Simon Cadle (11-12); Hove House by French + Tye (13-16); Ochre Barn by Damian Russell (17-19); Slip House by Tim Crocker (20-22); Stanhope Gardens by Tim Crocker (23-24).

@turner.works

A childhood spent in rural Lithuania inspired Ula Maria‘s deep connection with nature, and led to an award-winning career in garden and landscape design. Prior to this, Maria attended the School of Fine Arts in Lithuania before moving permanently to the UK in 2008. While studying for both a BA and MA in Landscape Architecture at Birmingham City University, Maria won the Landscape Institute’s John Knight award for both her undergraduate and postgraduate submissions.

She then went on to scoop the RHS Young Designer of the Year in 2017. After that, Maria gained experience working for a number of landscape practices, including Tom Stuart-Smith, and then established her own firm – with an aim to create emotive spaces that foster a deeper connection with nature through sensory experience. Maria has since returned to Birmingham City University where she is a visiting tutor, and in 2020 published a book, Green, celebrating the merits of the smaller urban garden.

Founded in 2011 by James Hoy and Alan Drumm, Uncommon Projects is not a traditional joinery company. Their bespoke furniture is made from high-quality hardwood veneered plywood – all designed and crafted in London. Both men come from very different creative backgrounds – James studied Fine Art and worked in toy design and Alan spent 14 years as an architect, but it is these differences that come together to create their unique and distinct style – informed by an honest approach to materials, functionality and visual balance.