One of the greatest challenges facing us in commercial architecture is striking the perfect balance between the practical requirements of a workspace and capturing the spirit and ambition of the people working within it. To some this might seem like a fairly easy challenge to overcome, as surely for commercial purposes it’s going to be the case that practical, working requirements will always take the priority. This is of course true, but for a complete and satisfactory level of success the it cannot be allowed to overshadow the passion of occupants.

Despite, or perhaps because of, the fact that we are a relatively young practice, we have been involved in several commercial architecture projects which posed this challenge. As every business and building is unique, the solution to finding this balance must also be. In virtually every case, those who have engaged us has aspirations of their property being as open, as creative and as brave as the business is, but fear this will be grounded in the practicalities which must feature in any commercial premises. We work in a way that allows both to be not just possible, but also to flourish.

Two of the most recent examples of the balance we bring can be seen in the U+I headquarters in London and the Cloisters complex in Qingdao, China. Our work for both was informed by a primary need to ensure the architecture was functional for purpose, yet reflected the environment in which it was in and illustrated the ambitions of those who worked within. By working closely with all involved parties in each project we were able to create the needed balance and deliver work to the expected requirements.

It has often been the case that commercial architecture has felt a need to bow just a bit too much in favour of the practical requirements of a project. Whilst enabling a business to function and process correctly is vital, meeting this aspect of the project should not be seen as the end of it. Whilst we are delighted to be able to use our website to showcase the ways in which we have achieved this, what we look forward to the most is working with you to find the balance for your unique solution.