our practice

Values are at the heart of everything we do as a practice.

ethical practice

Our mission is to empower and enable everyone to design and build their own home, and transform the way they live with the vision and values we hold as a practice.

We put ethical practices at the heart of everything we do. We want to do our best by the people we work for (and with), for the planet and its ecosystems, and for the places and communities our work impacts.

Our aim in doing so is to ensure that our work is positive and regenerative, and works towards creating a better world that we can all be proud of.

Circular diagram with multiple inner rings, showing phases of work and values related to ethics and sustainability. The innermost has the words 'barefoot' and 'ethical compass'. The next ring includes 'transform how people live' and 'individuals & communities'. The subsequent ring highlights 'sustainable locations' and 'engage designing'. The outer rings mention 'people care for the planet', 'design better futures together', 'place is for life', 'accessible', 'empowered', 'collaborative', and 'connect'. Overall, the diagram emphasizes ethical, sustainable, and community-focused values.

our vision

Our vision is for ethical, equal, healthy, happy and thriving communities to be accessible to all.

We help to design better futures together with our clients. Using our unique skills, knowledge and capabilities as a team, we work through collaborative processes to create a better world, one step at a time.

This is the future that we seek to co-create with you. If it resonates, take your shoes off and come with us on the journey together, barefoot.

A woman holding a baby in front of a house with two women and a child nearby, all standing on a paved walkway outside a brick house with a decorated front door.

our values

Working ‘barefoot’ means that our buildings minimise their environmental footprint, are in touch with their community, and physically connected to their places.

Our design choices have impacts on a wide range of people and the communities in which they are located. We take this responsibility seriously, and seek to consult with them at all stages. This is to ensure we understand first, and respond with empathy to their perspectives.

To enable collaboration with clients and communities, we use a range of co-design processes and tools to facilitate positive engagement, which enables better outcomes for all parties.

Incorporating shared values is what we do.

A Venn diagram illustrating the values and qualities of people, with overlapping circles labeled 'people' at the top, 'planet' at the bottom right, 'place' at the bottom left, and 'purpose' at the bottom. The circles contain words like joyful, local, real, unique, efficient, durable, positive, flexible, with love, evolve, ecological, and the center overlaps form phrases such as 'together,' 'make it,' 'ecological,' and 'the.'

sensitivity to place

Working on challenging sites requires a careful approach to placemaking and design which is founded on good research and a rigorous design process - often with a range of other consultant partners.

Our enviable 100% track record at securing planning consents includes extremely challenging sites, including Conservation Areas, Listed Buildings, the Green Belt, AONB, and Open Countryside under the so called ‘Country House clause’ Paragraph 84 of the National Planning Policy Framework. We’re prepared to go where others won’t try, with an open mind and an open view to making the impossible, well, possible!

Building upon the character, atmosphere, history and geology of a place is key to a project's appropriateness and acceptance by planning authorities. Great design builds upon people's connection to a place and improves sustainability. The world is rich in its diversity and we aim to celebrate and accentuate this wherever possible with unique designs that inspire delight - through an appreciation of the ‘spirit of place’ and responding to this distinctiveness.