Top 10 Architectural Firms in London

What is Architecture? 

Architecture, the art and technique of designing and building as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. The practice of architecture is employed to fulfill both practical and expressive requirements, and thus it serves both utilitarian and aestatic  ends. Architectural firms in London, although these two ends may be distinguished, they cannot be separated, and the relative weight given to each can vary widely. Because every society—settled or nomadic—has a spatial relationship to the natural world and to other societies, the structures they produce reveal much about their environment (including climate and weather), history, ceremonies, and artistic sensibility, as well as many aspects of daily life.

Top 10 Architecture firms in London

International powerhouse Zaha Hadid Architects was founded by the late Zaha Hadid in 1979. Now dedicated to honoring the architect’s legacy through innovative projects, the 400-person architecture firm is active around the world. ZHA has completed 950 projects in 44 countries, including museums, municipal works, schools, opera houses, and more. The firm also works in industrial design, interior design, and master planning.

Norman Foster started Foster + Partners in 1967, and the firm has since grown to a large international practice for sustainable architecture, urbanism, engineering, and design. Projects are evaluated against both global and firm sustainability standards, and project teams work in an interdisciplinary process, drawing from specialist teams in urban and landscape design, interior design, structural engineering, and more. Distinctive and beautiful projects span sectors. The firm has recently completed Apple stores around the world, the Global Home of the PGA Tour in the U.S., and the Narbo Via in Narbonne, France.

David Chipperfield founded his eponymous firm in London in 1985. Since the founding, the firm has won more than 100 international awards, including the RIBA Sterling Prize and the Mies van der Rohe Award. Today, David Chipperfield Architects has four offices around the world: London, Berlin, Milan, and Shanghai. Work encompasses both the private and public sector, from a mixed-use tower in New York to the Neues Museum in Berlin.

Founded in 2000, Adjaye Associates operates globally with offices in Accra, Ghana, London, and New York. Led by founder Sir David Adjaye OBE, the practice focuses on materiality, customization, and the Adjaye’s unique vision. Over the years the awards have stacked up and in 2017, Adjaye was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. The firm’s largest project is the National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington DC.

Founded in 1994 by designer Thomas Heatherwick, Heatherwick Studio works on projects around the world from their studio in Central London. From Little Island Park in New York to Maggie’s Leeds care center in Yorkshire, the firm’s work is inspired by the founder’s curiosity, dedication to innovative problem-solving, and desire to create something new with each project. Focusing on large-scale projects, Heatherwick Studio works on buildings, spaces, master plans, infrastructure, and objects.

Global design principal and chairman Keith Griffiths founded the firm, which is now 1,200 professionals practicing in a dozen offices around the globe. Aedas works across disciplines, including architecture, urban design, landscape, and graphics. The firm’s presence is especially strong in Asia, from Hong Kong to Singapore. Among current projects is a tower in Taichung, Taiwan, with a central vertical void slated to hold functional areas for the mixed-use development.

Founded as Richard Rogers Partnership by Richard Rogers in 1977, the firm was renamed in 2007 to honor the contributions of Graham Stirk and Ivan Harbour. 200 professionals now work from the London office on massive global projects. The practice includes specialist teams in graphic design, film, and communication. The firm has won two RIBA Stirling Prizes — in 2006 for a terminal at Madrid Barajas Airport and in 2009 for Maggie’s West London Centre. Hundreds of other awards include the Chicago Athenaeum International Award and City of London Building of the Year Award.

Amanda Levete started the prize-winning architecture firm in 2009. Led by the architect’s vision, AL_A works on projects around the world from the Victoria & Albert Museum Exhibition Road Quarter in London to a shopping mall and hotel in Bangkok. The firm, led by Levete with directors Ho-Yin Ng, Alice Dietsch, and Maximiliano Arrocet, recently reimagined Scotland’s heritage Paisley Museum. Earlier works include a mosque in Abu Dhabi and the illumination of bridges along the River Thames in London.

Ken Shuttleworth started the practice in 2004, which now has studios in London, Hong Kong, and Sydney. Make Architects works in both private and public sectors, designing projects from residential towers to hotels and university centers. The studio is 100% employee owned, with each of the 150 staff members receiving an annual profit share. Make Architects recently designed Three New Bailey, a 7-story office building with a red-brick weave façade, and the workplace fit-out for a 96-story tower in Tianjin, China.

Internship role for Architectural firms in London

Here mention one architectural firm organization to internship Oppurtunites for students: