APPROACH
The more people are connected to their environment, the more they care for it.
At Coffey Architects, we connect people to their environment in order to foster a sense of care for the planet. Our architecture is centered around light, nature, and communities.
We understand that environmental, social, practical, and economic issues are all interconnected, so we integrate these considerations throughout our design process. We seek a dialogue between people and their surroundings, and we strive to involve experts, consultants, stakeholders, and users from all backgrounds in every stage of the process.
Our goal is to create buildings that not only meet the needs of their occupants but also enhance their connection to the natural world. We prioritise the use of sustainable materials and practices and incorporate the principles of biophilic design to connect people to the built environment.
By fostering a sense of community through our designs, we believe that we can create spaces that inspire people to care for their immediate and wider world.
Lightening our carbon load
Our design principles are efficient and sustainable to reduce a building’s carbon footprint. Our approach is both energy efficient and beneficial to people’s wellbeing. We are committed, with our clients willingness, to achieving Net Zero in line with the RIBA 2030 Challenge.
Circadian rhythms and biophilic principles
We use biophlic principles to create carved forms, create interesting plays of light and shadow and embrace nature to inspire people to observe their environment. We aim to make spaces that promote better sleep, mood, and overall health by utilising natural light and nature to connect people to their circadian rhythms.
Designing for people’s delight
Beautiful architecture can enhance people's well-being and make a positive impact on communities. Our expressive buildings and public spaces, which use natural materials, light, and planting, promote healthy, happy, and memorable experiences for individuals. And at a larger scale, these inspiring spaces help to foster vibrant, connected, and resilient communities.
Passive design
While we always strive to design with passive massing, insulation and orientation principles, we also understand the value of measured certification. As such, Coffey is proud to have certified Passive House Consultants on our team. Passive House design is an important part of creating sustainable, low-carbon buildings, and we have a wealth of experience in delivering high-quality, low-energy buildings that meet the needs of our clients and the communities they serve.
The future is green and bright
Greening the city improves the health, sustainability, and quality of life in urban areas for people of all ages. Together, these benefits may help alleviate some of the stresses that people in metropolitan areas face in the future. We are committed to incorporating landscape and green space into all of our designs for the benefit of our ultimate clients, the users of our buildings and places.
We are members of:
RIBA 2030 Challenge
Passivhaus Trust UK (individual consultant certification)
Net Zero Pathway Peer-to-Peer Group
We prioritise people and their experiences.
Social value in design is crucial to creating sustainable and impactful spaces that benefit communities and enhance their experience and quality of life. Prioritising people while creating places ensures that the spaces we build better our society with their focus on inclusivity, accessibility and overall well-being.
We are members of:
Social Value UK
FLUID Diversity Mentoring Program, Built by Us
Londonon
Worshipful Company of Chartered Architects
The Architecture Club
Organisations we champion:
PATCH Collective
Blueprint for All
Matt + Fiona
Diamond Education Service
The Switch
Community involvement
We strive to include as many voices as possible to ensure that the buildings we design reflect their users and the wider communities that they serve. We particularly encourage community involvement, volunteering and participation in the design and planning process.
By creating an architecture that connects people with their environment, alongside the people who will be experiencing it, we believe we can create places people want to be, places that inspire and engage, and places and buildings that will last. In order to do this we need to be informed by a truly inclusive design process, one that actively engages all groups irrespective of role or familiarity with the design and/or development proces.
Education and learning
We promote office-driven social initiatives such as school and university lecturing and mentoring initiatives. Our team has volunteered time and resource to: Blueprint for All (previously the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust Building Futures programme), Built By Us FLUID Diversity Mentoring Programme and Matt+Fiona Mega Maker Lab Institute. We have also worked with Diamond Education Service and the Erasmus exchange programme to offer work placement opportunities for students from various geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds. We often keep in touch with those students and hear from them as they enter university to pursue careers in architecture and design.
Creative collaboration
We value cross-sector collaboration to create places for all people.
Coffey & Croissants: To meet and build relationships with a variety of consultants and potential teammates, we have run a diverse and varied weekly speaker series since 2018. Our focus has largely been on women-owned and ethnic minority-lead organisations in order to broaden our network and industry view by listening to those typically under-represented in the built environment industry.
PATCH Collective Residency: We’ve partnered with design collective PATCH to run a series of events and creative interventions centred on the idea of ‘holding space’. The residency asks: How do we make room for acts of care? How do we make room for acts of care in London specifically? How can we, in effect, ‘hold’ onto these spaces of respite and care, and ensure their durability in our rapidly transforming city? Is this loose and changeable meaning become a source of solidarity or provocation? What does holding space mean to you?
The below video by Dion Barrett was commissioned by Coffey on behalf of PATCH Collective for our first collaborative residency event held in 2022 at Little Louie in Elephant and Castle, London. The lively and inspiring event took place during Open House Festival 2022.
In the end, we would all rather be outside.
The Outside Project is part of our social policy at Coffey Architects that connects us to nature and the great outdoors. We believe in the power of nature to enhance well-being and create good design, and we use this project to reinforce our biophilic principles.
We embrace the outdoors to enhance well-being
We know that being outside in nature has the power to inspire and invigorate us. That's why we embrace opportunities to connect with the outdoors and spend time in the natural world. Whether it's a London Park walk, community gardening, or simply sitting on a park bench and soaking up the sun, we know that being outside makes us happier and healthier.
We work with communities to create spaces that improve well-being
Designs should improve people's lives and connect them to the world around them. We work closely with communities and stakeholders to ensure that our designs reflect the unique character of their neighborhoods and improve their overall quality of life.
We volunteer to create a better world
Giving back to our communities is an essential part of our work. That's why we volunteer our time and expertise to help with community initiatives such as greening the city and working with diverse communities. By working together to improve the environment, we can build stronger, more resilient communities and create a better world for everyone.
Organisations we champion:
The Story Garden
London Wildlife Trust
The Conservation Volunteers
Spitalfields City Farm
World Wildlife Fund
The Woodland Trust