Masterplan for a site in West Dorset
TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURE & URBAN DESIGN
We are passionate about creating buildings and places that are beautiful, respond to their context and are sustainable – ones that people will admire and want to continue using for generations to come.
We design buildings, neighbourhoods and places that draw on the enduring principles of traditional architecture and urbanism, while actively addressing contemporary needs.
Our work ranges from housing and mixed-use development to regeneration, conservation and the sensitive adaptation of historic buildings. We support landowners, developers, organisations and private clients from the earliest consideration of a site through planning, design and delivery.
If you have a project that you would like to discuss with us, please do get in touch.
OUR WORK
Many of our projects are located in Bath, Somerset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds. We also undertake work more generally across the Southwest and South of England, and further afield as required. Our clients include developers, institutions or private householders. We engage fully with them and are responsive to their needs, delivering high quality projects to a given timeframe and budget.
We are excited to be working on a masterplan for apartments, houses and the conversion of a historic factory on a one-hectare brownfield site within the Norwich Conservation Area.
Design work continues on three masterplans in Dorset and two in Suffolk. We recently undertook a feasibility study for a large apartment scheme in Weymouth, and have also been busy on planning applications for new houses in Bristol, Wiltshire, and Essex. Construction is now underway following the recent planning approval for custom build homes around a green on the edge of Horam, East Sussex.
Building work has recently been completed succesfully for extensions and refurbishment of an Edwardian house in Bath and construction work is about to commence on a new house near Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire.
James Armitage was delighted to have been involved in the 2026 Create Streets Urban Design Summer School in Sherborne, Dorset, for the fourth year running.
TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN
In embracing traditional and classical architecture, we aim to produce a built environment that is physically and culturally durable. This involves drawing on time-honoured solutions in order to meet modern-day challenges.
Our urban design work is based on forming streets and squares to create a durable and vibrant public realm in which communities can flourish.
Similarly, our architectural designs employ a recognisable language that is sensitive to its context, using vernacular forms and craft techniques. We use traditional materials such as stone, brick, lime render, slate and clay tiles, as well as carefully selected modern materials where appropriate.
SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
Within our traditional design framework, we take sustainability issues very seriously. We are keen to ensure that the projects we undertake do not have a detrimental impact on the environment. To this end, at an urban design level, we believe in creating walkable mixed-use neighbourhoods wherever possible. At a building level, we are constantly looking at ways to improve thermal performance and reduce carbon emissions. We have recently been involved in a project to develop a comprehensive set of house types using Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) with the aim of significantly reducing materials and energy consumption.
By designing buildings and public spaces to endure, our goal is to reduce the energy involved in construction over the long term. In using and modifying forms that have proven their physical and cultural durability, the practice offers genuinely sustainable solutions for the built environment.