careyjones architects

Founded by Gordon Carey and Chris Jones in 1987, careyjones has transformed over the intervening 21 years into an internationally known Practice which now operates out of design studios in London, Leeds and New York with a total staff of approximately 150 dedicated and highly talented designers and technologists.

The Practice originated in Leeds and was credited with helping break the mould of the 'Leeds Look' architecture which was so prevalent in the 1980's, nowhere more so than with the construction of the Practice's seminal Scottish Mutual Building on Park Row, Leeds in 1993.

A string of quality new buildings was to follow including the iconic Princes Exchange Building in 2000 which is still widely used today as a symbol of the renaissance of this great City. The Practice moved to its current Leeds Studio location, Rose Wharf in 1996, having also been responsible for the award-winning conversion of the former riverside Flax Mill into offices.

By this time, the work of careyjones was spread throughout the United Kingdom and the opening of a London Studio in 1998 recognised this transition from a regional to a national Practice. In 2006, the London Studio relocated to its present home at Victoria House, overlooking Bloomsbury Square at the very centre of the capital.

From 2004, careyjones began working for American clients in the UK and it was not long before careyjones was invited to join design teams working on major schemes in the USA. Following a number of successful projects on that side of the Atlantic, our New York Studio opened in West 18th Street at the heart of the 'Big Apple' in 2007.

To celebrate the opening of the new Studio, we entertained 350 guests at a party in the spectacular surroundings of Grand Central Station (see photograph).

The national Practice was now international. The lion's share of this international work was won by our interiors team which, since 2003, had grown from just three staff into a sought-after, specialist team of 30 at the end of 2006, winning a string of design awards in the retail, leisure and office sectors along the way. In recognition of this achievement, a separate company was formed to allow the interiors workload to develop further, particularly in North America and the Caribbean.

Whilst separate business units in their own right with their own blue chip client lists, the two careyjones companies also work closely together, ensuring that our clients receive the highest quality of interior design, inventive and operationally efficient space planning and of course, great architecture.

The Practice also employs masterplanners and urban designers with the specialist skills to lay out the large and complex mixed use schemes which represent an increasing proportion of the careyjones workload and often extend to millions of square feet. Our work now covers all sectors of development and the size of careyjones means that we have the sector-specific knowledge to be regarded as specialists, whether we are working on mixed use, residential, workplace, leisure, retail or educational projects.

The Practice is now led by 12 directors, including Chris and Gordon and is divided into teams of no more than 30 staff, each led by one or more Directors, supported by senior team members at Project Director and Associate level. We have three teams in Leeds, two in London and to date, one in New York.

Each team has its own specialisms and to a large extent, its own client base. This structure allows us to handle any size and type of project, and still provide the same attention to detail and exceptional client service which has brought so many clients to careyjones over the last 21 years.