Squire and Partners

Operating from a small Pimlico basement, Michael Squire founded Squire and Partners in 1976 undertaking small residential projects in and around London. Paul Harrison joined shortly afterwards, and the pair quickly established a reputation for sensitivity to place and context, and concern for careful detail.Following a series of successfully executed small to medium-scale projects in the late 1980's, the growing practice, now housed in a South Kensington townhouse, was commissioned to design two landmark residential developments in the emerging Docklands area. Vogan's Mill, the Civic Trust Award winning and widely published regeneration of an industrial grain silo to luxury residential apartments, became a symbol of regeneration. The Anchorage at Sufferance Wharf established a new vernacular for housing in the reviving Docklands, and set the standard for luxury developments in the area.The success of the practice's work in Docklands led to a commission from the London Docklands Development Corporation to design a new youth club. Squire and Partners' response (completed in 1995) was a clearly articulated proposal revealing the main function space and its subsidiary support elements. It was described by The Architects' Journal as ''community architecture of the highest order''.The practice is probably best known for its work in central London, particularly Westminster, where many of its most high profile projects have been built. Following on from the practice's roots in residential architecture, Squire and Partners designed and built the first new building on London's Park Lane for many years, the highly prestigious Brook House. Later the practice employed an evolved and refined residential language for The Knightsbridge, completed in 2005, providing 204 luxury apartments centred on a landscaped garden.The commercial side of the practice began with a series of small scale office fitout projects, including several for the emerging design-led Derwent Valley. In subsequent years, larger award winning commercial projects such as Belgrave House for Grosvenor, 30 Warwick Street for the Crown Estate/City Offices and 74 St James's Street for HSBC Private Bank firmly established the practice as confident in both the residential and commercial sectors.Following the successful completion of the Limehouse Youth Club the practice attracted a number of public commissions, including a series of developments for The British Council. Beginning with some refurbishments of existing premises in Kolkata and New Delhi, the team went on to design and build an entirely new education facility for the Council in Nairobi, Kenya. The project was awarded the Gold Medal by the Architectural Association of Kenya and was widely praised in the UK architectural press. Public commissions at home included a substantial new leisure facility for The Hurlingham Club in London and a boutique hotel, The Rockwell, one of only three London hotels in the prestigious Condé Nast Traveller Hot List in 2007.In recent years the practice has designed several tall buildings in London, Manchester, Eastern Europe and Singapore. Elegantly proportioned forms are clad with facades taking their cue from inherent structural and environmental issues. The practice spends considerable time researching and developing construction materials which are capable of responding to and working with the environment. The conceptual Leaf Tower provides an example, where photo-voltaic panels are introduced across the facade, their position being informed by available sunlight and orientation, with the idea that the tower will be able to generate its own electric power and support the activities within.Competitions, both invited and open, play a large part in the conceptual and developmental work of the practice, often providing sites and requirements far removed from the work for which the practice is known. Early participation from every member of the office is encouraged, with all ideas and theories being considered. The competition process often informs later developments and broadens the perspective of the office as a whole. Recent successes have included second place in an international design competition for a library in Mexico's second city, Guadalajara, and first prize in an invited competition for a substantial masterplan site in an emerging district of Bucharest.The decision, in 2001, to move the practice office from South Kensington to a back street in King's Cross (necessitated by the growth of the team to over 100 people and the need for larger premises) reflected a new spirit in the practice. The move has proved an unqualified success, not least in terms of staff approval. The award-winning office is well equipped for the interactive teamwork which is central to the Squire and Partners ethos, with a cafe, informal meeting areas and a double height space for the weekly project review. The office also accommodates teams which deal exclusively with computer visualisations, illustration and model making.A new office structure was recently introduced that utilises the skills of a new generation. Three young partners, Tim Gledstone, Murray Levinson and Henry Squire, head teams that take individual projects from conception through to completion. Senior Partners, Michael Squire and Paul Harrison continue to oversee all projects from the fields of design and construction respectively.Squire and Partners remains a London practice, but is increasingly looking towards working beyond the constraints of the capital. The firm has succeeded in maintaining its position in the prime office and residential markets while colonising new areas, including masterplanning and tall buildings. Thirty years into its existence, it appears to have the dynamism and optimism of youth and to be looking forward eagerly to new challenges.