RSHP, Studio Bark, Useful Simple Trust, Haworth Tompkins, Perkins&Will, Atelier Architecture & Design, Assemble, Cullinan Studio, and Khadka+Eriksson Furunes discuss their practice succession plans.
Being a good ancestor
Responses in this section were assessed by Architects Declare’s Alasdair Ben Dixon, Tom Gibson, Deepthi Ravi, Zoe Watson and Jacqueline Wheeler, with expert insight from Regenerative Architecture Index ambassador, social philosopher and author Roman Krznaric.
Practice Question 2
Does the practice have a clear succession plan, which passes on ownership and protects the values and legacy of those who built and contributed to the practice? For example, is the practice an Employee Owned Trust (EOT)?
Front-runner
RSHP
Drafted by Richard Rogers in 1990, RSHP’s constitution enshrines a commitment to ethical practice and social good. Owned by a charitable trust, no individual owns any share in the value of the practice. In this way, private trading and inheritance of shares is eliminated and any residual value is returned to society through the charitable trust. Value is not removed from the practice as individuals retire.
After reserves and tax, 20 per cent of all profit is donated to charitable causes annually, with the remaining profit divided between all staff according to publicly declared principles. Each employee directs their share of the charitable distribution to charities of their own choice. This instills an ethos of collective responsibility, satisfaction in the work we produce, and a sense of wider social duty. Since our charity began operation in 1993, we have distributed over £20.2m to more than 2000 registered charities.
Runner-up
Studio Bark
We embrace a non-hierarchical model, where responsibility is shared and all team members are empowered to lead in different ways. We provide transparency on finances, bringing all team members into business direction discussions at a monthly management meeting. This democratic approach gives everyone a sense of ownership of our values, methods, and impacts. Individual upskilling plans and collaborative workload forecasting ensure that each team member is empowered.
All team members have been offered an equity share in the parent company Studio Bark Holdings, giving all who opt-in the opportunity to share in profit made within the business. This gives a structural backing to the inclusive, distributed culture we aspire to cultivate. We value flexibility as a studio, recognising that this supports increased team diversity and retention; enabling team members to stay long term when individual circumstances shift.
Ones to watch
Useful Simple Trust
Our founders went beyond the concept of an Employee Owned Business (EOB), establishing an Employee Benefit Trust (EBT) in 2008, gifting their shares in the business to create the Useful Simple Trust. The intention was for the Trust to evolve and continue to be trailblazing in the unpredictable future, through investment in the founding principles rather than individuals.
Becoming an EBT supports leadership succession and diversity by separating ownership from seniority and wealth. By providing transparency across all levels, our leadership teams consult, share information about the company, and spread responsibility that allows our employees to have a significant and meaningful stake in the business, as well as a say in how it’s run. In addition to the embedded culture of mentorship and professional development, each year, the Trust delivers a company-wide training initiative focused on a topical theme aligned with our mission. Examples include carbon literacy, critical thinking, and digital skills.
Haworth Tompkins
This year has been an important milestone, marking the culmination of a six- year succession period through which ownership of the practice has passed from founding directors to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), led by a new and more diverse leadership team. This gradual transition has enabled continuity of core values, studio culture, and client relationships, while embracing the progressive new ideas and innovation brought in by the new leadership. It has also increased employee participation through the EOT.
We continue to build on our legacy of award-winning work and climate advocacy with fresh energy and purpose. Since the founding directors stepped down in 2024, we have become a Certified B Corporation; continued to win new work across a wide range of sectors; moved to a new higher- quality studio space; reduced our carbon footprint by 35 per cent; reduced the gender pay gap; and improved overall staff satisfaction.
Perkins&Will
At Perkins&Will we have introduced new processes within the last year. We believe the true legacy of a practice lives in its people. Our Future Leadership Program is a commitment to grow leaders who will protect, challenge and evolve the values we have built together. Through our Thrive Platform, we actively assess and nurture every individual’s potential, making sure that every voice is heard and every talent can shine.
We take accountability seriously – that’s why we invest in our staff early, giving them real opportunities for meaningful work and leadership roles that matter. Growth in leadership is not about climbing a ladder – it’s about carrying a vision, inspiring change, and ensuring the spirit of Perkins&Will thrives far beyond this generation. Our succession plan is rooted in stewardship, not entitlement. We are building a future where leadership is shared and its values protected.
Atelier Architecture & Design
Our future is rooted in continuity. We are a small practice of six, united by a shared commitment to nature-led design and long-term thinking. Our 20-year plan focuses on developing leadership in the emerging field of landscape awareness, and we’re already handing over creative responsibility to the next generation. Regular design forums invite all voices into practice-wide decisions. Profit-sharing is being introduced, and we are exploring a transition to employee ownership as growth allows.
Mentorship is central to our ethos. Many former team members now lead their own practices or influence wider industry changes. Here, succession is not just about ownership, it’s about preserving a culture of care – for places, for each other, and for the planet. Our strength lies in being small, value-led, and deeply aligned. The goal is not just to sustain the practice, but to regenerate it through the people who carry the mission forward in their own way.
Assemble
We have always operated as a collective, and began as a Community Interest Company (CIC) in 2011. Seven years later we formed a partnership, with the express ambition of all employees having the opportunity to shape the direction of the practice. All employees are given the opportunity to join the partnership as full partners after two years FTE working at Assemble. Partners are able to join management teams within Assemble that reflect their area of interest or expertise. Partners meet every quarter to vote on the governance and financial budget of the practice.
Today the partnership is a 50/50 split between founding partners and newer partners with everyone having an equal vote. Both new employees and partners are encouraged to bring new projects into the office. The success of Assemble has been for individuals to find their own voice within the collective, through procuring projects that advance their own interests and skillset.
Cullinan Studio
We were established as a co-operative by Ted Cullinan and over the past 60 years have practiced in a unique structure based on equity and transparency, with a cross-generational leadership structure that shares the roles and responsibilities of day-to-day practice. In addition, critical roles in design quality and business development have leads and support roles that ensure short and mid-term coverage, as well as mentoring and on the job knowledge share and training. We also have a strong tradition of ethical and radical sustainable design, which is conserved through an extensive searchable digital archive, as well as a programme of ‘inheritance’ talks that supports our CPD programme.
Khadka+Eriksson Furunes
The practice is a free association of people coming together to work on projects we find important. Often, the project is as much about understanding what we are trying to do as it is about addressing a specific need. Rather than assigning fixed roles, it allows individuals to contribute based on their own interests. Experience and knowledge are passed on through the work of each member involved. A key principle is that everyone works together at the same time, allowing knowledge, skills and relationships to develop collectively through the process. There are as many perspectives as there are people participating, so the practice evolves in multiple and unpredictable ways.