Submission by Jamie Fobert Architects.
Being a good ancestor
Practice
1. Do you have a clearly stated purpose aligned with the planetary emergency? We’re looking for a bold ambition here, and a culture which recognises the need for long-term thinking.
Our practice continues to recognise our significant role in global carbon emissions, resource consumption and ecological impact, and remains highly motivated to contribute positively to the climate crisis facing the built environment. We have a clearly articulated purpose to design buildings and places that minimise environmental impact while supporting long-term social and ecological resilience.
Our strategy is embedded into all our activities, including a retrofit-first approach, bi-monthly internal design reviews on environmental performance, and knowledge sharing through internal quarterly sustainability newsletters. We prioritise careful material selection, early conversations on long-term adaptability, regular sustainability training for staff, and low-carbon, context-sensitive design. Sustainability guides our day-to-day design processes and is embedded in our decision-making, as we aim to contribute meaningfully to the transition toward a low-carbon and more resilient built environment.
2. Do you have a clearly stated purpose aligned with the planetary emergency? We’re looking for a bold ambition here, and a culture which recognises the need for long-term thinking.
As a collaborative practice, the long-term stewardship of our company, its values, culture, and integrity has always been a foundational consideration, not an afterthought. We intentionally maintain a team of 20, a scale that enables agile, transparent decision-making and meaningful participation across all levels of the practice. While we are not structured as employee-owned, our governance approach is built on principles of collective stewardship: shared responsibility, open dialogue, and active mentorship which ensures knowledge and values are passed on rather than concentrated.
Succession is something we are approaching with the same regenerative thinking we bring to our projects. We recently introduced an Associate Director level, a deliberate step toward distributing leadership and embedding our founding values more deeply into the next generation of the practice. This is part of an ongoing and evolving process to formalise a succession framework that protects our legacy while allowing the practice to grow.
3. Do you share research and knowledge for the benefit of society and the wider world?
We recognise the importance of sharing research and knowledge to benefit both society and the architectural profession. Post-occupancy analysis has been carried out on all major projects, in collaboration with sub-consultants, with outcomes shared through the RIBA and professional press. These insights drive continuous design improvement and help us quantify the positive social and environmental benefits of our work. Findings are shared internally at bi-monthly sustainability meetings, fostering collective learning and reflection.
We are embedding post-occupancy evaluation as standard practice and investing in learning and development to support this. In collaboration with Structure Workshop and their carbon calculator, we are developing a more systematic approach to impact assessment. Our focus on environmental product declarations enables earlier, evidence-based material comparisons. With these foundations, we aim to contribute more consistently and meaningfully to shared industry knowledge.
Project
1. Do you advocate for long-term thinking at the outset of work? Do you initiate work with long-term thinking and challenge clients? Also, can the organisation demonstrate that this approach has worked?
Our practice embeds long-term thinking from the outset, challenging all clients to consider design life and adaptability. We have had the privilege of designing once-in-a-generation transformations of loved public institutions like Tate St Ives, Kettle’s Yard, The National Portrait Gallery and, currently, The Royal Observatory Grenwich and The Tower of London. We feel we must make the most of each of these unique opportunities.
At the Royal Observatory Greenwich, our long-term thinking is expected to lead to a design life over a hundred years, achieved through close collaboration with engineers and specialist fabricators which will extend durability and reduce life-cycle costs. This whole-life approach prioritises resilience to future climates and evolving use, minimising embodied carbon by avoiding premature replacement. We discuss lifespan, adaptability, and maintenance strategy from project inception, ensuring that the buildings we design today can and will perform in a climate that will be fundamentally different by mid-century.
2. Does your work take account of the future climate and the need for resilience?
At the Royal Observatory Greenwich, adaptability is integral to the design. In collaboration with structural engineers Price & Myers, every new intervention has been designed for a lifespan of over a hundred years. One way we have achieved this is through the use of galvanised steel with a thermally applied zinc-aluminium coating, developed with a specialist metalworking contractor using technology typically deployed in offshore oil infrastructure. Resilience is embedded in the design itself. The steel structure uses bolted connections and reversible fixings, designed for disassembly and future adaptation.
The Entrance Pavilion incorporates three portals and a removable ticket kiosk, accommodating evolving technologies throughout the building’s lifespan. The open-plan Astronomers’ Court offers genuine flexibility of use, allowing the client to respond to changing needs without structural intervention. It is a building that anticipates change rather than resists it.
3. Does the majority of your work go beyond mitigating negatives and towards optimising positives?
Our ambitions extend beyond performance targets: we seek to unlock the potential of what already exists. At the National Portrait Gallery, upfront embodied carbon (A1–A5) was 136 kgCO₂e/m² and whole-life embodied carbon 171 kgCO₂e/m²—within LETI and RIBA A+ and exceeding the RIBA 2030 target. With just 50m² of new build, we created 959m² of public space by reclaiming underused areas, a fabric-first approach that directly embodies the RIBA 2030 goal to prioritise retention and refurbishment over new build.
At the Royal Observatory Greenwich, embodied carbon is reduced through material innovation and form: a calcined clay concrete mix cuts emissions by 30–40%, while double-vaulted roof arches minimise material use. High-quality detailing ensures interventions last well over a century. At Maggie’s Centre Coventry, a health-first approach is embedded through a vapour-open design using locally sourced, low-carbon materials to prioritise comfort, accessibility, and wellbeing.
Co-evolving with nature
Practice
1. Do you use biophilia within your premises and/or do you regularly gather in natural settings?
Our studio is a light-filled, double height open plan space with high arched windows along both long elevations, flooding the workspace with natural light and framing views on the tree-lined street outside. The building sits within a well-established garden of climbers, generous planting beds and lawn, with outdoor tables, picnic benches and deckchairs used year-round for communal lunches, informal meetings and moments of quiet.
Our connection with nature extends beyond the office. Last summer the whole team visited Tom Stuart-Smith’s Serge Hill Project for gardening, creativity and health in Hertfordshire, where we were guided by the Head Gardener through the Plant Library of over 2000 perennials and bulbs, shared a vegetarian lunch in The Apple House and toured both the Barn Gardens & Serge Hill Gardens, connecting with nature as a team and learning about gardening and the importance of a nurturing garden environment.
2. Can you share examples of where you have considered nature in decision making?
We have formally recognised nature and the environment as an Interested Party within our organisation, a designation that carries real accountability. We are required to actively identify the needs and expectations of the natural world in relation to our work, and to regularly evaluate whether we are honouring those commitments. This is not a symbolic gesture; we take seriously the responsibility this places on us and aim to uphold our commitments with integrity and care.
We also seek to reflect the rhythms of the natural world in how we work together. We support our team through flexible working, staggered hours, remote working, and reduced hours for those with caregiving responsibilities. In this way, we aim to recognise and accommodate the changing capacities of our team, acknowledging that human capacity is seasonal and cyclical.
3. Are you supporting nature locally and nationally?
We are finalising support for the Durrell Trust’s Rewild Carbon Atlantic Forest project, a partnership that offsets our operational emissions while contributing to vital international conservation work.
Locally, we take a deliberate approach to procurement, selecting suppliers whose environmental commitments extend beyond their products. Through our stationery supplier Eco-Tender, we have contributed to the Sussex Seabed Restoration Project, helping to revitalise marine biodiversity along the Sussex coastline. Our coffee supplier’s Sombra Agroforestry project is reforesting over 60,000 trees in Brazil, restoring habitat and supporting sustainable agriculture.
We view these choices not as offsets, but as an extension of our values, recognising that every operational decision is an opportunity to support nature, both locally and globally. We are continuing to deepen these commitments and explore further opportunities to advocate for and invest in nature recovery.
Project
1. Can you demonstrate work that strives to match the performance of a mature ecosystem?
We are placing increasing emphasis on creating biodiversity uplift and habitat opportunities within our projects, ensuring our designs have a positive impact on both biodiversity and the wider environment. Close collaboration with landscape designers and ecological consultants has enabled us to better maximise each site’s ecological potential.
Alongside supporting biodiversity, these strategies deliver added benefits including improved air quality, climate regulation, noise reduction, and rainwater management.
We acknowledge that, due to the nature and location of our current project, we are not yet in a position to formally demonstrate biodiversity net gain. However, this is an area of active focus and growing ambition. We are committed to embedding biodiversity considerations earlier in the design process and to develop our capability to measure and evidence outcomes as our projects evolves.
2. Are you working on material stewardship?
The best material decision is one that doesn’t need to be made again, so we design for reuse, longevity and place from the outset. At the Royal Observatory Greenwich, we developed a CEM VI cement mix incorporating UK-sourced limestone fines, reducing reliance on imported GGBS and fly ash and achieving up to a 60% reduction in embodied carbon. At Maggie’s Coventry, a vapour-open construction using stone quarry by-products, lime and hempcrete reflects local identity and climate, a place-based, bioregional approach to low-carbon material selection.
Underpinning both is an environmentally focused physical and digital materials library requiring EPDs as standard, integrated with our preferred carbon assessment tool by The Structure Workshop, with targets selectable against LETI, RIBA or SCORS 2030 benchmarks. This enables embodied carbon optioneering from the earliest design stages, evaluating both upfront and whole-life carbon to inform genuinely low-carbon material decisions across all our projects.
3. Does the majority of your work demonstrate the use of biologically-inspired approaches such as Bioregionalism, Biophilia or Biomimicry?
Biologically-inspired thinking is central to how we approach design. We draw consistently on bioregionalism and ecomimicry responding to the ecological, climatic and cultural character of each place, sourcing materials locally and working with local fabricators to root our buildings in their context. At our Maggie’s Centre in Coventry, these principles are most fully realised. A vapour-open construction mirroring the way natural materials breathe and regulate moisture prioritises health, comfort and climate responsiveness. Our proposed rubble wall, made from stone quarry by-products, locally sourced lime and hempcrete, reflects Coventry’s landscape and geology. Designed to perform in its specific climate, it embodies both bioregionalism and ecomimicry: an architecture that belongs to its place and works with natural systems rather than against them. At a very miniminum we ensure that all our projects integrate natural materials, respond to natural daylight patterns, and consider the ecological impact of every material sourcing decision.
Creating a just space for people
Practice
1. Do you have a progressive EDI policy and can you evidence many forms of diversity, which are welcomed and acknowledged, within your company/organisation?
Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy is reviewed annually and underpins every aspect of how we work from recruitment to studio culture. We take a proactive approach to inclusive hiring, and all senior management have completed training in unconscious bias, equality, and diversity.
Diversity is genuinely celebrated within our team. Cultural events including Iranian and Chinese New Year are marked together in the studio, fostering shared learning and mutual respect. LGBTQ+ inclusion is actively promoted through our sponsorship of ARCHITECTURE LGBT+ and long-standing mentorship work with Open City’s Accelerate programme.
We support our team through flexible working, adaptable hours, remote working, and paid parental leave, recognising that an inclusive workplace must accommodate the full complexity of people’s lives.
2. Do you operate a no overtime culture, meet the living wage consistently, and stipulate a fair salary ratio between staff of all levels?
We have been a London Living Wage employer since our inception, consistently exceeding this benchmark. Annual salary benchmarking against industry standards and a gender pay gap analysis ensure fairness and transparency across the practice. We extend this commitment beyond our own team. All subconsultants must demonstrate a willingness to pay the Living Wage as a condition of our approval process, embedding our values throughout our extended team.
On working culture, we are actively committed to reducing overtime and fostering a healthier work–life balance. We recognise that deadlines occasionally require additional hours, but we take this seriously: timesheets are regularly reviewed, and any overtime worked is reasonable and recognised through time off in lieu. Our goal is a culture where exceptional work does not come at the cost of personal wellbeing.
3. Do you support charities, community groups, social enterprises, action groups and others through pro-bono work, charitable giving or in-kind donations?
Giving back to the broader community is a genuine priority, reflected in long-standing commitments across several organisations.
We are proud sponsors of ARCHITECTURE LGBT+, a not-for-profit creating safe, inclusive spaces for LGBT+ architects, students, and professionals through networking, mentoring, and learning opportunities.
Since 2020, we have supported Open City’s Accelerate programme, widening access and diversity in the built environment for 16–18-year-olds through annual donations, mentoring, and yearly participation.
Since 2023, Jamie has been a speaker for Speakers for Schools, an independent charity that connects high-profile industry figures with state secondary schools across the UK delivering free talks that broaden horizons and inspire students from underrepresented backgrounds.
Our commitment deepens through Jamie’s role as Chair of Trustees at the Architecture Foundation, actively leading an organisation that champions emerging architects, underrepresented voices, and the wider design and cultural landscape.
4. Do you use an ethical framework to assess opportunities and/or supply chain partners and is them team consulted on these decisions?
Yes. The practice has chosen not to pursue opportunities where a conflict with our ethical values is identified. In such cases, we carefully weigh factors including funding sources, inclusivity, and alignment with our core principles.
Every project is evaluated at the initial enquiry or concept stage to assess its sustainability potential and identify any misalignment in values. Understanding a client’s sustainability ambitions and approach is central to this process, ensuring our collaborations reflect our commitment to responsible practice.
This extends to our supplier and technology choices. This year, we implemented restrictions on the use of certain AI tools for text-based tasks, transitioning to alternatives better aligned with our ethical standards, a decision driven by concerns about the values and conduct of those organisations.
Project
1. Does your work demonstrate deep engagement with local stakeholders and end users?
Our practice was honoured with the BD Architect of the Year Gold Award in 2019, recognising our contribution to British public buildings and commitment to collaboration with local communities. For our redevelopment of Tate St Ives, we undertook extensive stakeholder engagement over nine years. Early consultations revealed concerns about access, parking, and the gallery’s growing presence. In response, we worked closely with a Community Liaison Group and other stakeholders to ensure the design addressed these issues. This dialogue kept the local community central to the design process. The resulting extension is modest, discreetly embedded into the cliffside, doubling gallery space while improving pedestrian routes and providing parking for residents.
By prioritising open, honest communication, the project balanced Tate’s ambitions with the needs of the St Ives community resulting in a sensitive intervention that supports cultural and local interests, with minimal impact on the town’s landscape and daily life.
2. Does your work create connected and resilient communities which positively contribute to neighbourhoods and allow equality of access?
Yes our work is rooted in creating places that are inclusive, locally grounded, and socially and economically resilient. Tate St Ives exemplifies this approach. Since reopening in 2017 with double the gallery space, it has become a year-round cultural destination, attracting over 300,000 visitors annually and contributing £11 million to the Cornish economy. Nearly a quarter of visitors are local, with over 10,000 people registered for a Locals Pass. School partnerships, art groups, apprenticeships, and training ensure long-term benefits and equitable access.
Our work at the National Portrait Gallery has been recognised for its accessible design, sustainability, and civic impact. Receiving Highly Commended in the Selwyn Goldsmith Award, the judges said: “This redesign is a triumph. It has not only revitalised a historic building but made it more accessible and inclusive for all, creating a cultural hub that truly belongs to the people.”
3. Does the majority of your work promote equity in society, and consider all people, not only building inhabitants
Ethical responsibility is fundamental to our practice. Our designs prioritise inclusivity, with careful consideration given to accessibility and the broader public good. Our work with cultural institutions demonstrates this commitment. At the National Portrait Gallery, for example, we created a new public forecourt to enhance civic access and presence.
We take active steps to ensure our supply chain reflects our values. A dedicated supplier database identifies those meeting our ethical compliance standards, and our sustainable materials database tracks product origins, certifications, and environmental performance to support responsible sourcing and reduce modern slavery risk. We actively prioritise locally sourced materials, supporting both low-carbon outcomes and local economies.
Beyond the building itself, our projects seek to deliver long-term social value through inclusive design and meaningful community engagement, ensuring the benefits of our work extend to workers, communities, and the wider public.