A place to gather

Words by Hannah Tapping

It started with a simple ambition: to make a meaningful difference through architecture.

In conversation with Julian Mills of STUDIO/gather, we talk beginnings, growth and an approach to considered sustainable architecture that lies at the very heart of this practice.

Tell me a little bit about the beginnings of the practice, how it was formed and the ethos behind it.

The idea for the practice began almost a decade before it officially launched. Having spent my career studying and working in sustainable design, I was driven by the belief that architecture should leave a positive impact on both people and the planet. When I found the place where I wanted to put down roots, it felt like the right time to follow in the footsteps of the architects and mentors who had inspired me by creating a studio built around those same values. The catalyst for turning that long-held ambition into reality came when I learned I was going to become a father.  The arrival of my daughter gave me a renewed sense of purpose and urgency. I wanted to build something that would show her that with determination, anything is possible. I wanted my work to create lasting, positive change and to establish a business that prioritised sustainability, supports the wellbeing of its people, and offers the flexibility for everyone involved to enjoy a fulfilling life beyond work. With that, ten years of dreaming finally became a reality. And if there is one thing that inspires you to make an idea succeed, it is having a young family. That responsibility became the greatest motivation of all.

The practice has grown from a founder-led studio into a small team of architects and technicians, how has your ethos evolved as the team has expanded and how do you keep that shared thread consistent across different people’s work?

In the early days of the practice, we invested a significant amount of time defining a clear mission and vision. We worked with an industry specialist whose expertise lay in helping businesses articulate their purpose and values. After months of workshops, conversations, and no small investment of our fledgling savings, we emerged with a statement that was remarkably similar to the one we had started with!

On the train home from our final meeting, I remember wondering whether we had just wasted months of our time – or whether we had simply been given the confidence to trust what we had believed all along. Looking back, it was undoubtedly the latter. The process didn’t change who we were; it validated the principles that had inspired the practice from the start. The people who have joined us have been drawn not only by the work we do, but by what we stand for. They want to make a positive impact through architecture, specialise in low-energy design, create buildings that respect the planet, and work in an environment with a healthy work–life balance.

Maintaining that culture requires ongoing commitment. We regularly step away from project work to reflect on who we are as a practice and whether our actions continue to align with our values. Team reviews, away days, volunteering initiatives and open conversations all create space to listen, learn and evolve. It is through these moments of reflection that we ensure our founding vision remains as relevant today as it was on day one.

STUDIO/gather is a certified B Corp, a member of 1% for the Planet, and signed up to Architects Declare and the RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge. Of all these commitments, which has actually changed the way you design or run the studio day to day and why are they important to the practice?

They are all important in a different way, but if I had to single one out, the B Corp certification process has probably had the biggest influence. It encouraged us to examine every aspect of how the business operates, asking difficult questions about governance, culture, environmental impact and accountability. More importantly, it challenged us to formally embed the values that had always defined the practice.

The process itself was demanding. Fortunately, much of the work had already been done organically – it was less about reinventing the business and more about documenting and formalising the way we already worked. We began the journey within our first year of trading and only recently reached the finish line in 2025. It was a significant undertaking, but one that the entire team is immensely proud of. B Corp has become a recognised benchmark for businesses committed to balancing purpose with profit, and earning that certification felt like tangible proof that we were living up to the values we talk about.

Our commitment to 1% for the Planet reflects a similar philosophy. It ensures that a portion of our profits is directed towards organisations working to protect and restore the natural environment, but it also acknowledges the influence of Yvon Chouinard and his approach to business. Reading Let My People Go Surfing had a lasting impact on how I thought a practice could operate. It presented a vision of a business that values people, embraces flexibility and sees commercial success as a means to create positive change.

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That has become something of a blueprint for STUDIO/gather. Whether it’s taking advantage of lunchtime surfs when the conditions are right, supporting flexible working around childcare, or ensuring our success contributes to causes that benefit people and the planet. Having commitments such as B Corp and 1% for the Planet acts as a constant reminder of the standards we’ve set ourselves and the purpose behind the practice. Those commitments also encourage continual reflection. They influence decisions that might otherwise seem insignificant - where we source our materials, which suppliers we choose, where our coffee comes from, and even the types of clients and projects we decide to work with. Sustainability isn’t a single decision; it’s a series of hundreds of small ones. 

Our commitments to Architects Declare and the RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge are slightly different. Rather than focusing on how the business is run, they shape the buildings we design. Every project involves balancing ambitious environmental goals with the realities of rising construction costs, changing supply chains and finite client budgets. There are often difficult conversations about where savings can be made without compromising the integrity of the design or the environmental performance we set out to achieve. Those challenges are now simply part of the job.

With Passivhaus, EnerPHit and retrofit as specialisms, how do you balance the technical rigour of those standards with the ‘lifestyle-driven’ design your clients are commissioning you for?

Most of our clients come to us because they want to create a genuinely low-energy home. Sustainability is usually the starting point. They also know, through our previous work or reputation, that we design architecture that is thoughtful, site-specific and tailored to the people who will live there. The real challenge – and the part we enjoy most – is bringing those two ambitions together so neither is compromised. For us, lifestyle-led design isn’t simply about adding more space. It’s about understanding how people want to live and shaping their home around that. Sometimes that means creating an extension or introducing entirely new spaces. Just as often, it’s about making an existing home work harder – improving comfort, reducing energy bills and giving people greater freedom to spend their time and resources on the things that matter most.

Every project is different because every client arrives with a different story. We spend time with our clients at the very beginning to understand where the greatest opportunities lie, identifying what will have the biggest impact on both their lifestyle and the building’s performance. Interestingly, those conversations often reshape the brief.

What enables us to achieve this is our team who combine creative thinking with technical expertise. Their ability to design homes that are both architecturally distinctive and exceptionally energy efficient is what defines the practice. We don’t see sustainability as something that limits creativity; instead, it becomes an integral part of the design process, allowing us to create homes that are as enjoyable to live in as they are responsible to build and operate.

If a prospective client came to you today unsure whether ‘sustainable’ and ‘beautiful’ have to be a trade-off, what would you point them to in your work to prove they don’t.

Every project we undertake is shaped by the client rather than a predetermined house style. We don’t believe in imposing a signature aesthetic. Instead, our design process responds to the people, the place and the existing architecture. What one person finds compelling; another may see entirely differently.

Some of our most rewarding projects are also the most challenging: extending and transforming historic buildings while ensuring they perform to modern environmental standards. At both Carmino House and The Boswarthen Piggery, we carefully balanced the character of the original buildings with contemporary sustainable design principles. Low-carbon insulation was introduced in a way that allowed the existing structures to remain breathable, improving thermal performance while protecting the integrity of the historic fabric. These are the fundamentals of sustainable architecture – often invisible to the eye, yet critical to creating buildings that are healthy, comfortable and built to last.The architectural expression then comes through in the craftsmanship: the careful selection of natural materials, the precision of detailing, the relationship between interior spaces and the surrounding landscape, and the way natural light animates the building throughout the day.

That said, one project that perhaps best embodies both beauty and sustainability is White Wings. Highly Commended for its design within a conservation area (Falmouth), this new-build home demonstrates that contemporary sustainable architecture can sit comfortably within a sensitive historic setting. Finished with reclaimed Delabole slate, the building has been described as resembling a mackerel swimming through the Cornish sea, with the changing light creating a shimmering, ever-evolving façade. Designed to perform as close to Passivhaus standards as possible without formal certification, White Wings proves that exceptional environmental performance and timeless architectural beauty are not mutually exclusive - they are at their best when they are achieved together.

I can see that material choice is particularly important, can you explain why this is and how it fits within the sustainability piece?

One of the first things you realise as an architect is the extraordinary volume of materials that go into creating a building. From foundations to finishes, tonnes of concrete, steel, timber, glass and insulation arrive on site, each carrying its own environmental footprint. Every material has a story long before it reaches a project, shaped by the energy required to manufacture it, the resources it consumes and the impact it leaves behind. As designers, it’s our responsibility to think not only about how those materials perform today, but also about the legacy they leave for future generations.

For me, that responsibility became deeply personal on the roof of one of my earliest projects in Cornwall. Just a week before, I had volunteered on a Surfers Against Sewage beach clean, collecting discarded plastic bottles, packaging and fishing debris from the shoreline. Like many people, I had associated plastic pollution with careless littering and large manufacturers. Yet here I was, less than 500 metres from the sea, watching contractors cut rigid plastic insulation as fragments blow effortlessly into the wind. It was a sobering moment. Those pieces of insulation weren’t likely to be collected on the next beach clean. Instead, they would gradually break down into microplastics, finding their way into the marine ecosystem and our waterways, where their impact would be almost impossible to reverse. The experience fundamentally changed the way I thought about material specification. 

In many cases, replacing petrochemical-based products with bio-based alternatives is remarkably straightforward – provided sustainability is considered from the outset of the design process rather than as an afterthought. Today, we actively seek to minimise the use of high-carbon materials across our projects, particularly those that contribute to plastic pollution. Every material choice is an opportunity to reduce environmental harm while creating buildings that are healthier, more resilient and ultimately better connected to the landscapes they inhabit.

Looking across your portfolio is there one project that you feel best represents where the practice is heading now, and why?

The months ahead are particularly exciting. Over the next three months alone, we’ll complete a certified Passivhaus in Polzeath, an intricate whole-house retrofit and landscape scheme on the Helford, a modest extension for a young family in St Columb Major and a characterful artistic renovation and extension in West Penwith. Each project is entirely different in scale, setting, and expression. All have their merits of which we would say show our studios colours stamped to the mast. We’ll be updating our website and social media accounts as they go live.

Our portfolio remains a true reflection of who we are as a practice. We enjoy working on projects of every scale, from carefully considered home extensions to ambitious new-builds and complex retrofits. What unites them isn’t a particular architectural style, but a shared commitment to thoughtful, sustainable design and the privilege of collaborating with passionate clients who want to create something special.

  studiogather.co.uk