Avanti Architects is a London-based practice established in 1981, owned and run by five architect directors and numbering around sixty staff. We aim to provide a responsive, imaginative and professional service, tailored to the aspirations of each of our clients, and to deliver quality results regardless of commission size or type. We seek to develop sustainable designs which fulfil the expectations of building users, address their physical and cultural context and allow effective solutions for procurement and construction. Our work includes all types of planning and design and our range of services extends from acting as consultants, providing strategic advice on development, regeneration and conservation, to providing full architectural services for building projects from inception to completion.
External link for Avanti Architects
25 Chart Street
London, England N1 6FA, GB
1 Horgan's Quay
Cork, County Cork, IE
A very enjoyable day sharing thoughts and ideas with some of the new homes team from LB Islington.
We were with LB Islington’s new homes team Islington Council last week at our recently completed project at Little Gearies in London Borough of Redbridge. With current economic challenges, sharing knowledge is key to unlocking more housing in London.
We were with LB Islington’s new homes team Islington Council last week at our recently completed project at Little Gearies in London Borough of Redbridge. With current economic challenges, sharing knowledge is key to unlocking more housing in London.
Our work on the Natural History museum looking beautiful in the winter sunshine! ☀️ #heritage #conservation
Nearly ready to drop the last section of moving scaffolding…and on programme. DBR Limited Avanti Architects Price & Myers
We are deeply saddened following the news of our dear colleague and friend Paul Murphy who passed away earlier this month. Paul Murphy was a much loved member of the Avanti family – a born talent who excelled in every aspect of an architect’s craft. His death is a devastating loss, not only to our practice but to the profession as a whole. He will be long and fondly remembered for his warmth and humour and we send our heart-felt condolences to his family and his many friends.
2024 Wrap Up for #AvantiArchitects 👏 As another successful year comes to an end, we’re wrapping up on some of our achievements for the year in our #residential, #healthcare, and #heritage sectors! Starting in South Kensington, Fiona Lamb has been busy over at the Natural History Museum entering a new phase of works and repair of the Grade I listed Waterhouse façade. Repairs and laser cleaning of terracotta sculptures are well underway as well as rolling scaffolding that has just been moved across to the final section on the East and the mid-section on the West end. Stay tuned in 2025 to see the results! Over in the London Borough of Redbridge, Tom Copley Deputy Mayor for Housing in London and Councillor Kam Rai leader of Redbridge Council visited our affordable housing scheme at Little Gearies, which is close to handover. The development features 103 brand-new homes distributed across five apartment buildings and terraced houses. Hill Group UK Stace Detailed design work for a major expansion for children’s healthcare at Cork University Hospital has commenced this year at Avanti, this is expected to be delivered on site in 2025, stay tuned! Avanti Architects Andrew Phillips, Fiona Lamb, Jack Biggerstaff and Lorenzo Bernardi were included in the final six for the retrofit-first focused Architects’ Journal and SAVE Britain's Heritage re:store Oxford Street competition. Avanti Architects completed on Oxlow Lane this year, providing 62 much needed affordable homes to Be First Regeneration Limited Barking and Dagenham’s regeneration organisation. The homes delivered are some of the most affordable in the capital and provide much needed energy security for residents. NHS Property Services Ltd Services (NHSPS) commissioned Avanti Architects to work alongside them and their NHS colleagues at North Central London Integrated Care System to initiate remedial works on the Grade 1 Listed, Finsbury Health Centre with the first phase of works completed in May this year. Avanti Architects succeeded in restoring the original 1938 module which is now clearly visible in the 5 x 5 block corner bays. Why settle for one anniversary a year when you can throw a party three times over? It was a big year for the Isokon Gallery, who celebrated the 90th anniversary of the completion of the Isokon flats in 1934, the 20th anniversary since the completion of the refurbishments by Avanti Architects in 2004, and the 10th anniversary since the Isokon Gallery opened in 2014! To keep up to date in 2025, check out our website avantiarchitects.co.uk and find us on Instagram (@avantiarchitects) and BlueSky @avantiarch.bsky.social. From all of us at Avanti Architects, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 🎄 #heritage #culture #Affordablehousing #Healthycommunities #healthcare #yearinreview #design #architecture
Over the years, X, formerly known as Twitter, has provided a platform for us to connect with audiences, share insights, and engage in meaningful conversations. Recent changes to the platform have prompted us to re-evaluate our position, leading to our decision to discontinue and withdraw posting content on the site with immediate effect to align with our ethos and values as a practice. “We prize social media as a way of sharing thoughts and information on topics close to our hearts. In the past this has fostered a vibrant community interested in key areas in which we work such as sustainable retrofit, Passivhaus design and conservation of iconic buildings such as The Natural History Museum and Finsbury Health centre. We will be exploring other channels including Bluesky where we hope to continue this fruitful dialogue.” Adrian Miles, Director As we transition away from X, we extend our gratitude to all those who have engaged with us over the years, and we look forward to continuing to grow and connect on multiple platforms that reflect our ethos. We will continue to post news and project updates through our website, LinkedIn and Instagram accounts (@avantiarchitects). You can also find us on Bluesky @avantiarch.bsky.social.
Great work on the Natural History Museum, thank you for sharing Keith! #heritagearchitecture #naturalhistorymuseum
Some days are good days and this was one of them. In a rare confluence of events, I had my good camera, a free diary, and the sun came out - so I climbed the scaffold (the largest mobile scaffold in the UK) to see the progress on restoration works to our magnificent terracotta facade. I even had the chance to operate the laser cleaner (under close supervision!) Great work by DBR Limited, Avanti Architects and Giulia Masci from the Natural History Museum Project Delivery Office
We were delighted to be with Tom Copley Deputy Mayor for Housing in London and Councillor Kam Rai leader of Redbridge Council this week on a walk round of our affordable housing scheme at Little Gearies which is close to handover. The scheme delivers 103 new homes across apartment buildings and terraces with 38% consisting of 3 and 4 bed family units. The project has been delivered by Hill Group UK 5 months early which is a testament of excellent collaborative working between the client, design and construction teams. Congratulations to all those involved! Stace Hill Group UK London Borough of Redbridge #afforadablehousing #residential #londonhousing
Last week, Avanti Architects colleagues Vicky Braouzou and Lorenzo Bernardi attended Architects for Health future leader’s event. The topic this year being Responsible Leadership: The developing role of the architect under the spotlight of standards and safety. Within the broader context of Architects’ evolving obligations under new legislation, the speakers each offered their unique perspectives (the team leader – the supply partner – the leadership coach) on the responsibility that comes with leadership and how it can be effectively promoted. Talks from Matt Dagworthy, Jenni Bronock, and Rachel Birchmore focused on how Architects are now responsible for social wellbeing and environmental sustainability and how Architects are tasked not only with designing for aesthetics, but also with rigorous safety standards that protect lives. This expanded responsibility requires Architects to continually adapt, balancing innovation with compliance and leading with integrity. They also described how they built on their leadership development within their team through experiences gained over the years. The lively discussion that followed reflected on the demographics of upper management (and challenges that women face in becoming leaders); achieving design elegance unhindered by compliance and standardisation constraints (while reclaiming the role of Architect as lead in social wellbeing and responsibility); and how to avoid the pitfalls of pigeonholing and micromanagement in professional development. Thank you Architects For Health for a refreshingly informal evening of presentations and discussion! #healthbuilding #architectsforhealth #avantiarchitects
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A perfect coincidence: the week of #worldmentalhealthday was the week for a knowledge exchange session sharing our interest and passion for health infrastructure with Avanti Architects. At a variety of scales the similarities were clear: colocation of services, buildings and spaces for health creation and positive growth alongside medical facilities, colour, nature, daylight, and great user feedback as a result of tenacity and community consultation. Thank you to Adrian Miles and Khuzema Hussain for encouraging this, Andrew McKeown for presenting the type of community health centres that should be showcased as blueprints for health creation in local communities, and Alasdair Ben Dixon for presenting the #NHSsocialprescribing projects we are proud and happy about - even the small but important Quiet Room. NHS Property Services Ltd Martin Meltzer Elizabeth Bachrad Dr Lucy Pain #healthinfrastructure #socialbrescribing #healthcreation #designforwellbeing #worlsmentalhealthday2024
Yesterday we were delighted to host Collective Works for a knowledge exchange session and discussion focussing on best practice and future directions for community health. Labour’s 2024 manifesto and the Lord Darzi report on the NHS commissioned by the NHS place increasing focus on community-centred healthcare and prevention encompassing both mental and physical health with an understanding of the multi-faceted social and environmental factors affecting wellbeing. Collective Works presented a series of innovative projects providing Social Prescribing services to local communities – i.e. supporting mental and physical health through a range of supportive therapeutic, social and physical activities that can improve outcomes as an alternative or as a compliment to standard healthcare interventions. Collective Works’ projects form part of an NHS pilot scheme retrofitting under-used spaces through sensitive use of material and colour as well as the transformation of outdoor spaces. Collective Works have also developed a new prototype for improving Quiet Room facilities across NHS estates, providing a more humane environment for respite, privacy and rest. Avanti shared our experience in developing health and wellbeing centres across the UK. These include innovative co-location strategies to create community hubs, such as the Grove Wellbeing Centre in Belfast, which combines GP and outpatient clinics with a fitness centre, swimming pool, and library. Other themes explored included flexibility and resilience—creating buildings that adapt to changing needs—sustainability, and the use of biophilic design and natural landscapes to enhance wellbeing. As Lord Darzi notes, if the commitment to community-based health is to be realised, we need to “lock in the shift of care closer to home by hardwiring financial flows. General practice, mental health and community services will need to expand and adapt to the needs of those with long-term conditions whose prevalence is growing rapidly as the population age. Financial flows must lock-in this change irreversibly or it will not happen.” The UK urgently requires a renewed drive in local health infrastructure, with innovative retrofitting and a broad-based strategy linking specialist health and community resources to build socially sustainable and healthy communities. #communityhealth #nhs #socialprescribing