Joined up design
From streets to square feet, thriving neighbourhoods are sewn together, not thrown together.
Our design process encompasses the relationships people have with buildings, spaces and each other. Taking a broader approach not only leads to strong physical connections, through massing and form, it also fosters strong emotional connections with the community.
Joining everything up does, however, necessitate a different architectural mindset. Local neighbourhoods, by their very nature, involve many stakeholders, and accommodating every point of view can lead to numerous compromises. The best schemes, we believe, are those that reach consensus by shaping an overarching vision, which the whole community will support. Rather than begin with design concepts, we start with the best overall experience and then work back to the architecture needed to deliver it.
For us, design should create an experience that delights and improves the lives of everyone. We believe the only way to do this is with a joined up approach. By walking the streets, by living social value, by serving the greater good our mission is to help create the thriving neighbourhoods of the future. Neighbourhoods that everyone can be proud of.
Our mantras
We celebrate streets as the lifeblood of a place. This is where neighbourhoods are experienced and where the journey home is realised. When we engage with a neighbourhood, we commit to being there ourselves, connecting to the existing communities and finding out, on the ground, what makes them tick, what their problems are, and how we can help. This takes an investment of time and genuine interest, but it is vital to help make the emotional connections that are needed for a joined up approach.
Joined up design needs agility. Bringing everyone together to establish a shared vision for a place is not going to be smooth. We need to be flexible and adaptable in response to stakeholder and community aspirations so that their views are taken into account. We defend the vision, we are the guardians of quality, but we do not hesitate to continue shaping and reshaping until we find a design solution that best serves the common good. There is no place for fragility or ego in our role as facilitators of joined up design.
Joined up design rejects buildings as objects and celebrates the overall experience of a place. We set out to create delightful neighbourhoods rather than iconic buildings. We start with the user experience and work back to the design of the buildings, the streets and the spaces that deliver this experience. The best outcome for us is when people say they love their street or neighbourhood; an outcome where every aspect of a place comes together, and the buildings play their part in supporting the whole.
For consultation to work it has to be meaningful. True engagement means listening and responding to everyone, not just the loudest voices. Our grassroots approach looks for ways to engage with the ‘hard to reach’. We create partnerships with local people and organisations to ensure that our communication is ‘from the ground up’. By listening and acting we bring everyone’s views together to create consensus and build local ownership of a scheme; a common venture that bears fruit at every stage of the project.
We are committed to tackling ingrained structural inequality and bringing about real and positive change in the neighbourhoods where we have an influence. To us, that means living and breathing diversity and inclusion. We actively build relationships with individuals and bring opportunities to the communities local to our projects. When our projects offer value beyond bricks and mortar, they are both richer in their embodiment of local aspiration and provide an ongoing legacy for everyone’s benefit.
Our Leadership Team
Stitch is led by Sally Lewis, Tom Draper and Kerry Dickinson, combining expertise in architecture, sustainable design, social value, masterplanning and urban design.
Our studio-based team is supplemented through Stitch's extensive network of students, contractors, and resources available through our membership of The London Practice Forum.
Sally Lewis
Director
An architect and urban designer, Sally started Stitch in 2012. The scale of the studio’s regeneration projects means her team has been able to shape and transform whole neighbourhoods, working closely with local people. The ‘on the ground’ impact of Sally’s work has been to positively change the attitudes of many local communities towards urban regeneration.
Sally takes great pleasure in her role providing mentorship for young architects in the early stages of their careers, giving them the opportunity to lead complex regeneration projects under her guidance. This passion has led to her establishing the London Neighbourhood Scholarship Trust, a charity dedicated to promoting a more socially aware and diverse built environment in London through investment in the architectural education of young Londoners.
Sally is a member of the Redbridge Design Review panel and an external examiner at Oxford Brookes University. She was a finalist for the Building Design Architectural Leader of the Year Award in 2020 and is a member of the London Festival of Architecture’s Festival Committee.
Tom Draper
Director and Head of Sustainability
Tom is a chartered architect and is head of sustainability at Stitch. He is an accredited Passive House designer and has a focus on driving the environmental agenda within the studio.
His experience covers housing, education and health buildings and he has worked at a variety of scales from estate regeneration masterplanning down to small infill sites. Tom leads major planning projects at Stitch and is also responsible for managing the office BIM standards and implementation of new technology.
Outside of the office, Tom has mentored with Build by Us, helping to support people from under-represented backgrounds within the building industry progress with their careers. He has also tutored undergraduate students at the Welsh School of Architecture, with a particular focus on challenging sites and understanding constraints.
Kerry Dickinson
Associate
Kerry is an Associate at Stitch with a focus on high quality housing and exploring its impact on urban environment through thoughtful design at all scales.
Kerry has been project lead on a range of projects; from major residential planning applications, estate regeneration master-planning, through to the detailed design of individual homes. Kerry has led a range of challenging infill sites through from early concept stage to construction, to help Council development companies deliver housing within their boroughs.
Alongside her work in practice, Kerry is a visiting critic at student presentations at London universities throughout the year. She has also taught as an assistant tutor of Studio 99 design unit at Brighton University, with a particular focus on testing the multi-functionality of high-rise buildings in the City of London.
Awards
2020
BD Architect of the Year Awards | Housing Architect of the Year
Finalist
2020
BD Architect of the Year Awards | Architectural Leader of the Year | Sally Lewis
Finalist
2018
AJ Awards | Masterplanning category | Croydon Smaller Sites Programme
Winner
2018
Housing Design Awards | Project category | Croydon Smaller Sites Programme
Winner
2018
NLA Awards | Best masterplan or area strategy | Old Kent Road AAP Masterplan
Winner
2017
NLA Awards | Unbuilt housing category | Croydon Smaller Sites Programme
Winner
2017
Countryside Properties Partnerships Awards | Bid consultant of the year
Winner
2016
NLA Awards | Unbuilt housing category | Acton Gardens Phase 3.1
Commended
2015
AJ Emerging Woman Architect of the Year | Sally Lewis
Finalist
Join our team
We are always looking for enthusiastic and talented people to join our team. We actively promote diversity and inclusion by encouraging people from different backgrounds to enter the profession. If you would like to submit a speculative application please forward your CV with a cover letter to office@stitcharchitects.co.uk.
We are part of the London Practice Forum, a collective of London architectural practices which care about the city, its people and its built environment.