General Office is a new architecture and urban design practice based in South East London. General Office concentrate on projects of urban significance. The Directors have over 30 years of combined experience across the range of scales, types and uses that make up the contemporary city. Our work is focused on housing, workspace and all forms of social infrastructure. We employ pragmatism, openness and a conscious economy of means to develop architectural projects that support and expand the potential of urban life. General Office is a majority female owned micro-enterprise. Indeterminate specificity: All General Office projects are concerned with balancing a specific response to the circumstances of a project with an opened-ended attitude to use. We avoid over-deterministic organisations, instead opting for a multi-functional architecture beyond the use envisioned in the original commission. This attitude is based on a long-term view in which buildings and spaces are judged on their urban contribution and usefulness as stable frameworks for changing demands. We believe that this robust and accommodating approach is essential for sustainable urban development. Pragmatism: Entering the profession just before the financial crisis of 2008, we have witnessed instability and uncertainty, boom and bust. We have become resourceful and nimble, developing a realist attitude to architectural work. General Office is excited by reality. We invest time in understanding what is required and identifying possibilities. We extract ideas from the facts of each project, translating conditions and constraints into opportunities. Everything has the potential to be extraordinary. Openness: Good architects are curious. We are deeply interested in what people think, what places are really like and what we are being asked to do. We put high value on the role of clients and collaborators in the design process. We believe that discussing and developing the brief is the most important step in a successful project. All projects begin with analysis. The point of this is to give our clients the best possible response to their requirements. We draw on all available knowledge and remain open to unexpected opportunities and exciting surprises. Clear communication is essential to how we work. So is talking to the right people at the right time. We want to understand and be understood. We avoid jargon and work hard to make complex ideas plain. Economy: General Office operate strategically. We design with intention, economy and precision. We like to locate design where it counts. We have enormous respect for what exists. This is not just about nice old things, but about looking for the potential in everything. We have to use less, think of the long term and make the most of the resources available to us. Words like ‘maintenance’, ‘repair’ and ‘upgrade’ need to become as commonly heard as ‘regeneration’ and ‘development’. We treat all projects—whether new build or adaptive reuse—as a form of urban retrofit. Every project can engage positively with what there is. City: General Office is passionate about the everyday life of cities. This interest spans scales and territories, from the post box to the office block, and from the centre to the periphery, suburbs and infrastructure that constitute the urban landscape. Our work is always conscious of the scales of engagement and responsibility inherent to architecture. We look for the wider connections, relationships and contributions possible within a commission, independent of its size. Work: General Office is skilled in and open to the following work: — Housing. — Workspace and commercial. — Education and community. — Adaptive reuse and retrofit. — Urban design. — Strategies and visions. — Feasibility studies and brief development. — Public realm. — Domestic. We are especially excited by projects with complex briefs or challenging sites.