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General Office is an architecture and urban design practice based in London.

 

The Directors have over 30 years of combined experience across sectors, scales and workstages, in the UK and abroad. We have built strong reputations and developed an approach that is inventive and pragmatic, open and economical.

 

We avoid preconceptions, approaching each project as a specific “case”. We believe this is the route to useful, sustainable and enjoyable architecture.

Openness:

 

Good architects are curious. Discussion, attention and analysis are central to how we work. We organise and synthesise desires and constraints into coherent and worthwhile projects.

 

Communication is essential. We want to understand and be understood. We avoid jargon and work hard to make complex ideas plain.

 

Pragmatism:

 

Our experiences have made us resourceful and nimble, with a realist attitude to our work. General Office is excited by reality.

 

We invest in understanding what is required and identifying possibilities. Ideas are extracted from the reality of the project, translating conditions into opportunities. Everything has the potential to be extraordinary.

 

Economy:

 

General Office operate strategically. We like to locate design where it counts.

 

We have enormous respect for what exists. We think of the long term and make the most of the resources available. We treat all projects – whether new build or reuse – as a form of urban retrofit. Every project can engage positively with what there is.

 

City:

 

We are passionate about the everyday life of cities. This interest spans scales, from the post box to the office block, and from the centre to the periphery, suburbs and infrastructure that constitute the urban landscape.

 

We are conscious of the scales of responsibility inherent to architecture. We look for wider connections, relationships and contributions possible within a commission, independent of its size.

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