As a studio, our guiding principles shape every aspect of our operations and working processes. Central to our mission, is the commitment to preserve ecological balance through our design work, whilst addressing human needs in a united vision of a circular design-led practice.

Our foremost studio goal - is to design beautiful environments that create a profound sense of belonging, rooted in the essence of the local culture and heritage, while seamlessly meeting the practical demands of everyday life.

With a love of craft, workmanship and the pleasure of doing something well, our approachable and collaborative design process ensures that you achieve the exact end product you set out to accomplish, from inception to completion.

Our architectural practice is guided by these three overarching principles.



  • SYSTEMS CHANGE INNOVATION

    We recognise that there needs to be a sustainable and circular future, acknowledging that we have surpassed the Earth's capacity to sustain us on all levels. At RL-a, we approach design by looking beyond our current lifetimes. We look at legacy. 

    Given the instability of the current climate and the volatility of the economic landscape, we must adopt a new approach to design for our clients, providing them with certainty, adaptability, and security. Our clients observe the value added to their projects through architecture that serves as a continuing resource, through an innovative and evolving design approach. 

    Our buildings are progressive, breaking through the barriers of what feels possible, and returning to a breathtakingly simple and natural approach. We create architecture which establishes itself through design, construction and occupation. A new way of viewing ourselves within the built environment, and throughout our natural world. text goes here

  • THE NATURAL WORLD

    Our environments shape our lives. Throughout our work, we examine each different ecosystem at play - both human, animal and plant - to create grounded design work within healthy growth environmental frameworks. These frameworks are developed into grounded and robust working systems, that benefit all.

    In our practice, we learn by looking at what already exists; from the buildings present to the ecosystems already in place. When we mimic the simplicity and intelligence of nature, we create value that surpasses a simplistic economic model.

    Instead, we consider value across lifetimes and beyond, encompassing immeasurable but indisputable impacts on our well-being, resilience, and collective reliance. By incorporating ourselves into the natural world and seeing ourselves as part of it rather than separate, we fundamentally alter the way that we design.

  • CONNECTION, COLLABORATION & COMMITMENT

    We are dependent on each other; this is part of human existence. Learning to rely on and support one another, and building trust, respect and honesty, is integral to creating architecture.

    This kind of architecture resonates with warmth, connection and pride. We build teams with this value at our core, maintaining meaningful, long-lasting connections that extend far beyond the project's lifetime becoming part of the fabric, and of the story. We are committed to our legacy.