• Skip to main content

SCRACE ARCHITECTS

Adding a fourth dimension to our clients dreams

  • ABOUT
    • PRACTICE
    • ARCHITECT
    • ARTIST
    • TEAM
  • SERVICES
    • WORKING TOGETHER
    • GETTING STARTED
    • PLANNING
    • DETAILED DESIGN
    • BUILD
    • CREATE
      • Be Creative
      • Art = Architecture
      • SHARE
      • snapshots
    • Design
  • WORKS
    • Be Creative
      • Design
        • THIS TOO WILL PASS
      • INTERVENTION
      • #TTWP
        • Vox Pops
        • I WILL NOT FORGET
        • YOU ARE HERE
        • WHAT IF WE
      • Urban Room
    • Commercial
      • City Hall
      • Wilton Revival
      • Interior Fit Out
      • Rural Office
      • Change of Use
      • Flexible Office
    • Community
      • Furloughed Space
      • Vinyl Competition
      • IGNITE
    • Private Houses
      • Broughton House
      • Kings Road
      • Bouverie
      • Westwood
      • Riverside
      • Garden Office
      • St Andrews
      • Countess
      • Plunge Pool
      • Summer House
    • Rural / Listed
      • Unlocking Potential
      • New Barn
      • Old Dairy
      • Wedding Venue
  • BLOG
    • IGNITE + CRAFT
    • Greenwash
    • A Straight Line
    • Plunge Pool
    • Returning Home
    • Art = Architecture
    • IGNITE + DISRUPT
    • Broughton
    • INTERVENTION
    • Back to Building
    • Subtle Finish
    • Frame a View
    • Recalibration
    • Craftmanship
    • IGNITE + NATURE
    • In-Between
    • Dominoes
    • YELLOW HAT
    • Open Up
  • Podcast
    • Frame A View
    • In Between
    • Recalibration
    • Nuts & Bolts
    • Building A Dream
    • Furloughed Space
    • Frustrated Arch…
    • The New World
    • Graduate Art Show
    • AMS Workshops
  • EVENTS
    • SHAPE & SHIFT
    • IGNITE
    • IGNITE + COLLABORATE
    • AMS Workshop
    • GALLERY
    • PUBLICATIONS
    • SHOP
  • CONTACT
    • Appointments
    • OPPORTUNITIES
      • Young People
      • TRAINING
      • Solent Beach Huts
      • Workshops
    • SOCIAL PURPOSE
    • FOLLOW US
    • SUBSCRIBE
      • CIC Launch Survey

PROFESSION

Something is changing . . .

01-09-2026 By Tim Scrace

Thinking about your project?

Not sure what’s possible, what to do next or where to start?  Whether you have a building, a site, an existing project or simply an idea, we can help you explore the potential and find a way forward.

Explore how we can help →


Summer is over. And we’re all back at work.

And after a few months of thinking, making, testing and asking some pretty big questions about where we go next, it feels like change is in the wind.  We’ve been reflecting on what we do, who we work with and, perhaps most importantly, where we can add the most value.

We’re pretty good at architecture

We understand buildings. We understand planning, design, construction and the realities of making projects happen.  But when we look back at the projects that have excited us most, they have rarely been just about the building. They’ve been about something bigger.  They’ve been about… People, Property and Place.  They’ve been about a building that could become something more.

  • A piece of land with untapped potential.
  • A business trying to work out what its space could become.
  • A community with an idea.
  • A project that has become stuck.
  • Or simply a conversation that unlocks something unexpected.
  • These are the moments that interest us.
  • The questions before the brief.
  • The possibilities before the plan.
  • The people around the table.
  • The opportunities hiding in plain sight.

And, ultimately, what happens when an idea moves beyond conversation and starts becoming real.

What could your project become?

Perhaps you have a building that isn’t working as well as it could.  Perhaps you’ve inherited a property and aren’t sure what to do with it.  Perhaps you own a site and want to understand its development potential.  Perhaps you’ve got an ambitious project but aren’t sure whether it will work.  Or perhaps you’ve already started and something has become complicated, expensive or stuck.  You may not need a set of drawings yet.  You may need someone to help you understand what is possible.

That’s where we can help.

Our strategic and feasibility work can help you explore the opportunities and constraints around a property before committing to a particular direction.  We can look at the site, planning context, potential uses, design opportunities and the practical considerations that could affect the project.  The result isn’t simply a drawing.  It’s a clearer understanding of what could happen next.

From possibility to action

Of course, understanding an opportunity is only the beginning.  The next challenge is making it happen.  That’s where our experience in architecture and design comes in. We’ve worked across residential, commercial, community and cultural projects, dealing with the practical realities of planning, design, construction and delivery.  But architecture is only one part of the process.  Sometimes a project needs a strategic rethink.  Sometimes it needs a different conversation with stakeholders.  Sometimes it needs a stronger idea.  Sometimes it needs people brought together around a common ambition.  And sometimes it needs a completely different way of looking at the problem.  That’s why we’re increasingly bringing together architecture, strategy, creativity and collaboration.  Together to See Space Differently.

People. Property. Place.

We believe good places are made by people.  The people who own them.  The people who use them.  The people who invest in them.  The people who live around them.  And the people who have ideas about what they could become.  Our work has increasingly moved beyond the traditional architect–client relationship.  Through creative projects, workshops, events and art, we’ve explored how bringing different people and perspectives together can unlock new possibilities.

This experience matters.  Because some of the hardest problems in property aren’t architectural problems.  They’re people problems.  They’re planning problems.  They’re commercial problems.  They’re communication problems.  They’re questions of purpose.  And often they’re a mixture of all of them.

We’re changing how we work

This autumn there will be more of what we do best.  Architecture. Strategy. Art. Creativity. Workshops. Events. Collaboration.

As well as SPACE.  Space to think.  Space to meet.  Space to make.  We’re creating a new workspace and gallery in Salisbury — a place where clients, collaborators, artists, designers, businesses and people with ideas can come together.   The space will be available by appointment for project conversations and future collaborations.

We’re also launching a new identity and website, developing the podcast and creating more opportunities for people to meet, learn, experiment and make.

It’s all part of the same ambition.  To unlock potential in people, property and place.

Start with a conversation

We’re making room for big ideas because sometimes the best projects don’t start with an architectural brief.  Sometimes they start with a question.  Sometimes with an opportunity.  Sometimes with a problem that nobody has quite worked out how to solve.  And sometimes with an idea that is just waiting for the right people, place and opportunity to come together.

Our role is increasingly about helping make those connections.  Seeing what’s possible.  Finding a direction.  Bringing the right people into the room.  And then doing something about it.

Ideas are important, but action is where things change.

So if you have a building, a site, a development opportunity, a project that’s stuck or simply an idea you’d like to explore, we’d like to hear from you.

You don’t need a finished brief.  You don’t need all the answers.  Start with a conversation.

Find out how we could work together →

Or contact us at info@scracearchitects.co.uk or 01722 658048.

Summer has gone. Autumn brings change. And new ways to See Space Differently.

Filed Under: ACTION, ARCHITECT, PROFESSION

From Vision to Action > Scrace Architects 2025–2026

07-01-2026 By Tim Scrace

As we step into 2026, we reflect on a busy year of progress, collaboration, and creative growth.  Whilst 2025 was a year that reaffirmed our belief in the power of design to positively shape how people experience their environments, this is the year we put our beliefs into action.

Our approach combines originality with clear, deliverable outcomes. Using drawing, painting, modelling, and creative thinking, we explore each site’s potential.  As both architects, artists and creative consultants, we develop designs that aim to tell a story, respond sensitively to their context, and offer moments of delight. Every project becomes a unique narrative shaped by place, people, and purpose.

2025 saw a range of projects reflecting this ethos. Our work in the commercial market has strengthened through partnerships with Wilton Village, Sandles Farm, the City Hall and Cherry Tree Nursery.  Each requiring both an imaginative and sensitive approach that respected character and context.

Beyond commissions, our creative workshops and public initiatives grew. The IGNITE CRAFT, COLLABORATE, CREATE series provided opportunities for knowledge sharing, and at Venturefest South 2025 we showcased our mobile prototype designed to unlock creativity, leading to the establishment of our CIC sister, See Space Differently, which we have created to empower communities to be more creative and engage with spaces through art and architecture.

The development of the practice has been supported by the growth of our team.  Mark, Joe, and Suzy have joined to support the evolving studio, Louis continues to lead on visualisation. Alongside our graduates and specialists in branding, marketing, quantity surveying and project management, the expanded team brings fresh energy and design expertise, enabling us to deliver projects of scale from concept to completion.

Looking ahead to 2026, we remain focused on challenging industry norms, sharing knowledge, and promoting sustainable, thoughtful environments. We look forward to deepening collaborations, exploring new opportunities, and creating designs and artwork that are both imaginative yet grounded in reality.

We look forward to sharing more ideas and seeing space differently with you in 2026.

For any project, large or small, a conversation is the best place to start. Contact us at info@scracearchitects.co.uk or 01722 658048 or explore our work and philosophy on instagram and on the website.

Filed Under: ACTION, DESIGN, PROFESSION

Cool (?) Beach Huts

18-07-2022 By Tim Scrace

Over the past few years, the Solent University Beach Hut project has received praise from outside of the University for its industry awareness and practicality.  The Beach Hut project encourages students to design and build a beach hut in a team. Industry experts appreciate the lesson it offers in taking students quickly from the drawing board, to making, to realising their ideas in three dimensions.

Students have the desire and opportunity to make a real difference to our world. This year’s cohort was no different with students recognising the importance of limiting the amount of waste in construction. Student were even found one group drying the masking tape in order that they could be reused again. In a complex and often overbearing world simple lessons offer a valuable insight into how they can make a positive difference to combating climate change.

The sharing of industry knowledge is what is needed to enable the innovative changes necessary to make a tangible difference. The benefit of a Faculty of Creative Industries, Architecture and Engineering is that designers from different disciplines and art forms have the opportunity of working alongside one another. This environment enables chance encounters and cross-collaboration between subjects. This creative potential has recently been realised in the beach huts forming a set for photo shoot by the School of Fashion. Who knows they may yet feature on the front cover of Vogue(?).

Scrace Architects are keen to support this philosophy and the industry connections offered by Solent and recently provided a prize for the best design.  Tim Scrace, who lectures on the architecture and interior design courses presented the winners with their prize.  Hopefully the students will be making the most of the weather and enjoying their prize of fish and chips together in the sun.

Tim was really impressed with this years work observing;

“What a variety of different designs and inventions! I can certainly see myself comfortably “working from home” from each of these designs. From sliding doors, to rooflights, to the kitchen sink, each beach hut seems to have something to offer. The standard of design this year was so close that the winners were difficult to judge. The winners stood out because they worked so well as a team, creating something unique, a place to work as well as relax and unwind. A colourful design with a winning combination of ideas and reference.”

 

Filed Under: ARCHITECT, DESIGN, INTERIOR, PROFESSION

Recalibration

16-08-2019 By Tim Scrace

As a profession, architects are obsessed with detail and engineering. More recently they have turned their attention to business, and building information modelling systems. Whilst rigorous quality-control-driven systems of manufacture are finally having a positive effect on the profitability of architectural businesses, they seem to be having a negative effect on the profundity of our buildings.  What price do you place on a building’s soul?

Gripped by templates and performance, it feels like architecture itself is on the cusp of losing its soul. Once again, and somewhat regrettably, we have realised a utopian vision where buildings, detail and finishes matter more than people. People change people’s lives, not buildings.

In an industry where sustainability remains an excuse to charge clients more for solar panels or insulation, the products of practice and industry are detached from living. Homes and extensions are ‘show homes’ and lack character; commercial buildings are functional without form.

It’s time architects and their counterparts recognise that they have got things wrong, and take time to adjust their approach. We are not alone in taking accountability of this systemic situation but will need to lead if we are to affect an industry-wide change. A recalibration of practice and delivery is in order.

The design and construction process should put greater emphasis on creative thinking. Whether this is through abstraction of the brief, choice of sustainable materials, development of concept, or procurement method, the path to good architecture should not be so narrowly defined.

A natural compulsion to get the detail right is incumbent on any architect, but the process by which this is achieved varies enormously. Those interested in making great space appear to be returning to their roots for inspiration, to Arts and Crafts, to the Bauhaus. Throughout history, architects have been recognised for lateral thinking.

The assimilation of ideas over time, without destination, may offer a more fruitful approach to design, and therefore product. Whilst working with a diverse and skilled building team to craft a solution might help caress the souls of our homes, for me, expanding the profession’s remit beyond the built form – to community engagement, art and place-making – offers the most interesting and game-changing opportunities.

With even greater global access to knowledge and materials, architects should be able to make dramatic changes. The real question is: will the profession take enough time to reflect and act upon the strategic and creative changes necessary to generate this shift?

Painting gives me time to stand back. Without restrictions, what would you do differently? 

Comment – RECALIBRATION

Filed Under: ARCHITECT, CONTEXT, PROFESSION Tagged With: architects, community, creative, placemaking, profession, recalibration, sustainable

  • LINKEDIN
  • INSTAGRAM
  • TWITTER
  • PINTEREST
SCRACE ARCHITECTS © 2024