Who we are
FORMA was founded in London in 2016. We are a studio of fourteen architects, interior designers, and landscape designers committed to the long view — buildings and spaces that are still improving twenty years from now.
We work across scales and programmes: from small private houses to large cultural institutions, from furniture design to masterplanning. What connects our work is a shared belief in the value of restraint, the importance of material honesty, and the primacy of how a space feels rather than how it photographs.
“We believe that the practice of architecture is ultimately a practice of attention — to light, to material, to the people who will live and work in the spaces we make.”
Founding Director
Clara founded FORMA in 2016 following a decade at Herzog & de Meuron and Caruso St John. Her work is characterised by a rigorous engagement with context and an insistence on material quality. She holds a Diploma in Architecture from the AA School of Architecture and an MPhil from Cambridge.
Director, Architecture
Daniel leads the architectural design team, overseeing projects from concept through construction. Previously an associate at David Chipperfield Architects, he brings meticulous attention to the resolution of detail and a particular interest in the integration of structure and programme.
Director, Interiors
Priya leads the studio's interior design practice. Her background spans both residential and hospitality work, with previous roles at Ilse Crawford Studio and 1508 London. She brings a furniture-maker's eye for material and joinery to every project.
Associate, Masterplanning
Theo joined FORMA in 2019 to lead the studio's growing urban design practice. He has led masterplanning commissions in Bristol, Manchester, and Glasgow and holds a Masters in Urban Design from the Bartlett, UCL.
01
Every project begins with a sustained period of listening — to the brief, the site, and the people who will inhabit the space. We resist the impulse to begin designing before we understand what the project is really for.
02
We study the site in depth: its history, its context, its orientation and light, its material culture. We look at precedents not to copy them but to understand the full range of possible responses.
03
A rigorous and opinionated concept proposal, tested in section and in model before it is committed to drawing. We present one resolved idea, developed to the point where we can defend every decision.
04
Design development proceeds from the inside out — resolved space planning and material decisions before façade and appearance. Technical design is our opportunity to refine, not to compromise.
05
We remain present on site throughout construction, maintaining quality through hands-on engagement with the building process. The best buildings come from architects who understand how things are made.
The discipline to know what to leave out. Our most important decisions are the things we choose not to do.
An obsessive attention to the quality of detail, material, and making. Buildings that improve with time.
In material, in structure, in the relationship between appearance and performance. No deception.
Being on site, knowing how buildings are made, and maintaining quality through genuine engagement with the process.