Our main priority is helping clients make great architecture that serves their needs and responds in a vital way to its context and cultural surroundings. In order to do this and to further the studios own knowledge base we invest in a wide programme of research which enables us to be inventive and to find new and sometimes unexpected solutions to the problems that we are posed.
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We work in collaboration with like-minded consultants in order to further our thinking and skill level and since our inception, we have always looked to develope concepts grounded by good research that have a light touch on the planet, are low in carbon and energy-use. We look to our research to help us and our clients mitigate the impact of climate change.
Dan Rooke
Architects Assistant
BA (Hons) MArch
‘Dan is a motivated and experienced designer, joining WR-AP in June 2021. With a passion for the environment and our collective social responsibility, Dan possesses a keenness to create stimulating architecture that harmonises with its setting.’
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My engagement with buildings, spaces and design stems from my childhood, without question. When not clambering across rocks on the beach or climbing trees in the South Downs countryside, you’d have doubtless found me exploring the best hiding places at friend’s houses; trying to understand how these spaces came to be. This inquisitiveness led me on an educational journey of art and design, which really unlocked my creative problem-solving attitude. Such was the appeal in uncovering what makes for a great space, I pursued a career in Architecture and studied both Bachelors and Masters Degrees at Kingston University. It was this formal education that opened my eyes to the interactions between people and place. I believe that carefully-constructed architecture can complement the identity of any environment at social, material and sensory levels. During my professional development, I have continued to enjoy the roles that photography, sketching and model-making play in my understanding of the urban realm.
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I take pride in having played a hands-on role in the design and construction of ‘live build’ projects in partnership with a Surrey-based Community Interest Company during my Masters course. These included the RIBA Silver Medal-nominated ‘Surbiton Yatai’ project for the ‘Seething Festival’; and ‘ShedX’ which won a Silver Medal at the 2018 RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show and toured at the V&A Museum and Lambeth Palace. These opportunities helped form an appreciation of the craft of construction, in turn inspiring the way I view collaboration, client ambitions and user experience. Architecture is an iterative process, so I seek to adopt a ‘thinking through making’ approach wherever possible. Physically making a model is just as informative to us as it is to the client.
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I have a strong interest in capturing exciting design through the lens. Inspiration can spring at any moment and I find myself as much in awe of small details as I do great spaces. Participating in supportive and impartial discourse as a critic serves to better equip us all in practice and helps the industry prosper.
I have always found sanctuary in the peace and quiet of nature. In my own time, you’ll most likely find me out with my camera gear on a long countryside walk with my partner, probably stopping to coo over a stranger’s dog. In urban environments, I’m the guy who’ll stop to peep through the gap in the hoarding at a construction site to see what’s going on. I love sport and for much of my childhood played football and represented my local Harriers Athletics Club. Nowadays I’m an animated fan, watching my football team squander another chance in our annual battle to avoid the drop.