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Studio Page 02

Studio

John Pardey established his practice in 1988 as a sole trader whilst teaching at several schools of Architecture. The practice re-launched in 2000 as John Pardey Architects (jpa) and now employs ten staff.

Commissions have grown over the years and perhaps most recognised is our architecture in the residential sector. We have undertaken numerous private house commissions and large-scale residential developments and become nationally recognised gaining 60 awards, including nine RIBA Awards; two Housing Design Awards in 2020 and shortlisted for the Neave Brown Award for the best UK housing scheme in the UK in 2022; along with the Gold Medal for Architecture in Wales in 2013.

jpa was cited as one of Britain’s top six residential design practices in the Sunday Times in April 2014.

Our approach

jpa believes in making great contemporary buildings that exceed expectations without exceeding budgets. We have a passion for design that makes the maximum use of what is already there – the site, the climate, the views, the path of the sun – and combine this with the use of natural materials used in a contemporary way that weather naturally to achieve a timeless quality.

Our approach to all projects - regardless of scale or budget - is to firstly understand the vision and objectives of the client and then work very hard to explore options to find a solution that exceeds expectations yet remains practical, achievable and lasting. We always endeavour to use natural materials to make buildings that work and wear well, to provide a richness and resonance that endures.

We see our work as humanistic – modern, but tempered by a love of place, traditions and materials – we aim for timelessness in our buildings. We try hard to attain simplicity yet richness, clarity yet depth, elegance yet robustness.

Our work fuses many influences, from English Arts & Crafts, Scandinavian Modernism and the Californian Case Study House programme of the 1950s – but ultimately, we like to think our work has a unique imprint that is entirely our own. We do not labour over theory for its own sake, but always underpin our work with a clear diagram and concept, that distils the programme and guides design development so that the detail becomes just as important as the whole.

We understand the complexities of the planning system and have an enviable record of achieving difficult consents, ranging from contemporary one-off houses in sensitive locations, to large residential schemes.

We embody sustainability in our work without it being an add-on, avoiding unnecessary waste to achieve an efficient use of energy and resources, but rather than base our designs on such issues, we simply engender these as common sense.

The practice prides itself on being able to not just design, but to have a firm grounding in construction and detailing that makes for a complete service, which we deliver with professionalism.

Testimonials

We contacted thirty-five architects, several architects recommended JPA. We contacted JPA, met up, decided and have worked with them ever sinceIn our experience, we have been increasingly impressed with JPA and feel eternally grateful to work with them. All you are doing when you hire an architect is buying a relationship based on trust. We trust JPA. Oh, and the end result is simply magnificent, unbeatable, perfect. James Sumner (Sumner House, Buckinghamshire. 2023)

"From the moment we met John Pardey on site, we knew we had found the right practice for our project. Uniquely among our candidates, he sketched out straight away a vision for how an 'upside down' house – with bedrooms below and living space above - would suit this special location.
The finished product goes beyond our wildest dreams in how it works for us as a family and for the astonishing, 200-degree views over the Solent and Langstone Harbour. JPA have delivered a remarkable building that fulfils our dreams, enhances the built environment and is a strong and visible vote of confidence in the future of Hayling Island." Simon Montague (Montague House, Hampshire. 2021)

"I do not know if usually your first vision of a house for a particular site is the one that is built, certainly the case here, so your instinctive reaction to the place was perfect. We have enjoyed the build mainly because you and your first-class team have been with us every step of the way, with timely guidance and advice. Whenever we wobbled you personally were there to stiffen our resolve. I don't think we realised when we embarked on the project that the relationship with our architects would be so lengthy or so important, transcending the usual relationships in the commercial field." Mike & Susan Phillips (Phillips House, Devon. 2021)

"The architect-client relationship, wedded to the common cause of delivering an outstanding bit of architecture, never waivered. When your architect is prepared to revise an inconsequential cupboard drawing six times to get the details just right, your belief in the worthiness of the endeavour is replenished…The end result is a unique building, responsive to my family’s every need and respectful of its environment. Our house borders nine others but sat in our courtyard, you wouldn’t know it. The building, just visible from the road is unmistakably contemporary, but its timber-clad façade is modest and does not look out of place." Binith Cheeran (Cheeran House, Berkshire. 2016)

 

People

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Awards

2024 RIBA South-East Award 2024 Shortlist: Muray House
2024 RIBA South Award 2024 Shortlist: Chestnut Plantation
2022 RIBA Neave Brown Award for Housing 2022 Shortlist: Lovedon Fields
2022 RIBA South Award: Lovedon Fields
2021 RIBA "House of the Year" 2021 Shortlist: Narula House / Montague House
2021 RIBA South Award: The Narula House
2020 Housing Design Award, Masterplan Award: Alfold Gardens, Surrey
2020 Housing Design Award, Project Award: Pantiles Garden Centre, Lyne Surrey
2018

RTPI Planning Excellence Awards, Commendation: Ordnance Yard Housing, Priddy's Hard, Gosport

2018

St Albans Civic Society Award: Oaklands College Housing, St Albans

2017

Sussex Heritage Trust Award: The Traffic Lights, Withdean Road, Brighton

2017

RIBA South East Award:  The Traffic Lights, Withdean Road, Brighton

2016

Shortlisted: National competition for a new house in Ide Hill, Kent

2016

RIBA House of the Year Awards Shortlist (The Cheeran House & The Owers House)

2016

RIBA South West Award: The Owers House

2016

RIBA South Award: The Cheeran House

2015

Cornish Building Award Commendation: The Owers House

2015 Commended: The British Homes Awards
2014 Winner: Residential development around a destination spa and golf course at at Nebrenice, Prague
2014 Runner-Up: International design competition for the replanning of the district centre of Skovlunde, Copenhagen
2013 Highly Commended: The Wood Awards – Private/ Best small project: The Trewarren House
2013 Gold Medal for Architecture in Wales: Trewarren House 
2013 RIBA Wales Region Award 2013: Trewarren House
2011 Shortlisted: RIBA Manser Medal: The Watson House
2011 Shortlisted: The Downland Prize: The Pooley House
2011 Highly Commended: The Wood Awards – Private/ Best small project: The Watson House
2011 RIBA Southern Region Award: Watson House, Hampshire
2009 Shortlisted: RIBA Stirling Prize Stephen Lawrence Award
2009 Shortlisted: RIBA / Rother District Council’s Seafront shelters + kiosk competition
2009 RIBA Southern Region Award: Hind House, Wargrave Berkshire
2009 Finalist: Grand Designs Magazine Awards for Best New House in Britain
2007 First Prize: Southwark Council/ international design competition for a new ‘School for the Future’
2006 Shortlisted: RIBA Bookshops 2005 International Book Award: for John Pardey’s book ‘Utzon: Two Houses on Majorca’
2006 Winner: Grand Designs Magazine award for Best Remodelled house in Britain
2006 Finalist: Grand Designs Magazine Awards for Best New House in Britain
2005 Second Prize: Christchurch Borough Council/ RIBA for a new cliff-top café
2005  Runner up: The Prime Minister’s Best Public Building Award
2004 Chilterns Design Award
2004 First Prize: Galvanisers Association award
2001 RIBA Southern Region award
2001 First Prize: RIBA sustainable school competition in Canterbury
1996 Runner up: Europan international housing competition at Priesthill, Glasgow
1995 Commended: RIBA national design competition for a new city centre bus station, Walsall, W. Midlands
1994 Honourable Mention: Europan international competition for medium density housing in the suburbs of Stockholm, Sweden
1993 First Prize: National competition for the design of a new Garden of Remembrance at Kensal Green cemetery, London
1992 Runner up: Kent County Council/RIBA national design competition for an infill site in Rochester town centre
1992 Second Prize: Blanc de Bierges Street furniture design competition
1992 Third Prize: RIAS/Scottish Sports Council hotel swimming pool competition
1990 Highly Commended: RIBA/Country Life national design competition for a new visitors centre at the Dulwich Picture Gallery
1990 Honourable Mention: International competition for the design of a Chamber Theatre and Arts Centre, Moscow
1990 Honourable Mention: Comune di Genova international competition to redesign the area of Piazza Dante, Genoa, Italy
1989 Second Prize: Chichester District Council/RIBA national design competition for a 900 space multi-storey car park within a conservation area
1989 Second Prize: EEC Energy Research Group 'Working in the City'. European architectural ideas competition for a design of a passive-energy urban office prototype in London
1989 First Prize: Birmingham City international design competition for the design of a 700 pupil inner-city junior school and community centre with ancillary housing
1988 First Prize: Building Centre Trust national 'Ideas for living, a housing demonstration project competition'
1988 Joint Premier Prize: Memorial Advisory Bureau national 'Phoenix Awards for the design of a cemetery for commemoration after cremation competition'
1987 Second Prize: Building Design / Barbour Microfiles national 'Le Corbusier centenary housing competition'

Publications

  • "So to describe John Pardey’s Duckett House as beautiful suggests more than a mere aesthetic fondness; it implies an attraction to the particular way of life this structure is promoting, through its roof, door handles, window frames, staircases and furnishings. A feeling of beauty is a sign that we have come upon a material articulation of certain of our ideas of a good life. Pardey’s building is a reminder of the truth in Stendhal’s aphorism ‘beauty is the promise of happiness’."
    — Alain de Botton, The Architecture of Happiness
  • "When your architect is prepared to revise an inconsequential cupboard drawing six times just to get the details just right, your belief in the worthiness of the endeavour is replenished. I would do it again.

    The end result is a unique building, responsive to my family’s every need and respectful of its environment."
    — Binith Cheeran
  • "John Pardey Architects are excellent – they know schools and got to know this one quickly and efficiently. They even coped with a sudden change of Head Teacher."
    — Barry Mason, Project Manager, Southwark Schools for the Future (Eveline Lowe School)
  • "My wonder is small and discrete – without invisibility it would never have received planning consent in its sensitive New Forest setting. The Watson House is delightful. It lifts your spirits to see a simple yet thoroughly inspirational house sitting in its landscape. John Pardey’s design pays homage to Danish examples of the mid-20th century and has been enriched by a playful humour such as the floor level windows which give privacy, but also expose the inner life of the building in a delightful way. The building is uncomplicated, elegant and ticks all the environmental boxes. This is the optimism of the postwar period made to work properly with modern and vast sustainable technology. I find it a poetic building, which is all too rare in the English environment for new homes. It’s the sort of holiday home everyone would wish for."
    — Oliver Richards (Building magazine, April 2012)
  • "From the moment we met John Pardey on site, we knew we had found the right practice for our project. Uniquely among our candidates, he sketched out straight away a vision for how an 'upside down' house – with bedrooms below and living space above - would suit this special location.
    The finished product goes beyond our wildest dreams in how it works for us as a family and for the astonishing, 200-degree views over the Solent and Langstone Harbour. JPA have delivered a remarkable building that fulfils our dreams, enhances the built environment and is a strong and visible vote of confidence in the future of Hayling Island."
    — Simon Montague
  • "I know we have told you several times how much we love our house but thought we should formally thank you... for designing and delivering us such a super home. It exceeds our expectations and we still can’t quite believe its ours."
    — Mike & Diane Smith (Clients, Smith House)

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