We deliver beautiful buildings which clients love.

Our buildings work well, they make the best possible use of the site and the budget, they please the users and they please the public.  Our buildings are at the forefront of sustainable design. They are bold and uplifting on the outside, spacious and bright on the inside. They stand out but they are considerate to their context.

We design all sorts of buildings: corporate HQ’s, medical research institutes, science museums, community centres, student residences, luxury apartments and many one-off houses. We are one of the very few practices to have satisfied the planning policy permitting only ‘truly exceptional’ country houses.

Our buildings have won many awards, including the Daily Telegraph Best Townhouse Award twice and the Best Brick House Award twice. Our design ability wins respect and our creativity means we come up with new ideas to resolve problems and unlock potential. We work well with planners and we win the best possible planning consents.

It is inevitable that our studio has certain design predilections: it's fair to say we have a design philosophy, and this can be detected in the range of projects on display on this website. There are three obvious common strands that link our buildings:

• First, our love of form-making. All our buildings are great shapes.
• Second, a strong sense of order.  We don’t do collage or random: each of our buildings has a clear ordering principle which informs every part of it. 
• Third, a desire to design buildings which stand the test of time.  We avoid trendy and whimsy: we use materials and ideas which will age well.

But it should also be clear from the variety of architectural solutions adopted that our creative juices are not contained by any dogma: we tackle all sorts of building types and sizes and we let the client, the brief and the site guide us to very different answers. We do not churn out standard stuff, we do not fall back on clichés, we are very creative, we use the right side of our brains, and we really think.

Adrian James Architects is an RIBA Chartered Practice. This gives our clients the assurance that:

• All our architectural work is done under the supervision of an RIBA architect.
• All our architects are kept on their professional mettle with an obligatory CPD programme.
• We have an appropriate level of Professional Indemnity Insurance.
• We operate a sensible project-based quality management system.
• We protect the well-being of our staff, our clients and those whom our work affects with Health & Safety and Employment policies.

And importantly, we have a strong Environmental Policy guiding our every action.
Clients can rest assured that their project is in good hands in terms of both design and management. We are a relatively young team who are passionate about our craft, but we also have all the experience necessary to manage the planning process and the procurement process, and to run contracts on site being demanding but fair.

The key players:

Adrian James MA Dip Arch (Cantab) ARB RIBA
Managing Director

Trained at Cambridge University, Adrian worked on the design and procurement of exceptional buildings in the UK, the USA and Europe before settling in Oxford and starting his own studio.  As well as managing the practice and ensuring its commitment to quality in all its architectural services, Adrian leads or guides the design development of all commissions.  Adrian combines a passion for architecture with real expertise in steering projects through the planning process including, if necessary, planning appeals and public enquiries.

When he isn’t sketching he is climbing to the top of mountains the world over - and singing in the Oxford Gospel Choir.

Michael Marshall BA Hons Dip Arch (Plymouth) ARB RIBA
Associate

Mike joined Adrian in 2001 to manage the detailed design and construction of residential and commercial projects. He brought significant professional experience in the housing, live-work and office sectors acquired over a 10 year period in London.  Mike is passionate about material and detail – as evidenced by the exquisite essay in concrete that is the Hill Top House.

When he is not busy working out elegant junctions , Mike is out on his bike going very fast.

Darren Riddle BA (Hons) Dip Arch (Kingston) ARB
Senior Architect

Darren is absolutely in tune with the practice’s devotion to dynamic shape-making. He was born to the craft of architectural modelling and brings this sensitivity to the radical domestic projects he is taking from inception to completion. His previous professional experience includes school buildings and sports facilities; he is particularly interested in sustainability and how to create an architecture which combines the joy of form with a minimal carbon footprint.

Monika Palka MSc (Eng) Architecture (Silesian University of Technology)
Architectural Designer

Monika brings a wealth of international experience to the practice having studied, lived and worked in Poland, Portugal, Brazil and the UK; she speaks Polish, English and Portuguese fluently and can get by in Spanish, Russian and German. But above all she is a really excellent designer with an admirable and uncompromising attention for detail and a superb command of CAD software.

Lesley Cotton MA Dip Arch (Cantab) ARB
Consultant architect

Lesley and Adrian go back a long time to training together at Cambridge University. She has been working with the practice since 2003 focusing on project managing the design and construction of complex buildings for private clients, with a focus on interiors and landscape design.  Lesley is qualified in colour therapeutics and advises individuals and companies on how colour can transform their environments through her Colour Harmony Consultancy.  She also loves dance, sings in the same choir and runs a local arts discussions group.