We have produced an in-house guidance suite that distils our philosophy, tools, best practice tips and hurdles into eight Green Guides. These span from start to completion (from briefing to post-occupancy evaluation (POE)) and cover the six themes key to our work:

- Operational Energy
- Embodied Carbon and Retrofit
- Circularity and Deconstruction
- Designing for People (Community, Wellbeing and Social Value)
- Designing for Nature (Biodiversity, Green and Blue Infrastructure)
- Climate Change and Resilience

Together with our existing Sustainable Design Roadmap and project-specific Sustainable Design Trackers, these form a simple and caring framework for our practice as a whole, individual projects, and each conversation on the way.

We believe that talking early and talking often about environmental impact is the key to sustainable outcomes. These ever-evolving guides structure everything from internal training to external briefing, so we can all act as one to make resilient and future-ready places.

Dome House & The Portman Estate Head Office are shortlisted for the AJ Retrofit & Reuse Awards under the ‘Adaptive Reuse into Office’ and ‘Fit-Out’ categories

Our retrofit approach for Dome House centres on retaining and celebrating the existing fabric while upgrading environmental performance in ways that are sensitive to heritage. For decades, the project’s unique roof structure was concealed behind a gridded ceiling; the design vision was to reveal this inherent beauty and make it the centrepiece of the refurbishment. By carefully removing the ceiling and stripping back layers of later additions, the historic timbers from below were exposed, breathing new life into the building and telling the story of its rich history. Many of the original 16th-century timbers remain intact, a testament to the craftsmanship of the original roof.

The original staircase beneath the dome was removed and replaced with a timber staircase positioned to the rear, creating a more efficient layout. New joinery elements are constructed in light ash, selected to contrast with the existing dark timber roof structure, respecting the building’s history while distinguishing new from old. The CAT A layout and rationalised circulation enhance flexibility for future occupants, extending the building’s useful life and supporting a long life/loose fit approach.

The Portman Estate’s new head office at One Great Cumberland Place is a low-carbon workplace within a restored 1920s Art Deco building, designed to support agile working, wellbeing and a more collaborative office culture. Working within the retained base build, we used extensive consultation to shape the layout and introduced low-carbon, high-recycled-content materials, generous planting, a flexible café-style heart and carefully placed rooms that preserve views to Hyde Park, while reused elements and measured embodied carbon helped reduce waste and support a carbon-neutral outcome with minimal offsetting.

The winning projects will be announced at the AJ ceremony in September. 

Gort Scott has been named a finalist for Office Architect of the Year in the Building Design Architect of the Year Awards.

The portfolio of projects we presented to the judges reflects our focus on delivering workplaces that are responsive to their context and the climate crisis, spanning across new build, retrofit, and interior fit-out:

The Portman Estate, Marylebone
Sited next to Hyde Park, this project was developed through close engagement with staff to create an uplifting environment that supports hybrid working and wellbeing. It applies a low-carbon approach to commercial interiors: materials were measured and recorded before specification, and circular economy principles informed procurement. 

Dome House, Spitalfields 
Located within the Artillery Passage Conservation Area, this project transforms a locally listed former church and synagogue into a flexible CAT A workspace. By retaining the original fabric wherever possible and minimising demolition, the design balances heritage repair with low-impact retrofit. The works included revealing a previously concealed timber dome, upgrading the building’s thermal fabric, and adding a lightweight timber rooftop extension.

Gateway West, White City
Achieving BREEAM Outstanding, this workspace features sculpted masonry facades designed to mediate between an adjacent metal-and-glass campus and neighbouring brick housing. The site incorporates a new public garden and a biodiverse roof, which together more than double the site’s biodiversity while establishing a generous pedestrian link for the local community. 

The awards event will take place in October 2026. 

The Oxford Covered Market project has been shortlisted for ‘Best Future Project of the Year’ at the upcoming UK Property Forums Oxprop Awards.

For 250 years, the Covered Market has been a vital civic space for Oxford. Our design strategy focuses on careful, heritage-led interventions that breathe new life into the existing fabric. From improving accessibility and creating a new flexible open court, to upgrading services with a focus on long-term resilience, our aim is to support the 60+ independent traders and the wider community who keep this market thriving.

The awards event takes place in September, and we look forward to continuing our work to secure the long-term future of this much-loved space.