How we work
From breathing new life into important public buildings to creating new places for people to thrive, we love working with communities. We can look at a place holistically with the creative vision to propose a new future. We can also dive into the detail of a place, identifying small changes that will have a big impact. Whatever the project, we believe that visibility and working side-by-side get the best results.
Everything we do adopts a human-centric approach and strives to create a positive impact on the communities with which we work.
Empowering communities
We recognise that communities are experts on their own environments. Those who interact with a space day-to-day understand best the challenges and opportunities that exist, how the space works, who uses it, and when. They have ideas about how the space could feel, how it functions, and the activities that could work.
We believe that open, honest and meaningful consultation from the outset is essential if a community is to feel at the heart of a scheme. By truly engaging with the local community, we can empower them to contribute and see the results of such contributions manifested through the design development.
A tailored approach
We also understand that each community and local authority has different priorities. Now, more than ever, it is important that we don't deal with communities as homogenous groups, but recognise the richness and diversity of their makeup. A one-size approach cannot fit all.
Meaningful impact through community engagement
Our approach to engaging people with places.
Chithra Marsh
Chithra is a director at Buttress with more than 20 years of experience in commercial practice in both the public and private sectors.
Kimberley Corrall
Kimberley is an associate at Buttress who works within the practice's heritage team, specialising in projects that have a strong community emphasis.
Lucy Brackenbury
Lucy is an enthusiastic and creative architect who specialises in projects that have a strong community emphasis.