Designing buildings of distinction
Meet leading Lincolnshire architect Craig Smith, whose unique and wide ranging experience has equipped him to deliver high quality, bespoke designs for homeowners and businesses.
Having worked with some of the UK’s leading architects, Craig Smith has returned to his home county of Lincolnshire and is fast establishing an excellent reputation for skilfully handling projects large and small across a variety of sectors.
Craig grew up in Humberston and Grimsby and having studied architecture at the University of Nottingham and Kingston University, qualified as an architect while working with prominent practice Stanton Williams in London. This esteemed company was a previous winner of the UK’s most prestigious award for architecture, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Stirling Prize.
Moving on up
“I was very fortunate to join the team at Stanton Williams and spent the bulk of my time working on the first residential building to be built in the history of Canary Wharf. I also worked on the new Linbury Theatre at the Royal Opera House for a short time.”
After moving back to Lincolnshire, Craig joined the Robert Doughty Consultancy as the only architect in the company. “I was tasked with developing the architectural side of this multidisciplinary planning and landscape company – no small feat for a freshly graduated architect!
“Many of the planning officers at the various local authorities I was working with were making positive comments about the design work and were recommending us to the general public. I was really enjoying bringing what I had learned back to Lincolnshire.”
Through careful design he secured planning consent for several contemporary buildings on sensitive sites where previous architects had failed. He also designed the company’s first zero carbon building.
“It was during this period that I was proud to be nominated by the RIBA journal as a “Rising Star” for my commitment to design quality in Lincolnshire.
“I will be forever grateful to the Robert Doughty Consultancy for trusting me and providing me with this opportunity as a newly qualified architect.”
Craig’s career continued its upwards trajectory despite the global pandemic, which led to a redundancy and a relocation to Edinburgh. Here he led the design of 140 affordable, zero carbon homes for the City of Edinburgh Council before returning to Lincoln and working in Nottingham with Allan Joyce Architects on the construction stage of a new 12-bedroom assisted living accommodation building for the charity Reach in Southwell.
Exemplar past projects
Projects from other past employments include a painting studio for a Turner Prize-winning artist in Devon, improved public spaces for the London Borough of Haringey, a new lakeside activities building at Walesby Forest, a distillery within an existing railway arch in London for Jensen’s Gin and retail stores in New York and Devon for Other Criteria. Projects local to Lincolnshire include a zero carbon Paragraph 84 home, a two classroom extension at Stamford Welland Academy, a Grade II listed barn conversion and the Western Growth Corridor project in Lincoln.
Many completed past projects have been recognised nationally, winning RIBA, Civic Trust and British Home Awards.
Sharing experience
Craig is passionate about education and alongside practice he teaches architecture at the Universities of Lincoln and Sheffield. He also previously mentored on University College London’s pioneering ‘Accelerate’ programme, which supports young people from under-represented backgrounds with skills development for entry onto higher education built environment courses.
“Teaching the next generation of architects ensures that I am working at the cutting edge of the profession,” explains Craig, who offers full architectural services, from initial sketch ideas to handing over the completed building. He uses cutting-edge Virtual Reality (VR) technology alongside more traditional methods such as hand drawing and model making. “With almost 15 years’ experience, I look forward to helping you bring your project to life.”
For more information visit www.craigsmitharchitect.com
Main image: Modern country home within the grounds of a Grade II listed building, Lincolnshire. For and on behalf of the Robert Doughty Consultancy.
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