Client Quotes & Clients

SANDCASTLES filmed for BBC The Late Show – Concept and performers from Ian Ritchie Architects with Ros Newman – sculptor, David Glover – engineer (Arup), and with the permission of the local planning authority, and nature and conservation societies at Brancaster Staithe, Norfolk

“We are truly honoured to have worked with ritchie*studio on The Brewhouse/Trident Park project.
We are indeed indebted to you for your continued belief and commitment to satisfy our desire to create something special and memorable for our family’s and Malta’s sake with our 1950 Brewery structure.  You have certainly delivered a world-class building which is already proving to be a success as a commercial proposition. We shall treasure our memories of the various phases we have been through to complete the project. To crown it all your book “Renewal Architects” will establish the venture as a truly iconic event worthy of global recognition.” 
Louis Farrugia Chair and Operations Director, Simonds Farsons Cisk plc

“Thank you for making our dream come true! It’s been an absolute pleasure and honour working with you.”
Michael Farrugia, Executive Director – Operations and Business Development, Farsons Group

“The book accompanying the launch of the Brewery renewal project (carried out by Malta’s prime minister and the Archbishop of Valetta) is as handsome as the building. Renewal Architects (Unicorn) is a comprehensive review of the history of the original buildings, the context in which the current project took place, a record of truly collaborative design (including the active engagement of the client) and a brilliant visual record of a piece of Maltese history dating back to the late 1940s. Unusually for a building monograph, there is a very clear connection between the design of the book and the design of the building project. A pleasure to read, and an intriguing glimpse into social and economic history – all based on an appreciation of beer.”
Paul Finch, Director of the World Architecture Festival; Deputy Chair of the Design Council and Editorial Director of the Architectural Review and Architects’ Journal

“The experience of walking through the development as it neared completion was literally one of joy, as the modulations of light, space, colour and detail began to unfold into one beautiful composition, within a full respect of the heritage context.”
Professor Alex Torpiano, Director of TBA Periti, engineer, architect and Dean Architecture & Urban Design Faculty for the Built Environment, University of Malta

“We have been working on this vision to find new uses for our iconic buildings for many years and, although it is ambitious, we feel confident that the time is right for a quality development of this magnitude to happen, which will help transform the area and contribute to Malta’s economy by providing quality space which is aesthetically pleasing and environmentally sustainable.”
Louis Farrugia, Chairman and Operations Director, Simonds Farsons Cisk plc

“Ian is one of the most respected British architects and a delight to work with. Each project is infused with energy and beauty. The joy he derives from creating pleasurable spaces with atmosphere, communicative range and flexibility is second to none.”
Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, Principal, Royal Academy of Music

“It is in the first place a beautiful and innovative building. The design is groundbreaking. The glass front and back wall are, I think, brilliant innovations, which enormously enhance the building, and which will be greatly admired. But what also excited me during the visit was the attractive, efficient and adaptable working environment that you have created for the scientists. I am sure that long-term the laboratory will help set a new standard for laboratory design in the UK, and probably worldwide, and that is also something of which I am very proud.”
Lord Sainsbury, Gatsby Charitable Foundation

“I’m sure its extraordinary design will attract equally extraordinary research talent. And I know that those who arrive there will feel a sense of privilege, but also an obligation to the people passing by its striking glass front, to push forward their work and achieve the remarkable.” 
Sir William Castell, Chairman 2006-2015 Wellcome Trust

“Ian Ritchie’s practice has delivered an exceptional design to a complex brief that has exceeded our aspiration to have an outstanding architecture and a functional building to match our desire to attract world class neuroscientists to the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre.”
Malcolm Grant, former President and Provost of University College London

“We have learned each other’s languages and, I believe, in the process designed the best laboratory possible and the one that fulfils the scientists’ needs. To top it all, Ian has clothed the building in a beautiful white cast glass façade whose undulations symbolically reflect the nature of the science to be carried out within.”
Professor John O’Keefe, FRS FMEDSCI, Nobel Laureate, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and Director, Sainsbury Wellcome Centre at University College London

“This is a shockingly good building to work in.”
Adam Kampff, Principal Investigator, Sainsbury Wellcome Centre

“The iRAL team put tremendous effort into understanding how we and others at similar institutions use space for interaction and for quiet work. They worked closely with us to find ways to address our needs within the constraints of the site, being thoughtful and responsive throughout the design process. The result is a vibrant blend of aesthetic resonance and functionality; an inspiring, attractive, comfortable easy and productive environment to work in.”
Maneesh Sahani, Director of the SWC Gatsby Computation Neuroscience Unit (GCNU)

“It is not often that architects exceed expectations – if only because most clients’ hopes are often unreasonably high. Our hopes were exactly that – and through Ian we got more, and better, than we bargained for, on time and on budget. We had achieved our aims for our audience, in a splendid and charismatic setting.”
Sir Christopher Bland, former Chairman of the Royal Shakespeare Company

“I was deeply impressed by Ian’s proposals for the British Museum, which showed an exceptional capacity to think through the BM’s human role, essentially as a place to delight as well as to instruct. This strikes me as the key to Ian’s architecture. It is warm, enjoyable but also deeply elegant, underpinned by strong analysis of use and a profound total of imagination.”
Sir John Boyd, former UK Ambassador to Japan, and former Chairman of the British Museum

“Ian has established, justifiably, a worldwide reputation for improving the quality of life in contemporary cities across Europe. I have had the privilege of working closely with him on our university expansion plans at Manhattanville, NY, one of the largest development projects in New York City.”
Lee Bollinger, President, Columbia University NY

“Ian is a rare architect who is at ease across a broad range of artistic, scientific and technical domains and traverses intellectual and professional design boundaries with extraordinary ease. He combines a refined sense of respect for others, places open collaboration to the fore while demanding the best of colleagues and clients. His buildings have exceptional individuality – it is hard to spot a ‘Ritchie’.”
Lady Susie Sainsbury, Deputy Chairman of the Royal Shakespeare Company

“The Other Place is a fabulous achievement. What we hoped for was an exceptionally multi-functional, efficient building in which to house our rehearsal, research and development, 60,000 costumes and a new studio theatre. What we have is an elegant, characterful, thrillingly creative home for our artists and our audiences who have already fallen in love with it. The theatre is atmospheric, genuinely flexible and unusually accessible. The rehearsal rooms are spectacular – great spaces to think, work and play, with lots of ingenious daylight. Our costumes are happily rehoused in bespoke facilities and there is a mysterious magic throughout the building that everyone can glimpse the inner workings of the RSC whilst rehearsals and development are given the privacy and quiet they need. It is a splendidly welcoming environment, sensitive to its past and magnificently fit-for-purpose for its future.”
Erica Whyman, Deputy Artistic Director RSC

“The outcome of TOP has been a masterful and delightful spatial transformation conjuring up more space than we expected, while imbuing them with memories of the Courtyard Theatre. Ian Ritchie led the professional team with an unerring commitment to balance the practical demands of the users – actors, directors, audiences – with the desire to deliver architectural spaces with a sense of having been carved from the history of the company.
From the RSC’s perspective the new TOP was immediately adopted as the natural hub of the company and we are all grateful to Erica, along with Tom Piper and Ian for delivering such a brilliant blend of theatrical atmosphere and adaptable functionality.”
Nigel Hugill, Chairman of the RSC Board

“Wood Lane is a stunning new station. It is spacious enough to cope with large capacity crowds – crucial especially with football matches at Queens Park Rangers Football Club and the large numbers of people using the new shopping centre. Ian Ritchie Architects delivered an innovative and effective solution in response to a challenging brief, making this a worthy addition to the Tube’s design heritage.”
Richard Parry, Director of Strategy and Service Development, London Underground Ltd.

“Inserting an entirely new station – Wood Lane, new Central Line Sidings and EdF power centre – into an existing infrastructure is an exceptionally technically demanding task, particularly when upgrades are taking place simultaneously. The design team lead by Ian Ritchie Architects was extremely thorough in respect of listening to the London Underground stakeholders, reviewing the designs with stakeholder groups, responding to comments, and providing very clear and thorough documentation to London Underground at the formal submission stage for compliance that provides the gateway for construction. The construction and handover phase has substantially benefitted from the attention to detail at the design stage and the confidence created by the design stage outputs.”
Steve Washington, LUL Project Director

“I have always found it a pleasure to work with Ian Ritchie and his colleagues. They are not only professional but understand the sometimes ‘quirky’ nature of theatre-related structures and the importance of producing buildings which are both fit for purpose and aesthetically outstanding.”
Alan Finch, CEO Cameron Mackintosh Ltd and former Executive Director Chichester Festival Theatre

“We found Plymouth Theatre Royal TR2 ‘Awe inspiring’ and looked forward to ‘using it again soon’.”
Cameron Mackintosh Ltd and Clearchannel, producers of Cats

“The main ‘rehearsal pod’ at TR2 is an ‘Absolutely wonderful space’ and we have decided to create our new work ‘Edward Scissorhands’ here.”
Matthew Bourne, choreographer

“TR2, I have never seen anything like it. I wish we had one like it in America”.”
Charles Dillingham, Director of the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles

“In short, TR2 has fulfilled the operational needs of our manufacturing, technical, artistic and education teams whilst providing inspirational spaces in which to work, contained within a bold design envelope of landmark architectural quality. Our staff and theatre companies visiting TR2 have found no reason whatsoever to criticise its design. Quite simply, the building does all that we wanted it to. More importantly, it allows our artists, directors and performers to do whatever they want to. The building provides a series of wonderful and unique interconnecting spaces which support and enable creative ambition without compromise.”
Adrian Vinken, Chief Executive, Plymouth Theatre Royal

“ARK’s King Solomon Academy in the City of Westminster has been a demanding project and ARK is indebted to Ian Ritchie Architects for its commitment to a high standard of design and delivery. They have been very professional and have combined considerable design flair with an understanding of the economic and functional imperatives for the new buildings and play spaces, and the complexities of renovating and reconfiguring the Grade II* listed building. It has been a pleasure to work with Ian and his colleagues, and we are delighted with the outcome.”
Lucy Heller ARK Managing Director

“The architects set out to create for the Gatsby Foundation’s family office beautiful, calm and silent spaces to work in, and provide atmosphere for clear thinking. From the two uninspiring and difficult listed buildings in the shadow of the Palace of Westminster the architects led the design team to produce a fluid, peaceful, practical and seamless set of delightful spaces. The clarity of their conceptual thinking and full response to a complex brief was remarkable, and the mix of technical knowledge and tenacity made it possible for them to respond with subtlety and determination to wrestle an unprepossessing site into a new form to provide an exceptional work environment. The architects were also asked to design all office furniture including desks, tables and storage units, fixed and mobile items, ironmongery and lighting. They also designed hard and soft elements of external landscape.

They are a joy to work with, consistently inventive, diligent, open minded and able to work collaboratively with the client. Energy consumption and long term use of the building were also taken into consideration during the design process. The very high quality of the building, and the atmosphere it creates for those working there, have been met with enthusiasm and high praise. We are delighted and will look forward to working with Ian Ritchie and his team on future projects.”
Lady Susie Sainsbury, project client

“Ian Ritchie Architects were hugely supportive during the initial stages as funding was sought from Sport England and other agencies. Further funds were obtained and the London Regatta Centre was realised enabling a major rowing centre to be established with a club-house incorporating a dynamic rowing training facility.

Throughout the project Ian Ritchie Architects performed their services impeccably and with enthusiasm. The Trust was delighted with the outcome and the facility has proved to be of immense value to both the able bodied and disadvantaged rower as well as local schools and clubs.”
Fred Badowski, Project Director, Royal Albert Dock Trust

“The exhibition entitled ‘Blue Gold’ in our 100m high gasometer was very successful and finally totaled 290,000 paying visitors. Ian Ritchie developed an out-of-the-ordinary exhibition idea which delivered with curator Wolfgang Volz, the extraordinary spatial experience with great sensitivity which they had set out for us at the beginning – “the proposed ice cone in the centre of the huge ‘industrial cathedral’ would appeal to all of the senses of visitors to the Gasometer”.. We would like to have an exhibition planned by Ian Ritchie again at any time.”
Jeanette Schmitz, Executive Director, Gasometer Oberhausen GmbH

“The international competition winning proposal to a brief set by Dublin City Council to construct a 120m high stainless steel Spire caused much controversy until its completion when it quickly became an accepted Dublin icon now widely used to project a positive image of the city. Ian Ritchie and his associates administered the contract to final completion with a high degree of professionalism and enthusiasm.  This was a complex construction project and the City Council is indebted to Ian Ritchie Architects for its design, development and delivery.”
James Barrett, Dip Arch., FRIAI, City Architect

“The Leipzig Glass Hall shapes the composition of the Leipzig exhibition centre and thanks to its striking design it is highly recognised by exhibitors and visitors. Thanks to the comprehensive solutions put forward by the architects in regard to its use, maintenance, cleaning and the numerous different ways in which the hall can be utilised, the glass hall is not only exceptionally economical to maintain, but it is of great importance for the trade fair and congress sector.
gmp Architekten and Ian Ritchie Architects succeeded in constructing an exhibition centre which is simply unique, and which is the envy of competitors.”
Josef Rahmen, Director, Leipziger Messe GmbH

“I consider that the proposals would provide exemplary and world-class architecture on an outstanding and prominent site. The design is one which people would experience with marvel, wonder and delight. It would respect its context, and would provide an outstanding environment in which people could live, work, visit and enjoy. It would also add to London’s cultural and social richness. It would add to Potter’s Fields Park and the important open spaces which give so much public enjoyment along the banks of the Thames. It would enhance the whole of the Capital, and would give to London an architectural gem for present and future generations to treasure.”
A W (Tony) Pidgley, Chair The Berkeley Group Holdings plc.