Mandy Franz’s approach to architecture has been shaped by the romantic castles and brutalist architecture of her East German childhood, Santiago Calatrava and a focus on striking a balance between respect for heritage and a hunger for progress.

Mandy Franz (left) with her colleague Victoria Timberlake at 43-47 Mecklenburg Square, Bloomsbury, London, a terrace of Grade II-listed Georgian townhouses that the practice is refurbishing as student accommodation for Goodenough College.

For design and drawing work, the focused energy of the office always helps. Ideas can be bounced around freely. For writing, being in the quiet of a garden, or somewhere the eye can drift into nature to recharge is hugely inspiring.

We avoid demonising specific materials because of the many layers of projects – even concrete is sometimes necessary to solve complex challenges. But we will always argue against unnecessarily shipping materials from across the globe.

Having grown up in East Germany there is a certain brutalist architecture that has influenced my upbringing combined with the romantic presence of castles and baroque architecture. However, I first appreciated the power of place-based modern architecture when seeing Calatrava’s bridge in Seville whilst on a school trip in 93. What’s crucial for me is the balance between moving forward – whether considering, language, performance or materials – and respecting, celebrating and protecting our heritage.

The growing demand for architecture to address social and environmental justice, rather than just space and history gives us huge optimism. It forces us to confront uncomfortable biases, but that friction is driving real progress.

Our work at Goodenough College exemplifies our approach to regenerative design. By focusing on being a good ancestor and co-evolving with nature, the conservation strategy for the Mecklenburgh Square townhouses goes beyond mere sustainability to fundamentally reshape the way the historic structures interact with their environment and community.

All photographs in the Reinventing Practice series will be on show at Regenerative Design 2026,  a month-long programme of exhibitions and events that takes place at the Building Centre throughout October 2026.