Reinventing practice

Participating practices in the Regenerative Architecture Index discuss the challenges they face.

Portraits by Timothy Soar

Tonkin Liu

Tonkin Liu’s studio is shaped by nature. From watching light change over the seasons to collecting seeds on their travels, Mike Tonkin and Anna Liu share how reconnecting with the rhythms of the natural world is key to designing for the long term.

Project Orange

From regenerative design to material rationing, Christopher Ash and James Soane from Project Orange explore the urgent need for a paradigm shift in how we build, renovate, and engage with communities.

dRMM

Jonas Lencer, Saskia Lencer and Judith Stichtenoth of dRMM discuss retrofitting their own studio, perfecting the art of the compromise and making the case to decision-makers that it’s worth building in mass timber.

Studio 8FOLD

Aleks Stojakovic and Alexander Frehse, co-founders of Studio 8FOLD, discuss teaching students on site in South Africa, building with rammed earth, reusing timber and how clients react when asked what sustainability means to them.

Rachel Hoolahan

For Rachel Hoolahan of Orms the transition to regenerative design involves systems thinking coupled with a willingness to try different things, learn from mistakes, remain optimistic and celebrate the wins.

Jerry Tate

Jerry Tate is on a mission to deliver projects that allow people living and working in crowded urban conditions to enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship with the natural world.

Timothy Soar on location (Credit: Alasdair Ben Dixon)

Reinventing practice

Timothy Soar’s career mirrors the broader shift in architectural photography: from the slow, deliberate process of film to the quick, clean immediacy of digital. But his work has always been more than just documenting buildings—it’s about exploring the language and practice of architecture itself. His portraits of architects, from the early 2000s through the post-COVID era, offer a glimpse into a profession that’s constantly evolving, capturing the human side of the built environment.

At the heart of it all is Soar’s ability to see things as they are. In a world where you can manipulate an image endlessly, he sticks to the truth of the frame. His photography is all about seeing things clearly. To find where the story is. A personal response to a particular moment in time. These portraits are both a celebration of the diversity of British architecture and a record of a profession, and a world, in transition.