About the practice

John Simpson Architects is a leading practice in the New Classical movement working internationally with projects in the UK, Europe and the United States. The practice was founded in 1980 by John Simpson CVO RIBA and is led by three directors and an associate director with a head office in London. The practice believes that the classical and traditional language of architecture is the most durable, humane and sustainable way to build. Its buildings are designed to last, to be enjoyed by those who use them, and to fit the places they belong to. The same care runs through every scale of their work: new and restored buildings; furniture, interiors and masterplans for urban extensions or free-standing new settlements. Over four decades the practice has delivered some of the most significant classical buildings of recent times for cultural, educational, commercial, residential and charitable clients. This includes projects such as The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, the Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre at Stanford Hall, the Royal College of Music, the Walsh School of Architecture at Notre dame University and various colleges at Oxford and Cambridge. Its urban design work includes work at Poundbury, Dickens Heath, the Bergères Eco-District at Puteaux in Paris and masterplans in Gloucestershire, Wokingham and Savannah, Georgia in the US. Their work is cited as model walkable, mixed-use sustainable communities. John Simpson is Visiting Professor of Architecture at the University of Cambridge and a laureate of the prestigious Richard H. Driehaus Prize for Architecture.