Studio Knight Stokoe

Studio Knight Stokoe crafts resilient, regenerative landscapes that harmonise society and nature. With empathic, beautiful design, we work dynamically and collaboratively to shape living, breathing places that nurture ecological revival and enrich people’s everyday experiences.

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The Gardens of Plant in Basingstoke

Made to celebrate the opening of Plant on 19 September 2024.

Studio Knight Stokoe worked with our clients, Mactaggart Family & Partners and Longstock Capital, to curate a booklet celebrating the gardens of Plant.

Illustrations by Michael Paul Lewis.

Historic Photos courtesy of Martin Charles / RIBA Collections.

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Andover New Theatre

We're delighted to share that we're part of the winning team for this exciting new theatre and cultural hub at the heart of Andover.

We're looking forward to working with Burrell Foley Fischer LLP, Integral Engineering Design, Ward Williams , E3 Consulting Engineers, Charcoalblue and Test Valley Borough Council, as well as with local stakeholders, to develop designs that contribute to the regeneration of the historic town centre and provide a contemporary building, with complementary outdoor spaces, for The Lights (theatre) to expand its cultural and community offer.

A planning application is expected later this year, with demolition and construction starting in 2025, ahead of completion in 2026, and opening in early 2027.

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For a project of ours: Solid Oak furniture with a yakisugi (焼杉) finish.

Commonly referred to in the West as burnt timber and as shou sugi ban (焼杉板).

Materials shape our world. 
Craft brings ideas to life. 
Character makes things unforgettable. 
And when we combine today's design with traditional skills and techniques? Something quite special can happen.

We care about these aspects of design because they're at the heart of what we do: helping to turn plain objects into pieces that are tactile, memorable, and which speak to people. 

Furniture design and craft by Chris Nangle.

For a project of ours: Bronze-coated stainless steel with a sand-cast patinated finish.

Unsealed, the finish will be subject to natural weathering, and eventually, the bronze will develop a unique and characterful Verdigris patina.

We love materials that age with character and tell stories of use and time. Each piece celebrates individuality, eschewing uniformity for a character that captivates and endures, creating spaces and objects that resonate on a deeply human level.

Certified B Corporation®

We’re delighted to share that Studio Knight Stokoe is now a Certified B Corporation®. This is a major milestone for us as a practice, which we’ve been working towards since we started the company a year and a half ago. This is just the start of the journey, and we’re excited to see where it will lead.

As a Certified B Corp™, we’re demonstrating that we’re a company that meets high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. B Corps™ are also legally committed to bringing benefit not just to shareholders, but all business stakeholders — workers, customers, communities, and the environment.

Through resilient, regenerative, and empathic design, we aspire to ensure that our studio and work act as a force for good.

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Plant, 1982

A view across the Level 3 gardens.

Image credit: Martin Charles / RIBA Collections

Resilience is Built Together

A thought leadership piece by Claire co-authored with the wonderful Wendy Perring, Founder and Design Director of PAD Studio.

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Novers Hill Principles

Establishing principles around the core themes of land use, legacy, nature, and identity.

Annual Impact Report

We're delighted to share our first Annual Impact Report.
 

As a responsible, accountable, and transparent business, we believe it's in the interests of our stakeholders for us to share important updates and metrics on our practice, including our Key Performance Indicators, Societal and Environmental Impact, Studio Sustainability, Charity and Pro-bono Services, Stakeholder Feedback, and our Financial Performance.

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Plant, Basingstoke

We’re thrilled to share that we’ve been appointed to lead the landscape design for the delivery of Plant (formerly Mountbatten House), affectionately known as the ‘Hanging Gardens of Basingstoke’.

The iconic building and landscape are being updated to become a gold-standard modern office space targeting top-grade certifications of BREEAM Outstanding and International WELL Building Institute Platinum.

Plant was designed by Peter Foggo of Arup Associates’ Group 2, with the gardens designed by noted landscape designer and horticulturist James Russell. The project was completed in 1976. The terraced landscape gardens are the first example of their kind ever built in the UK. Both the building and landscape became Grade II Listed in 2015 for their uniqueness in the building design and the terraced, cascading roof gardens. It is regularly cited as one of the UK's 15 most important modern listed buildings.

The project is led by Longstock Capital and Mactaggart Family & Partners, with a professional team including Circle Development, C-Field Construction, Twelve Architects, Studio Knight Stokoe, Skelly & Couch, Scotch Partners, Whitby Wood, and Quod.

Completion is on target for July 2024.

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Keep and Common

Our proposal for the Novers Hill site in South Bristol.

A low-energy neighbourhood of 58 beautiful homes providing a Gentle Density centred around Co-living and stewardship, complemented by WeCanMake serviced plots.

Set amongst a rich and ecologically diverse, climate adaptive landscape that enhances the existing condition. Streets and public spaces promote and facilitate a safe, active, healthy lifestyle for residents and visitors.

Studio Knight Stokoe and Mitchell Eley Gould Architects were one of five shortlisted teams for a competition by Goram Homes and Bristol Housing Festival, with a brief to design a sustainable new neighbourhood for 50+ homes.

Shortlisted for Novers Hill Design Competition

We're delighted to have been shortlisted alongside our collaborators, Mitchell Eley Gould Architects, for the Novers Hill design competition in Bristol. 

Perched atop the Western Slopes in Knowle West, we aim to grow a place founded on the core principles of neighbourhood, biodiversity enhancement, and community stewardship. We are delighted to take the next steps to work with the local community and create something rather special and very much, of the slopes.

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Panel Member Design West

We're pleased to share that Martin has been appointed as a Panel Member for Design West. Martin will undertake this role alongside his role as an Expert Associate with the Design Council, and his full-time position as Co-founding Director at Studio Knight Stokoe.

Martin is looking forward to collaborating with the Design West team, fellow panelists, clients, and stakeholders in the near future.

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A busy start to the year

We've had a busy start to the year, working on a number of projects and competitions, whilst Martin has also continued his work with the Design Council. We're looking forward to sharing more news soon.

Happy Christmas and New Year

We would like to wish all of our clients, friends, and collaborators a Happy Christmas and New Year.

The studio will be closed for the holidays from Friday 23rd December and will be reopening on Tuesday 3rd January.

Private Residential Project #1

We are working on a private garden for clients in the southwest of England. The gardens have become tired over time, are high maintenance, and struggle with the environmental challenges brought about by climate change.

In keeping with our approach to sustainability, we’re focussing on retaining the best elements of the gardens, including a mature apple tree, that is likely bordering on 100+ years of age. We’ll seek to retain and re-use any waste from the re-design and construction and re-incorporate these elements creatively through the construction of the gardens.

Design Council Expert

Martin has been an Expert Associate for the Design Council since 2021. In his latest role, he will be supporting the charity as a member of an Expert Panel that has been created, comprised of a wide range of design experts, assisting a number of user groups across the UK. We’re hoping to be able to share more information soon. See below for more information on the Design Council Expert Network.

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B-Corp Pending

When we were setting up the studio, we decided it was essential for us to consider not just the impact our designs would have on society and the environment, but also the way in which we do business and operate the company. That’s why we’re working towards B-Corp certification.

B-Corp companies meet the highest standards of social and environmental impact. We’re working towards being one of what is currently a small number of landscape architecture and urban design practices to achieve Certified B Corporation® status.

B Corp™ is a global standard, the certification process has helped define how we have established our practice and how the practice will continue to evolve over time. Becoming a B-Corp means that how we operate our business and the work we do is impact-focused. In essence, we practice what we preach and strive for our work to have a positive impact on both society and the environment.

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UK Landscape Architects Declare Climate & Biodiversity Emergency

The twin crises of climate heating and mass biodiversity loss are the most serious issues of our time. We’re committed to working collectively with other like-minded clients and construction industry professionals to play our part in helping to address these challenges, both at the project and practice levels.

Our contribution to nature, the environment, and society is just the start of the journey and is the baseline for all our projects. It’s important to us to stay true to our values and design philosophy. We care passionately about how good design can effect positive change in the lives of people, nature, and society.

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As every place has its own local vernacular, geographical, material, and social history; we use that as a starting point to create a truly unique design. 

Services:

Landscape architecture; urban design; master planning; planting design; garden design; strategic landscape design; research, analysis and testing; creative ecological design

1% for the Planet

It’s important to us that we help support local and global initiatives to address the societal and environmental challenges the world faces. This is the first step in our commitment to helping address these challenges through our charity work.

As an emerging design studio, our reach and the positive impact of our work are currently felt less globally. By joining 1% For the Planet, we’re able to extend our reach and create positive change at both local and global scales from day one.

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