ABOUT HLM Architects
Thoughtful design and the desire to make spaces and places that improve lives sits at the heart of every discipline within HLM Architects, these include Architecture, Interior Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Environmental Sustainability and Masterplanning. Creating homes that are part of thriving communities , places of education that inspire, healthcare environments that nurture, and infrastructure that is sustainable in its widest sense: environmentally, economically, and socially. With studios in five locations within the UK: London, Sheffield, Glasgow, Belfast and Cardiff, HLM are passionate about their strong regional connections.
Our Living & Communities team work and live in these regions and have a natural desire for creating homes that enhance their local communities. Historically, we lived in village communities formed through intimate relationships and common interests in a built environment where everyone knew and supported one another. Many forms of urbanisation have led to poorly designed urban fabric, which separates people from their neighbours, weakening the bonds which bring harmony to our society.
At HLM, we focus on re-instating these important support mechanisms, re-building a sense of shared ownership of our communities. We design homes and places for people. Through each design we strive to positively shape the way we live in a way which is also compatible with the interests of future generations.
We therefore seek to bring a ‘circular’ approach to design, from using various briefing tools, including our Thoughtful Design Toolkit, to finding ways of assessing the impact our proposals can make, such as commissioning the social value report by HATCH Regeneris.
We challenge preconceived ideas of residential design through research and thought leadership, considering how new housing models and construction methods can contribute to better built environments, places and indeed individual homes. HLM champion the importance and value of design quality, sustainability and innovation. MMC and innovative solutions can represent opportunities for addressing greater social issues around the housing crisis by allowing for more options to be considered when tackling the complicated process of housebuilding.
We also actively promote the adoption of sustainable principles in the more traditional sense, from ensuring connectivity and legibility of urban realm to encourage walking and cycling to maximising design strategies for reduced operational and embodied energy of our buildings from the earliest stages of the project. Our knowledge and expertise cover all residential typologies from traditional family homes in both urban and rural locations to alternative models such as Build to Rent, purpose-built student accommodation and retirement living.
However, fundamental to all our work is a belief that each new project should be a bespoke response to the brief, carefully crafted and expressed as a contemporary response to its context with its own unique identity. We are committed to making places that evoke a sense of belonging, encourage communities to grow together and are socially sustainable – attractive, desirable and that people are proud to call their home.
