A London-based architecture, urban design and masterplanning practice, founded by Sir Terry Farrell in 1965 and now also with a Manchester studio.
Farrells is an architecture and urban design practice. Its website highlights three service areas: architecture, masterplanning and urban design, and interior design, along with building information modelling, a way of designing buildings in a shared digital model. It lists project types from culture and leisure, healthcare and heritage to hospitality, offices, residential, retail and transport. It says it has produced award-winning work over more than fifty years, including refurbishments of Grade I listed buildings in London.
The practice began in 1965 when Terry Farrell formed a partnership with Nicholas Grimshaw. In 1980 he founded Terry Farrell and Partners, later renamed Farrells. Wikipedia lists UK projects including Limehouse Studios, Embankment Place, Vauxhall Cross (known as the MI6 building), The Green Building in Manchester, the Great North Museum in Newcastle and the Earls Court redevelopment. Sir Terry died on 28 September 2025 aged 87. He led the Farrell Review of architecture and the built environment for the UK government in 2013 to 2014. We did not find a mission statement. Farrell's stated priorities were urban space and a rejection of the modernist idea of clearing everything away and starting afresh.
Wikipedia lists studios in London and Manchester, plus Hong Kong and Shanghai. The firm's own services page names contacts in London and Hong Kong and does not list every studio. In Newcastle the Farrell Centre, a place for public debate about architecture and cities, has recently opened according to Architecture Today. The UK link is clear, though the current studio list should be checked on its website.
An Architecture Today tribute described the early studio on Hatton Street as vibrant, with models and drawings everywhere and hand sketching central to the way of working. It says Farrell mentored younger staff and often sketched with students, that his manner was sometimes seen as intimidating, and that his motto was "Bangs for Bucks", meaning ambitious ideas that give good value. Partner Peter Barbalov has been at the practice since 1999, and Stefan Krummeck is global director. These are recollections about the founder, not current claims by the firm. The firm's site has a Studio Culture page we did not read.
A practice like this employs architects at all stages, urban designers and masterplanners, interior designers, BIM specialists, visualisers, and project and support staff. Art, design, maths, physics and geography all lead towards architecture. Becoming an architect takes many years of study in the UK, including a degree and work experience, so it helps to find out early which route suits you.
Website: farrells.com
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