A London architecture practice at London Bridge, founded in 2016, that specialises in reusing and adapting existing buildings, often in historic settings.
Fathom Architects is a London architecture practice that mainly works with existing buildings, often in historic or sensitive settings. It says it favours retrofit and adaptive reuse, which means improving and changing a building rather than knocking it down, and builds new only when analysis shows retrofit is not the best long-term option. It works on workspace, homes, shops and life-sciences buildings. Projects named on its site and in RIBA coverage include The Waterman, 6 Babmaes Street in St James's, Blackfriars Almshouses for Southwark Charities, and the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology extension.
The practice's tagline is "We bring clarity to complexity", and its own wording on its approach is that depth is key to every aspect of design and delivery. It was founded in 2016 by Justin Nicholls and Jonathan Mitchell, and a RIBA piece described it as founded by three working parents. Rebecca Thomas later joined as a director. We did not find a longer mission statement, so we have not written one.
Fathom's studio is at London Bridge, in Bermondsey, south London, which the RIBA described as part of its London Practice of the Month feature in May 2023. It shares the space with engineering firm Graphic Structures, and works with flexible and hybrid patterns. Its clients include landowners and investors such as Landsec, Legal and General, The Crown Estate and the University of Oxford, so most of its work is in central London and some in other UK cities.
On culture, the practice says its studio is "more than a place to work" and calls it a space for ideas, conversation and community. It says it holds regular team gatherings and opens its doors to the industry for mentoring and knowledge-sharing events. Its team page lists 13 people, including three directors, two associates, senior architects, architects, a practice manager and three Part II architectural assistants. Staff sit on design review panels, examine at universities and mentor, and take part in internal learning and social committees. RIBA reported 18 people in 2023, so size has varied. These are the practice's own claims.
The roles in a practice like this follow the architecture route: architects at different levels, Part I and Part II architectural assistants (the stages on the way to qualifying), a practice manager and people who work on visuals, models and BIM (building information modelling, a 3D way of planning a building). If you like design, history and the idea of giving old buildings new lives, it is a useful example of a small practice with big clients. Look at Fathom's website for any current vacancies.
Website: fathomarchitects.com
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