Pollard Thomas Edwards

A London architecture practice of around 100 people, based in Islington, specialising in housing, later living, education and retrofit, with more than 250 awards.

About Pollard Thomas Edwards

Pollard Thomas Edwards, often called PTE, is a London architecture practice of around 100 people, based at Diespeker Wharf, a converted factory in Islington. It was founded by Roger Pollard, Bill Thomas and John Edwards, who were the practice's first three employees. The firm says it has worked for five decades, designing homes, neighbourhoods and public and mixed-use buildings across the UK, from small bespoke buildings to masterplans for villages, towns and urban districts.

The firm describes its core principle as "placing people first". It designs around people's needs and thinks about how buildings are made, used and aged, not only how they look. It works on a project from the first idea through to post-occupancy evaluation, which means going back to see how a building works in practice. It also specialises in repairing and revitalising existing neighbourhoods and in taking over stalled projects. Its sector list includes urban housing, later living, education and retrofit, with services such as masterplanning, sustainable design and post-occupancy evaluation.

The practice is based in Islington, north London, and works across the UK. Among its published work are a book marking 40 years of the practice and an oral history, the House of PTE. It has completed the UK's first over-50s co-housing scheme, a development where residents share facilities and take part in running their community, according to a housing industry report. The pages we could read name few projects, so for a full list, look at the practice's website.

On people and culture, PTE is an LLP, a type of partnership, controlled by seven equity partners and guided by a council of partners and senior managers. It combines the resources of a large practice with what it calls the personal service of a smaller studio. It has won over 250 awards, including BD Housing Architect of the Year, AJ Sustainable Practice of the Year and the British Homes Awards Architect of the Year. In November 2025, the practice's co-founder Roger Pollard died, aged 88, and the practice published a tribute describing his calm, incisive way of working. All of these are the practice's own statements and its published tribute, not independently checked.

The jobs at a firm like this include architects and architectural assistants, urban designers and masterplanners, technologists who work out how homes are built, sustainability specialists, and the people who handle practice management, communications and finance. If you are interested in housing, in how people of different ages live in the same neighbourhood, or in how an old estate can be given a second life, PTE's published research is a friendly place to learn. Its website lists current opportunities.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Homes for families and older people, including co-housing.', 'title': 'Housing and later living'}
• {'desc': 'Plans for neighbourhoods, towns and urban districts.', 'title': 'Masterplanning'}
• {'desc': 'Improving existing places and learning from completed buildings.', 'title': 'Retrofit and post-occupancy evaluation'}

Key facts

• Founded by Roger Pollard, Bill Thomas and John Edwards; the firm says it has worked for five decades
• About 100 people; studios at Diespeker Wharf, Islington
• LLP controlled by seven equity partners
• More than 250 awards (practice figure)

Website: pollardthomasedwards.co.uk