After travelling and working around the world I returned home to Wales in 2001 and founded Hughes Architects. Having worked and been educated on both sides of the globe has taught me to design sustainable buildings that don’t just look good and feel great, they actually work as well.
Early on in my career I designed social housing which then evolved into designing one off bespoke houses for private clients. Given such differing types of project made me realize very quickly that there is no such thing as standard. Each project has its own unique brief with its own unique appropriate solution driven by a unique site and more importantly, a unique client.
As our practice grew I applied the same principles to all sorts of projects from community centres to hospitals. This carries on to this day. We are lucky at Hughes Architects that we enjoy a huge variety of projects that provide a stimulus for the imagination and challenge for our architects on a day by day basis.
Behind the work however is the same attention to customer care- we talk, we listen and we offer clear advice to ensure that all of our buildings are unique with the main aim being high-quality sustainable architecture with reduced running costs while getting the most out of the budget.
I firmly believe in reinvestment in my community. That’s why I am a Welsh Government Dynamo Role Model for business which is an initiative to encourage young people to become entrepreneurs.
I am the instigator of a local action group leading a team that has designed a vision for our area which has recently been used as best practice by the RIBA as to how architects can positively engage with their community.
Sustainability and reducing carbon footprint is at the core of what we do every day at Hughes Architects.
To add to this, I am also a Director of Wood Knowledge Wales which is a not for profit, for the public good, membership organisation inspiring a movement capable of leading a dramatic expansion of the forestry and wood-based industries in Wales.
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