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Description
Founded in 2009 as Polisano Leventhal Partners by Lee Polisano (American, ex-KPF) and David Leventhal, PLP Architecture grew out of three decades of prior collaboration on major international commercial projects. The studio operates with the assurance of a long-established practice while maintaining a culture of curiosity and continuous research.
In 2015 PLP Labs was launched as an integrated research and strategy arm, examining emerging technologies, human behaviour and environmental challenges and translating insight into practical guidance for client projects. Today PLP runs permanent studios in London, Singapore and Tokyo, with a new Partner announced in Saudi Arabia in February 2026.
The London HQ at The White Chapel Building in Whitechapel was redesigned in 2025 as a working model for circular fit-out, with 92 per cent of materials reused or donated and 175.78 tonnes of CO2 diverted from landfill.
Co-founder David Leventhal stepped back from the board in July 2023, leaving Lee Polisano as sole active director and majority owner. The practice has been an AJ100 fixture for 14 consecutive years (2011-2024), peaking at rank 15 in 2018, with current rank 45 reflecting a post-pandemic compression in the commercial sector.
Culture
PLP runs an on-site studio in The White Chapel Building with 37 nationalities and 45 languages across 200+ staff. Core benefits cover pension, private medical insurance, Bupa dental cover, life insurance, a medical cash plan, and a cycle to work scheme. Continuous learning is structured around mentoring, technical training, internal knowledge-sharing and digital learning platforms. The studio supports apprentices, work experience placements, and the PLP Gavin Eldred Memorial Scholarship with Newcastle University. The newly delivered circular fit-out of the London HQ reflects PLP's wider design ethos, with 92 per cent of materials reused or donated and a further 7 per cent recycled, diverting 175.78 tonnes of CO2 from landfill.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
PLP brings together 37 nationalities and 45 languages across its London, Singapore and Tokyo studios, a breadth of perspective that strengthens decision-making and helps the practice design with cultural awareness across markets, clients and communities. The studio's EDI focus extends into research: in partnership with Centric Lab and the British Council for Offices, PLP Labs has published Designing for Neurodiversity, studying how workplaces can be made enabling for neurodivergent people. The 2024 AJ100 data shows 54 per cent female architects (up from 36 per cent in 2015) and 35 per cent BAME architects, both above the AJ100 median. The PLP Gavin Eldred Memorial Scholarship with Newcastle University opens an entry pathway for emerging talent who might not otherwise reach a global commercial practice.
Values
PLP's design approach is built on four principles, stated in the studio's own About copy: Contextual, Human-Focused, Research-Led and Long-Term Value. The practice describes architecture as a responsive, human-focused and built-to-endure response to place, behaviour and lasting value. In practice this resolves into a culture of analysis before form, partner-led project leadership, integration with PLP Labs for research input, and a commitment to circular and regenerative thinking embedded from the outset rather than bolted on at the end.
Why Work Here?
PLP offers a globally fluent studio model with three permanent offices (London, Singapore, Tokyo), 37 nationalities and partner-led collaboration, and the kind of complex, high-profile commercial briefs that build credible CVs fast. The London HQ at The White Chapel Building has been redesigned as a working model for circular fit-out (92 per cent material reuse). Architects work alongside PLP Labs, an integrated research and strategy team that publishes industry-facing research on neurodiversity, circular design, mycelium materials and biophilic workplaces. Career progression is shaped by mentoring, structured technical training and continuous studio knowledge-sharing.
Industries
Sectors
Software
Locations
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Ibex House, 42-47 Minories, London EC3N 1DY, United Kingdom
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Ginza Line Shibuya Station, ???1-1-1, Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture 150-0002, Japan
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Singapore
Regions
Culture, Perks & Benefits
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A private and exclusive forum for Architecture & Design professionals and students.
Backed by industry specialists, it’s where you can engage in meaningful conversation, make connections, showcase your work, gain expert insights, and tap into curated opportunities to advance your career or strengthen your studio.
A private and exclusive forum for Architecture & Design professionals and students.
Backed by industry specialists, it’s where you can engage in meaningful conversation, make connections, showcase your work, gain expert insights, and tap into curated opportunities to advance your career or strengthen your studio.
