People · Podcast guest
Tim O'Callaghan
Co-Founder and Director at nimtim architects.
Tim O’Callaghan co-founded nimtim architects with Nimi Attanayake in 2014. He shapes the practice’s collaborative design process, developing playful and pragmatic spaces through dialogue with clients and building users.
- Practice
- nimtim architects
- Based in
- Greater London
- On the podcast
- Episode 0254 · Architecture Social
Selected work
Selected practice work.
Three projects from nimtim architects, with details and imagery from the practice.
South London, United Kingdom
Hemp House
A domestic rear addition that uses timber and hempcrete to support flexible family life and a low-carbon brief.
Explore the project ↗
South London, United Kingdom · 2018
Cork House
A South London Victorian terrace extension and loft conversion shaped around a stepped internal landscape and natural cork.
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London, United Kingdom
Supper Time
A low-impact infill extension links kitchen, garden room and garden through a flexible dining thread.
Explore the project ↗Other public work
Squaring the Corners ↗
A Becontree Estate public square reimagined through resident workshops, rewilding and traffic calming.
Walled Garden ↗
A split-level flat reorganisation reconnects living spaces to a mature walled garden.
About
The story so far.
Background and approach.
Tim O’Callaghan co-founded nimtim architects with Nimi Attanayake in 2014. He shapes the practice’s collaborative design process, developing playful and pragmatic spaces through dialogue with clients and building users.
The practice records UK qualification in 2008 and experience at OMA in Rotterdam, David Chipperfield Architects in London and RCKa, where he led the RIBA award-winning TNG Youth Centre in Lewisham. His teaching, mentoring and school workshops support access to architecture, alongside advocacy for better pay and representation in the profession.
Conversation
The thinking behind the work.
Episode 0254 · Architecture Social
Running an Architecture Practice Isn't What You Think
In this episode, Stephen sits down with Tim, co founder of nimtim architects, a design led practice based in South London.Tim shares his journey from working in traditional practice to unexpectedly starting his own studio, building it from a kitchen table with no clients, no roadmap, and no clear plan.This conversation goes beyond projects. Tim goes into what it actually takes to run an architecture practice, from business realities and hiring, to fees, profit, and the challenges of delivering g
Explore episode moments
Use the timestamps below to find each moment in the full episode.
- 05:01 · Early practice formation and finding direction ↗
- 10:21 · First projects, public attention and momentum ↗
- 15:07 · Moving from larger practice to running whole projects ↗
- 20:12 · Working with a partner and separating work from life ↗
- 25:04 · Culture, office life and hiring ↗
- 30:13 · Education, students and practice pressures ↗
The practice
nimtim architects
We are a practice who want to make and talk about architecture in a different way. Our work is about people and the stories and ideas they bring to the projects we make together. We create buildings that reflect the personalities and values of the people and communites that will live, work or play in…
Architecture practice · Greater London
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