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EP 024221 October 2025 · 39 min

Are Developers the New Architects? Simon Vernon Harcourt’s Journey

39:17
Simon Vernon-HarcourtCity & CountrySustainability & Retrofit
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About this conversation

Developers are often seen as the people on the other side of the table, but architecture professionals can learn a lot from how they think about sites, risk, viability and delivery.

Stephen Drew speaks with Simon Vernon-Harcourt, Design Director at City and Country, about moving from architecture into development, restoring historic buildings and working with architects on complex conversion projects.

The conversation covers:

How Simon moved from architectural practice into a developer-side role

What makes historic building conversion projects commercially and technically difficult

How developers assess sites, risk, planning and long-term value

Topics in this episode

Transcript

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Opening of the conversation

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  1. · Stephen Drew

    Stephen Drew

    Hello everyone. We are here back on the Architecture Social show 'cause we're going countrywide today. Often I get asked Steve, can we get on the show developers, house builders, the people that are making. All these cool buildings across the country, but also we wanna talk about the design. So I'm lucky today 'cause we're gonna tick at least two of those boxes and potentially more.

  2. 'cause it's not just about the feature, it's embracing the fast the past with what we do with the feature as well. So on that note, I've got a design director who works for a developer who's doing beautiful projects across the country and.

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City & Country projects

The work behind the conversation.

  • Bath, United Kingdom

    Bath Press

    The former Sir Isaac Pitman printing works is being renewed as homes organised around retained industrial fabric, courtyards and rooftop gardens.

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  • Bristol, United Kingdom

    Factory No.1

    The former W.D. & H.O. Wills tobacco factory combines converted industrial buildings and new homes within a landscaped Bristol neighbourhood.

    View project →

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