United Kingdom
Coolington Barn
A former agricultural barn and its ruined outbuildings were transformed into a light-filled home arranged around a south-facing courtyard.
EP 024026 May 2025 · 56 min
YouTube · 56:23Audio only · Transistor00:00 · Welcome to the Architecture Social Show14 chapters ↓
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About this conversation
Small architecture practices do not fail because they care too little about design. They usually struggle because cash flow, clients, confidence, pricing and marketing are harder than people admit.
Stephen Drew speaks with Claire Nash about running a small architecture practice, asking for money upfront, finding a niche, getting work through content and building a studio that is more stable without losing its character.
The conversation covers:
Why cash flow and deposits matter in small practice life
How Claire built a team and a niche around barn conversions
Why marketing, blogging and networking can bring better work
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Transcript
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Opening of the conversation
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Stephen Drew
Hello everyone and welcome to the Architecture Social Show. I was joking with my guests here because it's been a little while since I've done one of these. I feel rusty, but that's okay. We will. Will power through. The theme of today is important. Often, I've had some really cool guests here, which are large architecture practices, medium architecture practices, but we have to remember the humble roots in the uk.
Stephen Drew
Most of the architecture practices are small to medium size. And I was joking with my guest, how small is small? I'm talking about maybe a few of you are thinking of running an architecture practice. Maybe some of you are running your own architecture practice. Maybe you're doing it yourself, or you have a team of one or two people that is the bulk of architecture practices in the uk.
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The guest, the practice, the work
United Kingdom
A former agricultural barn and its ruined outbuildings were transformed into a light-filled home arranged around a south-facing courtyard.
Northamptonshire, United Kingdom
An unusual curved barn was converted into an energy-efficient home while retaining the character of its conservation-area setting.
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