We’re seeking an architect for a rare brief
Dear architects,
We’re inviting expressions of interest for a private architectural competition to design a one-of-a-kind home for a triplegic powered wheelchair user and his wife in East London.
The ambition is a creative, beautifully-designed home that reflects the owners’ taste and lifestyle. Accessible features should be integrated within the architecture, seamlessly enhancing everyday life.
The Clients
The owners are an active couple whose lives have recently changed – due to a serious injury, one of the owners is now a triplegic powered wheelchair user. Design is central to the brief. The ambition is a home that supports the same quality of life and interests as before, within a new physical context.
The primary occupant is an extremely active wheelchair user, with interests including sailing, diving and fitness. The house must support movement, equipment and everyday living without compromise.
The Opportunity
Set on a rare, fully detached site beside Haggerston Park, the home is an opportunity to think carefully about light, space, movement and materiality – and how design can respond to practical needs without compromising character or beauty.
Design Ethos
The house should feel:
- Creative, not clinical
- Generous, not minimal
- Intuitive, not complicated
- Beautiful, not utilitarian
Accessibility is not an addition to the architecture but its foundation. The design must enable seamless daily life through:
- Concealed assistive technology
- Discreet storage and controls
- Prioritised lateral living
- Step-free between indoor/outdoor
- Generous circulation for powered wheelchair use
Function must feel effortless and almost invisible, in balance with architectural intent and beauty.
The project asks a simple but profound question: Can architecture be both highly functional and deeply beautiful?
What We’re Looking For
Not a finished solution but a clear architectural idea. We want to understand how you think: how you respond to the site, embed accessibility spatially and balance practicality with design. Success won’t be measured in square metres or visual statements, but in how effortlessly the owners can live inside their home.
Next Steps
Architectural practices are invited to express their interest in the project. Following review (alongside the homeowners), selected teams will receive the full competition brief before submitting initial design concepts. At this stage we will discuss renumeration as the scope and level of involvement is defined, before receiving submissions.
The chosen architect will then be fully instructed to lead the project from first sketch through to final delivery, shaping a lifelong home.
Please submit expressions of interest via email by Friday 27th February.