Purcell is a British architectural design practice, founded in 1947 by Donovan Purcell. It has 11 regional studios in the UK and four studios in the Asia Pacific region.

History

In 1947, Donovan Purcell set up a small practice in

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market town, market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – ...

. Working on church and army buildings for many years, Purcell developed his expertise in conservation and in 1960 was appointed Surveyor to the Fabric of

Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is an Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral has its origins in AD 672 when St Etheldreda built an abbey church. The presen ...

. In 1965, Purcell partnered with architects Peter Miller and William “Bill” Tritton and the practice of Purcell, Miller and Tritton was established. Three years later, the partnership registered with offices in Bethel Street, Norwich and Sydney Street, London. Over the years, the practice set up studios across the UK to provide strong regional coverage. The practice rebranded as Purcell in 2012 and expanded, opening studios in Cardiff, Manchester, Newcastle and Nottingham. Purcell acquired Worcester-based architect S T Walker and Duckham in 2015 and merged with Norfolk-based practice Reynolds Jury Architecture in 2016. Internationally, the practice established its first studio in Hong Kong in 2009 and has developed its coverage in Asia Pacific with heritage consultancy teams in Melbourne and

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. In May 2019, it became a limited company, transitioning to an employee ownership model in 2021. As of 2022, Purcell has UK studios in Bristol, Cambridge, Canterbury, Cardiff, Colchester, Leeds, London, Manchester, Norwich, Oxford and York. The practice is the UK's 16th largest practice according to the AJ100 in 2021 and ranked 83rd in the World Architecture 100 in 2022. Notable employees of Purcell have included

Corinne Bennett Corinne Marie Gillian Bennett MBE (3 March 1935 – 10 July 2010) was an English conservation architect. She worked on the restoration and preservation of many historic buildings in England throughout her career, including Winchester Cathedral a ...

Services

The practice offers design services, masterplanning, heritage consultancy, conservation expertise, funding advice and planning advice. It has worked on many UK listed buildings. Purcell works across eight sectors: cultural, education, hospitality, places of worship, public, residential, transport, and workplace and retail.

Projects

Purcell has worked on notable public and private buildings in the UK and internationally including: * Bristol Aerospace Centre,

Filton Airfield Filton Airport or Filton Aerodrome was a private airport in Filton and Patchway, within South Gloucestershire, north of Bristol, England. Description The airfield was bounded by the A38 road to the east, and the former London to Avonmouth ...

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...

Cardigan Castle Cardigan Castle ( cy, Castell Aberteifi) is a castle overlooking the River Teifi in Cardigan, Ceredigion, Wales. It is a Grade I listed building. The castle dates from the late 11th-century, though was rebuilt in 1244. Castle Green House was b ...

* CoRE (Centre of Refurbishment Excellence) * Coworth Park Spa *

Durham Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham, County Durham, England. It is the seat of t ...

* Flinders Street Station *

Florence Institute The Florence Institute for Boys, known colloquially as The Florrie, is a local landmark and a Grade II listed building on Mill Street in Dingle, South Liverpool, England (). History Probably designed by H W Keef, it was built in 1889 by Sir Be ...

Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chie ...

* Hong Kong Cricket Club * The Hyde,

Dillington House Dillington House is a residential adult education college near Ilminster in the parish of Whitelackington, Somerset, England. The present house, which dates from the 16th century, is owned by Lord Cameron of Dillington and operated by Somerset ...

* National Maritime Museum, Sammy Ofer Wing * Oxford University Museum of Natural History * Penarth Pier Pavilion * Shackleton's Hut, Cape Royd * The Wallace Collection, The Great Gallery * Tai Kwun Centre for Heritage and Arts * Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park *

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: *National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra *National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London, with s ...

* Renovation of Clifton Cathedral, Bristol

Awards

References

External links

* Architecture firms of England 1947 establishments in the United Kingdom Welsh Eisteddfod Gold Medal winners Recipients of Civic Trust Awards {{UK-company-stub