The Architecture Ensemble was established in 2002 by the architect Steven Johnson and is focused on a primary construction material : wood.

The firm was set-up as a design office able to work with other designers and artists to respond to client needs as well as to instigate arts, community, and environmental projects. This focus has resulted in an early sifting of clients who come to us for modern, sustainable, and fun projects usually on challenging but beautiful urban and rural sites, most of which are environmentally or culturally sensitive.

The Architecture Ensemble works closely with well qualified and skilled engineers and has close links with some of the best timber manufacturers and carpenters in the country. Timberbuild is a special process requiring in-depth knowledge of all the aspects involved in selecting, designing, and building with the material. A key aim of the firm is to exploit the potential to reduce the environmental impact of construction and increase local commerce based upon sustainable forestry .... all while trying to help project timber as a timeless material.

An important advantage of working with this beautiful and versatile material is that, by necessity, the teams who build with it are made up of highly-skilled and passionate craftspeople who, when possible, join the design team at the earliest stages lending their expertise right from the beginning through to the completion of the project. This enables the designers to establish and maintain working relationships with the very people who will be helping with the fabrication of the building. The result is efficiently executed projects that are extremely well built, kept within a reasonable cost, and most often kept well within completion dates.

Although based in central London the office has a rich mix of projects both urban and rural. Though the projects range widely in their budgets, with funding coming from both public and private sources, we intend to stay focussed and responsive, working on projects of a social, environmental, and artistic nature. Instead of relying on completed design briefs, our preference is to spot areas of difficulty and, as part of a development team, assist in offering up positive ideas for how social and environmental situations can be improved. Rather than waiting for things to get bad enough to react in desperation, we feel it to be more effective, efficient, and fun to pre-empt growing problems.