Wilf is a founding member of Studio Bark, Studio Bark Projects and the recently launched U-Build construction system. He is a passionate and diverse practitioner, who enjoys designing and making beautiful spaces. He believes that the very best of architectural manifestation is born from the combined understanding of people and nature. His approach to design transcends into finished buildings; designed for the people within them and for the environment around them. He has an eye for detail and loves working with innovative, natural and locally sourced materials, culminating in his unique understanding of low energy construction techniques.
Wilf completed his undergraduate architecture studies at the University of Brighton and went on to complete his masters at the University of East London. In addition, he has an MA in Sustainability and Design. During his professional career, he has taken a leading role in a number of ambitious live-build projects, working collaboratively with diverse teams to deliver a range of interesting buildings and structures. This work has led him to become an expert in ‘true self-build’ and one of the pioneers of the empowering U-Build system. He is a keen public speaker, who is always ready to be involved in constructive dialogue on social, political and environmental issues.
Wilf Meynell— Director
BArch DipArch MArch & Sustainability
Sarah’s passion for hand-drawing is central to her design process, complimenting the team’s creativity methodology.
Alongside her architectural design work, Sarah sits on the RIBA Guerilla Tactics Steering Group and is an active member of the Architects Climate Action Network, coordinating the Education Group during its first year of activity. Sarah is passionate about architectural education and has been a studio tutor at the University of East London and a visiting reviewer at the Sheffield School of Architecture. During 2020/21 she has worked closely on the educational live-build programme ‘No Building As Usual’, addressing climate change and diversity in education.
Prior to working at Studio Bark, Sarah worked with local authorities and community groups across Yorkshire. This provided a valuable framework for understanding planning processes, policy and the complexities of delivering high quality spaces.
Sarah Broadstock— Associate Architect
BA (Hons), MArch, ARB
Naomi joined Studio Bark in 2021 and has fast become a much-valued member of our small team. In previous roles, Naomi has specialised in residential projects in rural settings. These projects necessitated a highly sensitive approach to local character and design development, which she skilfully brings to her work at Studio Bark.
Prior to joining Studio Bark, Naomi graduated from the University of Edinburgh with her final thesis exploring ground conditions and our human responsibility for exploration, sensitivity and questioning relationship to our physical environment.
Naomi Wright— Part II Architectural Assistant
BA (Hons), MArch
Aurora joined the studio in 2022 after recently completing her Part I at the Mackintosh School of Architecture. As a student participant in the “No Building As Usual” live-build project of Nest House, Aurora furthered her interest in architecture that employs a holistic design approach and that has an emphasis on environmental and social sustainability. During her Part I studies, Aurora received a sustainability award and also became the first recipient of the Mackintosh/DSB Travelling Scholarship. This allowed her to investigate the user experience of Art Nouveau-style buildings in Vienna and Glasgow that employ the total work of art approach.
Aurora Takami Siljedahl— Part I Architectural Assistant
BA
Misbah joined Studio Bark in 2022 as an architect with previous experience predominantly in the private residential sector. She was educated at the University of Brighton and the Bartlett School of Architecture, where her academic work explored the relationship between architecture and its narratives. She is interested in how context can provide poetic inspiration for design and lead to an enriched architecture that tells a story. Misbah has also taught a technology module, and has been a guest critic for an undergraduate studio at the University of Brighton.
Misbah Mahmood Asim— Architect
BA (Hons), MArch, ARB
Hannah is interested in how the built environment affects user experience. She has developed her passion for environmental and affordable design working on a number of community building projects. Hannah joined the studio after graduating from the University of Sheffield’s Collaborative Practice course, and has worked on a number of residential and education projects in London and Sheffield.
Hannah Towler— Associate
BA, MArch Architecture
Ella joined the studio in 2022 after graduating from the Bartlett School of Architecture, where she studied material circular economies. Prior to this, she has worked on a range of residential and interior projects across the British Isles. Ella is interested in the wider breadth of how we inhabit buildings and cities; in her spare time fighting for a more sustainable food system at her local community kitchen and has had work exhibited in the Royal Academy of Arts. Ella is also a certified Passivhaus Designer.
Ella Thorns— Part II Architectural Assistant
BSc (Hons), MArch
Nick is a founding member of Studio Bark Projects, U-Build Systems, and a Director of Studio Bark. He now leads work on the U-Build project, which has grown to become a separate non-profit company within the Studio Bark group. His experience spans environmental architecture, traditional carpentry, government funded research programmes, and deep energy retrofits. He creates a style of architecture that is thoughtfully considered, environmentally responsible, and highly emotive. Nick is a specialist in Paragraph 80 (formerly 79), having led a national study into the policy on behalf of the studio. The study, launched in 2018 and still ongoing, has resulted in the National Paragraph 80 database, which gives the practice an unparalleled wealth of knowledge on this forward thinking policy.
Nick is also our in-house Passivhaus Designer and has contributed to a number of journals and publications. He is the co-author of ‘Everything Needs to Change: Architecture and the Climate Emergency’ and a contributing author to the Environmental Design Pocketbook and the Passivhaus Designer’s Manual. He speaks regularly at events on behalf of the studio and was named a ‘Rising Sustainability Star’ by Building magazine in 2014. His knowledge of zero waste and circular economy thinking helps drive many of the decisions made within the practice, and his experience with Building Performance Evaluation helps to make sure that our buildings don’t just look good, they also perform.
Nick Newman— Director
BArch(Hons) DipArch ARB RIBA CEPHD
Steph has been a member of Studio Bark since its formal beginnings in 2014, becoming a director in 2016. He is also a founding member of U-Build, an innovative ‘true self-build’ construction system. During his architectural education at the Mackintosh School of Architecture and London Metropolitan University, Steph combined his time in the studio by getting his hands dirty working on a number of small scale construction projects. His on site experience has translated into a deep understanding of construction and a love for working with natural materials. He now shares this knowledge and experience with students during Bark Live Builds and the Construction Week programme at the University of East London.
With a shared passion for the preservation of the natural environment combined with a passion for design, Steph is able to draw on the unique qualities of a site and translate a brief into something coherent and sensitive. He sees each project as an opportunity to explore new, environmentally focused ideas to create unique and beautiful, low impact designs. In the studio, he brings a rigorous design eye and plays a leading role in design discussions. Often defaulting to the pencil and drawing board, he is able to quickly visualise and represent ideas. He has played a key role in number of successful Paragraph 79 (now 80) applications including, Pivot House, Billingford House and Water Farm. His other notable projects include Holloway Lightbox, Ebenezer House and Marsh House.
Stephane Chadwick— Director
BArch(Hons) DipArch
Sophie joined Studio Bark in 2023 as Studio Manager and has since been keeping everything running smoothly, managing the day to day activities of the team.
Prior to joining Studio Bark, she supported teams at Stride Treglown architects and Morrow + Lorraine architects, and so has a good understanding of the requirements and nuances of architecture studios, paired with an empathetic approach.
Outside of Studio Bark, Sophie runs her own start-up brand of Tencel bed linen, Leisurely, which aims to use the most sustainable materials and processes available, while inspiring consumers towards gentler, slower, more sustainable lifestyles. She studied BA Fashion Textiles at Middlesex University.
Sophie Lang— Studio Manager
BA (Hons)
Tom joined Studio Bark in 2017 having previously worked for artist Wolfgang Buttress on large-scale public installations, such as the Hive at Kew. He has a long held interest in environmental design and a skillset specialising in the areas of building physics, parametric modelling and digital fabrication. These interests have proved instrumental at the practice, and some of Tom’s endeavours have included, building a parametric workflow which underpins the U-Build system, developing in-house processes for energy performance modelling, and the creation of a toolset for undertaking whole life carbon assessments. He has played a key role in the delivery of several projects including Box House, Mill Lane and Manbey Pod.
Tom gained minor notoriety in the design world for his environmental activism with Extinction Rebellion (XR) in 2019, and helped to launch the Architects Climate Action Network (ACAN) that same year. He has previously taught at the University of Nottingham and UEL, and periodically gives talks, guest lectures and pens articles on the intersection between environmental activism and architecture.
Tom Bennett— Associate Architect
MEng MArch ARB RIBA
