The global integrated design firm DLR Group announced that interior design and architecture studio Conran and Partners has joined the firm.
Based in London and Hong Kong, Conran and Partners becomes DLR Group’s first studio in Europe. Both the London and Hong Kong offices will operate as Conran and Partners, a DLR Group studio.
“Conran and Partners will remain a distinct luxury boutique design studio within DLR Group. That distinction is precisely the point—and precisely what we intend to invest in,” said DLR Group CEO Steven McKay, AIA, RIBA.
McKay continued, “We both share a purposeful belief in the power of design to elevate the human experience. Conran and Partners adds a luxury design studio and a level of craft that immediately elevates our work for clients at the premium end of the market in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and the United States.”
Conran and Partners works across hospitality, residential, workplace, and the sensitive transformation of existing and historic buildings. Continuing the design legacy of Sir Terence Conran, the studio’s portfolio spans luxury hotels and resorts, branded residences and high-end residential development, and bespoke workplace and retail environments for leading international developers and operators.
From left: DLR Group International Director Eric Phillips, Conran and Partners Principal Sebastian Conran, Conran and Partners Principal Tina Norden, Conran and Partners Principal Katy Clarke, DLR Group CEO Steven McKay, Conran and Partners Principal Simon Kincaid, Conran and Partners Principal Tim Bowder-Ridger, DLR Group Chief Development Officer Ignacio Reyes. (Harry Brayne)
The partnership ensures continuity for Conran and Partners employees and clients while providing the studio with a path into U.S. markets. Its five partners—Tim Bowder-Ridger, Katy Clarke, Sebastian Conran, Simon Kincaid, and Tina Norden—will continue as principals and lead operations in the London and Hong Kong offices.
Speaking on behalf of the five partners, Bowder-Ridger said, “We‘ve been exploring how to take the practice further through a strategic partnership. We consistently found the same tension; growing bigger usually meant growing more corporate and losing the imagination of our boutique culture. DLR Group gave us a clear answer: more design resources, extended reach, and the platform to grow, without asking us to become something we’re not.”
DLR Group served as architect and engineer of record for Houston’s Ismaili Center, working with Farshid Moussavi Architecture. (©Nic Lehoux)
Conran and Partners’s 75 design professionals will each have the opportunity to become DLR Group employee owners through the purchase of DLR Group stock. DLR Group is a 100% employee-owned firm.
“What convinced us was the opportunity for our team to become employee owners and the design culture of DLR Group,” said Norden. “The relationships we formed with DLR Group’s leadership made it clear this was a cultural match. Our clients will see the same team, the same studio, and the same sophistication of design—with the additional design resources and expertise of DLR Group’s global platform.”