Who We Are

We’re currently walking 3,000km across Aotearoa New Zealand, using the long pace of the trail to observe, listen, and learn. This journey gives us space to pay attention - to landscapes, heritage, and the everyday ways people connect with the outdoors.

We operate within living and working landscapes - the places often labelled Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, National Parks, or National Landscapes - and we explore how architecture, access, and community can form a more open, ongoing dialogue. For us, design is not a fixed object; it’s a conversation shaped by people, histories, and the land itself. Although our current research is nomadic, our practice remains rooted in the UK and Ireland. We work across architecture, guided walking, mountaineering, workshops, and community engagement, with a focus on environmental sustainability and meaningful access to the outdoors.

Between us, we bring over a decade of experience from award‑winning architectural practice in rural west Wales, alongside teaching, mentorship, and contributions to community regeneration and placemaking. Our creative work has been exhibited internationally, and our outdoor experience spans landscapes across Europe and further afield — from Eryri, Bannau Brycheiniog, Lake District, Scottish Highlands, and MacGillycuddy’s Reeks, to the Pyrenees, Tyrol, and now the length of Aotearoa New Zealand along Te Araroa.

We are architects, designers, educators, guides, and critical thinkers. We collaborate with people, groups, and organisations who want to explore ideas, places, and projects with care and curiosity. If you have an idea forming - a project, a question, or a place you want to understand differently - we’d be keen to hear from you. We’re here to offer clarity, insight, and support, and to help your project find the best route forward.

Will is an architectural designer and strategist whose work blends drawing, writing, photography, and parallel visual media to explore how people relate to landscape and place. In 2025 he was shortlisted as one of the RIBA Rising Stars - recognised among twenty early‑career designers across the UK for creativity, determination, and a collaborative approach to practice.

Alongside his design work, Will is co‑editor of Tonic Journal, contributes to the editorial board of Touchstone (RSAW), and has developed independent research through a Royal Scottish Academy scholarship, later exhibiting the outcomes of his residency in Italy. His practice centres on design consultation and engagement, often working with arts organisations, communities, and universities to help communicate ideas clearly and support cultural change.

Since 2021, Will has taught, lectured, and tutored at the Welsh School of Architecture, most recently leading a postgraduate design unit titled The Nomadic Studio, exploring movement and transience within landscape. He has supported mentoring programmes and acted as a practice mentor for RIBA Professional Practice.

Will’s outdoor experience is equally rooted: previously a volunteer for guided walking holidays in the UK, he continues to hone technical skills across varied terrain and is currently a Mountain Leader trainee. His conversational style, collaborative ethic, and long‑term approach help build genuine relationships around shared goals. He thrives in guiding ideas from early thinking to practical reality, supporting multidisciplinary journeys, and helping groups shape the spaces and futures they care about.

Laura is an Irish architect and qualified Mountain Leader whose work is driven by curiosity, careful observation, and a deep respect for the narratives held within landscapes. She explores the cultural, social, and environmental impact of design through site‑specific investigation, using drawing and critical analysis as key tools for understanding place.

Her academic research has focused on permanent and transient communities within the Arctic Circle, mapping how people interact with - and leave traces upon - fragile environments. This work continues to inform her interest in memory, belonging, and perception, and in how cultural narratives can shape more sustainable futures.

Laura studied at the University of Limerick and University College Dublin, and has practiced in Ireland, the Netherlands, and the UK. She has supported the delivery of RSAW’s graduate mentor scheme in Wales and brings extensive experience across residential architecture - from early design development through technical and contractual stages - as well as work with national museums and theatres exploring capital projects and cultural change. She particularly enjoys guiding clients who are new to design, helping them build a clear brief and develop a relatable, grounded project roadmap.

Since qualifying as a Mountain Leader, Laura has worked with corporate groups and first‑time summit teams, supporting people as they build confidence outdoors. She has become a thoughtful storyteller of North Wales’ upland ecologies - from lichen and bogland to industrial histories - weaving these insights into a wider research interest in how people read, use, and care for outdoor places. Days out with Laura are layered with anecdote, data, and encouragement. Her guiding style places strong emphasis on access - emotional and physical - and she is committed to helping people achieve the goals they set for themselves. Her blend of design thinking, landscape knowledge, and people‑centred care sits at the heart of Outdoor Architecture’s approach.