Nex was founded on the conviction that what we now call heritage was once invention. The buildings we value most were often the boldest ideas of their time.
Approach
Established in 2008 by Alan Dempsey, the studio brings that same spirit of ambition to the transformation of historic places and the design of new buildings.
We see architecture as stewardship, transforming complex briefs into clear responses that hold their ground between past and future. That means establishing what gives a place its value, what should be kept and where change can happen.
Our name comes from nexus: a point of connection. It reflects the connections our work makes between institutions and their audiences, and between an architectural idea and the way it is built.
We work with cultural organisations, universities, commercial estates and private clients: custodians of important buildings and sensitive sites. Our work spans new buildings and measured interventions within listed historic settings, and includes galleries, libraries, archives, restaurants, houses and public realm.
How we work
Every project begins with questions about the place, the brief, the people who will use it. We establish shared ambitions early and return to them at each stage of development, making room to grow, opening buildings up, and sharpening what each place is for.
We design for the senses with precision. We shape space through material, sequence and light. We consider how daylight moves across a room through the seasons, how a threshold marks arrival, and how a stair turns to reveal a new view.
Ideas that are inventive on paper must also be buildable. Research informs invention, and the details reveal whether it works. With fabricators, foundries and joiners, we test materials, develop prototypes and resolve how each part will be made. For us, quality is in the making as much as it is in our thinking.
Partnership
We take on a limited number of projects at any one time and senior leaders are present on every project from first briefing through design and construction. The people you meet at the start see the project through.
We shape the discussions that bring people with us, from the first conversation through to completion. We secure planning and listed building consents, guide stakeholder engagement, and coordinate technical and regulatory work without losing momentum.
Much of our work happens in places that cannot close, so we plan each project around the way our clients operate, keeping their sites active and open. Our relationships often continue beyond a single commission, developing into partnerships as buildings and estates evolve.
Stewardship
We care for what exists while shaping what follows.
Our practice takes a long-term view, attentive to how buildings perform, accommodate future change and are maintained over time. We begin with what is already there. Stone, timber, brick and metal carry the labour and carbon of their making.
Repairing and retaining fabric is often the most sustainable choice, and affirms that heritage and invention are not opposites. Where we build new, we design for low energy, long life and least harm.
Stewardship is also about belonging. Making buildings that people value, return to and choose to care for. Longevity, in that sense, is achieved not through construction alone, but through connection.
Clients
We work with custodians balancing cultural value with civic, environmental and commercial performance. Recent clients include the British Museum, the RAF Museum, the V&A, the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, Ballymore, British Land and the Cadogan Estate.
Awards
Since our founding, the practice has won ten international design competitions. Its built work has received RIBA, Architects’ Journal and New London Architecture awards. Building Design has named Nex as UK Public Realm Architect of the Year and UK Creative Conservation Architect of the Year.
The Jackson Library, Exeter College, University of Oxford
The Jackson Library, Exeter College, University of Oxford
- BD Creative Conservation Architect of the Year
- Stephen Lawrence Prize shortlist
- RIBA South Building of the Year
- RIBA South Project Architect of the Year
- RIBA South Regional Awards
- RIAI Sustainability Award
- BD UK Higher Education Architect of the Year Shortlist
- FX Design Award Public Sector Building of the Year
British Museum Round Reading Room
The Jackson Library, Exeter College, University of Oxford
- Oxford Preservation Trust: Building of the Year Award
- AJ Architecture Awards: Higher Education Project of the Year Shortlist
- British Construction Industry Awards Finalist
- Wood Awards shortlist
Kindling Pavilions
- Civic Trust Awards Shortlist
RAF Museum Vision 2030
- First Prize: International Design Competition
Duke of York Restaurant & Public Space
- BD AYA UK Public Realm Architect of the Year
- Civic Trust Award Comendation
- Dezeen Awards: World Leisure Building of the Year finalist
- UK Property Awards: UK Leisure Building of the Year
- FX Design Award Leisure Building of the Year
- RIBA Awards shortlist
Royal Wharf Pier
- BD AYA UK Public Realm Architect of the Year
- Civic Trust Award
- New London Architecture Award: Transport Project of the Year
- Royal Academy Summer Show
- Dezeen Awards: Infrastructure finalist
- RICS Award for Social Impact - Shortlist
- Pinapple Social Impact Award - shortlist
The Jackson Library, Exeter College, University of Oxford
- First Prize. Invited Competition
Duke of York Restaurant & Public Space
- New London Architecture Award: Hospitality Project of the Year
Duke of York Restaurant & Public Space
- AJ Architecture Tomorrow Commendation
Mercedes Formula 1 Team Campus
- First Prize. Invited RIBA Competition
Royal Wharf Pier
- First Prize. Invited Competition. Royal Wharf Pier
RAF Museum Centenary Plan London
- First Prize. International Design competition.
Duke of York Restaurant & Public Space
- First Prize. International Design competition.
Times Eureka Pavilion
- AJ Small Projects Sustainability Award: Times Eureka Pavilion
BD Young Architect of the Year Award. Finalist
AA DRL10 Pavilion
- D&AD Awards Yellow Pencil
Dodder Footbridge
- First Prize. RIAI International Design Competition: Dodder Bridge
AA DRL10 Pavilion
- First Prize. Architectural Assocatiation, International Design Competition with Alvin Huang.
Press
Our completed work has been featured in the RIBA Journal, The Architects’ Journal, Architecture Today, Dezeen, Domus, Forbes and Wallpaper*, as well as the Financial Times, The Times and The Telegraph. The practice’s work has been published by the Architectural Association, Birkhäuser, Braun, Merrell and the Architecture Foundation.
The Jackson Library, Exeter College, University of Oxford
The Jackson Library, Exeter College, University of Oxford
- RIAI Journal, Issue 342, Autumn 2025, Consonance and Caesura
- Conservation and Heritage Journal, July Issue
- RIBA Journal, May Issue
- Building Design, Nov. issue
The Jackson Library, Exeter College, University of Oxford
- RIBA Journal, September issue
- Oxford Preservation Trust, Autumn/Winter issue
- Architects Journal, May issue
- Architecture Today, May Issue
- Dezeen
Kindling Pavilions, Regents Place
- Architecture Today, Jan. issue
- RIBA Journal, Jun. issue
- Architects Journal, UK. Mar. issue
Duke of York Restaurant & Public Space
British Museum
- Architects Journal, May issue
Coppice, Circular Economy Workspace
Jackson Library, Exeter College, University of Oxford
Royal Wharf Pier
- RIAI Journal, Feb. issue
Duke of York Restaurant & Public Space
- Architects Journal, Aug. issue
- Architecture Today, Jan. issue
- Dezeen
- NLA Magazine, UK. Duke of York Restaurant, Autumn issue
Duke of York Restaurant & Public Space
Royal Wharf Pier
- Architects Journal, 26 Nov. issue
- Architecture Today, Nov. issue
- Arch Daily, 20 Oct.
- London Evening Standard, 20 Jan.
- The London Post, 7 Nov. issue
- Monicle, Interview with Alan Dempsey, May
- Architects Journal, 19 Jan.
- The Times Magazine, 10 Jan.
- Business Traveller, 10 Jan.
The Jackson Library, Exeter College, University of Oxford
Fluid Workspace
- OnOffice Magazine, May issue
Royal Wharf Pier
- Financial Times, 20 Dec.
Royal Airforce Museum
- Architecture Today, July issue
- Architects Journal, July issue
- Museums Association Journal, Feb. issue
Duke of York Restaurant & Public Space
- NLA Quarterly Magazine, Autumn issue
Fluid Workspace
Brighton Photography Centre
- RIBA Journal, Dec. issue
Duke of York Restaurant & Public Space
- Architects Journal, 27 Jan. issue
- New Architects 3, Merrell. Nex Profile
- London Evening Standard, 27 Jan.
Duke of York Restaurant & Public Space
Half Landings House
AA DRL10 Pavilion
- Constructing Shadows, Peter Petschek & Siegfried Gass, Birkhauser
Times Eureka Pavilion
- Building Design, May issue
- Building Magazine, 24 May issue
- Constructing Shadows, Peter Petschek & Siegfried Gass, Birkhauser
- Domus, Sept. issue
- Dezeen, 24 May
- Designweek, Jul. issue
- FRAME Magazine, Dec. issue
- Inhabitat, 24 May
- The Times Newspaper, 16 Jan.
- The Times Newspaper, 15 Mar.
AA DRL10 Pavilion
- The Architect's Portfolio, Taylor & Francis
AA DRL10 Pavilion
- D&AD Annual, UK
- Digital Architectures, Passages through the Hinterlands, Ruairi Glynn
- Proceedings from the Design Modelling Symposium, DE
AA DRL10 Pavilion
- Architects Journal, UK, Feb. issue
- Building Design, Mar. issue
- ICON, Apr. issue
- A10 Magazine, NL, May issue
- Modulo, Aug. issue
- Concrete Quarterly, Sept. issue
Dodder Footbridge
- Plan Magazine, IRL, Sept. issue
Connect
If you are planning a new building in a sensitive setting or change within a heritage context, we would welcome the conversation.