09 - 07 - 2025
Female led architecture & urban design practice Grounded unites with BPTW to drive innovation in housing and urban design.
BPTW Leadership Team: LR Front row: Mark Waite, Peter Sofoluke, Róisín Ní Chatháin, Chloë Phelps, Dale Taylor, Caroline Dommett, Steve Smith, Onur Osman, Melisa Villar, LR Back Row: Justin Kelly, Alan Wright, Neill Campbell, Scott Adams, Mark Jefferson.
BPTW and Grounded have been successfully collaborating on a number of Local Authority & Housing Association projects over the last 12 months, and are now set to formalise the arrangement; with BPTW acquiring the female led practice Grounded.
Chloë Phelps will join the Practice as a Director and will continue the work of Grounded, along with Business Development and Marketing for the practice.
Chloë Phelps, Director Architecture, Neill Campbell, Partner Architecture, Scott Adams, Partner Urban Design.
With over 35 years of housing industry leadership, we are known at BPTW for our extensive portfolio in housing and urban design, as well estate regeneration, sustainability, and construction technologies in London and the South East. This acquisition will add diversity to our leadership team, following a wave of promotions in 2024.
Grounded, established in 2021, was borne from Chloë’s public sector role as Head of Design delivering the Croydon Small Sites Programme where the team oversaw design quality across more than twenty schemes, as well as designing a number in house including Trellis Mews and Pump House, both in south Norwood. Grounded has been working on the Mainway Estate in Lancaster with Place Capital Group including gaining planning consent for Phase 1, and a retrofit pilot project on two of the existing 50s system built maisonette blocks. More recently they have led the ‘local voice’ aspect of the Latimer by Clarion Housing Group Masterplan for the new Garden Community in Tendring and Colchester; uniquely placed between the master planning and engagement teams, Grounded has been the advisor on local character and design team lead for engagement.
Trellis Mews by Grounded (and Stitch). Source: Emanuelis Stasaitis
Rochester Riverside by BPTW
BPTW Partner Neill Campbell said; “We’re excited for Chloë and Grounded to formally join our team. The skills and experience they bring in retrofit, engagement and design review, along with Chloë’s client side and planning experience, will further strengthen our teams. The more creativity we have in the business the better and more productive we can be”.
The collaboration highlights the alignment of BPTW and Grounded’s shared values and passion for tackling the housing crisis and putting people at the heart of the process. Chloë is a steering group member of the Architect’s Action for Affordable Housing and is part of the Good Homes for All Campaign. Both BPTW and Grounded have schemes featured in the Good Homes for All book and is testament to their shared values.
Grounded Director Chloë Phelps said; “BPTW has an enviable breadth and depth of housing and placeshaping experience and has built up extremely good partnerships with clients, planners and contractors over the years. As someone who is passionate about the need to deliver more quality homes, I see this as a natural next step for businesses like ours to step up and have a greater impact together.”
Read the full story and a Q&A with Neill Campbell and Chloë Phelps in the Architects’ Journal Article here.