Practice

At vPPR Architects, we believe access to culture is fundamental for communities to thrive.

We design spaces that inspire creativity by prioritising shared space, flexibility of use and artist collaborations.

Our projects are designed to be robust and long lasting, seeking to retrofit wherever possible and embracing circular economy principles in our designs.  We are members of the London Practice Forum and Architects Declare.

From our studios in London, Liverpool and Hamburg, we design for a diverse range of cultural, residential, commercial, education and public realm clients.

vPPR is a women-led architecture practice, set up by Tatiana von Preussen, Catherine Pease and Jessica Reynolds in 2009.

 

 

People

TATIANA VON PREUSSEN

Director

MA(Cantab), MArch, ARB/RIBA

Tatiana founded vPPR with Catherine Pease and Jessica Reynolds in 2009.  She is has a special interest in the relationship between architecture and landscape, especially where the two begin to merge together.  She enjoys working across a range of projects with particular specialisms in mixed-use projects, housing, historical sites and public realm.  She has been a key partner in establishing Triangle, an in-house real estate company focused on sustainable and responsible developments.

She has taught design studios at the Architectural Association and at Columbia University and has acted as a design critic and a lecturer for multiple universities in the US and the UK.

Tatiana has judged the London RIBA Awards, RIBA MacEwan Awards, Camden Design Awards and the UK Brick Awards.  She has been a board member for a regional board of the Guinness Partnership and has a particular interest in housing and landscape design.  She also sits on the  Tower Hamlets, Greenwich and Barking and Dagenham Quality Review Panels.

She studied architecture at Cambridge University and Columbia University and lived for several years in New York, where she worked for James Corner Field Operations on the High Line Park.

CATHERINE PEASE

Director

MA(Cantab), AA Dip, ARB/RIBA

Catherine founded vPPR with Tatiana von Preussen and Jessica Reynolds in 2009. She is based between Hamburg and London and heading the German studio. She is passionate about developing seemingly simple solutions to complex sites, where the parameters including context, program and the environment offer new opportunities for a distinctive architectural identity. She places great value on successful, long-lasting relationships with clients, collaborators and community as a key ingredient to producing an outstanding project.

She has taught at the Architectural Association and Columbia University and is currently running a design studio at the Hochschule Bremen. She has been a judge of the London RIBA Awards and was for many years a trustee of the Museum of Architecture. Catherine was named as one of ten inspirational women in the arts by the Royal Academy of Arts, winner of the Emerging Woman of the Year Award and was selected for the Architects Journal’s 40 under 40.

Catherine grew up in France, studied at Cambridge University and the Architectural Association before living and working for several years in New York including at SOM.

Catherine is a registered architect both in the UK and in Germany with the Hamburgische Architektenkammer.

JESSICA REYNOLDS

Director

MA(Cantab), MPhil, MArch, ARB/RIBA

Jessica co-founded vPPR in 2009. She is particularly interested in the relationship between art and architecture. She focuses on cultural projects and artist collaborations to rethink the everyday, greatly enjoying working across all scales and project types, from installations to historic refurbishments to mixed-use new developments.

She is unit master at The Architectural Association, studying the role of museums in the environmental emergency. She has organised debates on this topic with the V&A, the Natural History Museum, the Horniman Museum and others. She has previously taught a unit on artist housing at Columbia University. She is co-founder of the Architecture Exchange, a platform to foster debate between architecture and philosophy, investigating the work of Graham Harman and Chantal Mouffe. She sits on the Watford Place Shaping Panel and the Waltham Forest Design Review Panel. She is an external examiner for the University of Cambridge and the University of East London.

Jessica studied architecture at Cambridge University and Princeton University, including an M.Phil in History and Philosophy of Architecture at Cambridge.

ANTHONY CHARNLEY

Technical Director

MA Dip Arch (Hons) Cantab, ARB/RIBA

Anthony joined vPPR as Associate Director and Project Architect for the transformation of Olympic Way, which included the new Olympic Steps – the main approach to Wembley Stadium. It was completed below budget in June 2021, in time for the Euros.

Previously an Associate Director at Dixon Jones, he has been responsible for a wide variety of project types and scales, including public realm. His largest and most successful role was as project architect for the £160M Quadrant 3 (2006-2011) for The Crown Estate – the largest project they had ever undertaken with Stanhope as joint development partners. Formerly the Regent Palace Hotel adjacent to Piccadilly Circus, a mixed use development of Offices, retail, residential, an energy centre, a service tunnel and extensive public realm, it was completed 4 months early and 15% below budget. It received 18 awards and is now the European / Middle East HQ for Al Gore’s Generation Investment Management, Twitter and Telefonica. It also contains Brasserie Zedel, run by Rex Restaurants (who also own The Wolseley) and is their most profitable site. It set an H&S record for the time – 2 million man hours were worked without a single reportable accident.

Anthony has also between 2014-16 been project architect for the £80M 55-91 Knightsbridge mixed use development, which is completing early next year. In 2015 he successfully completed the Marlborough Interim School in Chelsea for John Lewis in partnership with RBKC – the conversion of a 1930s warehouse in Chelsea for use as a primary school whilst the school site was rebuilt (the school has won 12 awards).

Anthony has over 40 years experience of working in architectural practice.

MICHELLE WONG

Associate

BA (Hons), MArch, PGDip, ARB

Michelle has worked on a variety of exhibition design, public realm, mixed use schemes and most recently has been leading on Woodentops Nursery, a purpose built nursery building in Lambeth. She is the project architect for Coldharbour Road, a new build residential development of 8 units for Croydon Council‘s development arm Brick by Brick which is currently on site.

Michelle has worked previously at Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands in London, where she worked on large scale housing and regeneration projects. She has also worked in a range of international studios, including SCDA in Singapore, working on high end residential schemes.

Michelle studied at the Manchester School of Architecture and the Liverpool School of Architecture, graduating with first class honours. Her thesis investigated the relationships between identity, home and possession and explored new models for the shareable city, which received the Frank Horton Prize. As part of her MArch, she took part in an Erasmus exchange programme to Dessau Institute of Architecture, the home of the Bauhaus, where she explored opportunities for architectural reuse in a landscape of post reunification decline. Michelle completed her Part III at the Bartlett, UCL.

A highly experienced and meticulous project architect, Michelle has been shortlisted for the MJ Long Award for her work on the White House School.

TERESA ERSKINE

Head of Liverpool Studio & Project Architect

BArch (Hons), DipArch, ARB

Leading the Liverpool Studio, Teresa joined vPPR in 2018 and has worked on a wide range of projects across all sectors. She led various projects including Grade II* Listed Camden Market Canopy, Two Hands Preschool, The Barbican Art Gallery, Grade II Listed Plas Newydd,  and is currently running a variety of heritage, religious and community projects.

Teresa studied at the Mackintosh School of Architecture, Glasgow School of Art graduating with a First Class Honours and Distinction in her undergraduate and postgraduate studies. Her thesis explored the subterranean city of water, focusing on the world’s most precious resource – water. In 2016, she organised and curated a Lecture Series at the MSA, organising a line up of 10 speakers from across the globe.

Teresa was awarded the RIBA Haydn Smith Award which celebrates the best RIBA Advanced Diploma in Professional Practice in Architecture (Part 3) submission. Achieving a Distinction, she graduated at the top of two international cohorts at RIBA. She is often involved in crits at the Architectural Association and other Universities, along with being part of the RIBA Future Architects Mentoring Programme.

MILENA SOBANSKI

Hamburg Studio, Project Architect

Dipl.-Ing, ARB

Milena first joined vPPR in the London office in 2015 where she lead on three social housing projects for Brick By Brick. After returning to Berlin in 2018 she worked at Heide & von Beckerath, before joining vPPR’s newly established German office in 2023, where she is now running residential projects in Hamburg and Potsdam.

She completed her architectural training at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and the University of Karlsruhe in Germany. She has previously worked for Durrer Linggi Architects in Zurich, where her focus was on affordable housing for the elderly. She has also practiced at Florian Krieger – Architektur und Stadtebau in Darmstadt where she worked on a competition for the Museum of Bavarian History, and the conversion of the Turley Barracks into new housing.

 

ALEXANDRA GARDNER-O'BRIEN

Architectural Assistant

Diplôme d’État d’Architecte Valant Grade de Master

Alexandra joined vPPR Architects in 2024 after having recently graduated from Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Bretagne (ENSAB) in Rennes, France. Alexandra grew up in France to British/Irish parents so is perfectly bilingual in French and English.

During her studies, she explored a theoretical approach to architecture, focusing on history, theory and innovative ways of creating new architectural spaces. Her end of Masters project consisted of creating a new space in the city, focusing on the notion of “Catharsis”. She has also studied furniture design and produced an armchair during her studies.

Her masters dissertation focused on the relationship between food consumption and city planning in London.

Alexandra also worked at two practices in France and at a large practice in London before joining vPPR, where she worked on a mixture of public and private projects.

NORA SCHMIDT

Architectural Assistant

BSc Architecture, MA Architecture

Nora joined vPPR Architects in 2024 after graduating with distinction in M.A Architecture from the Technical University of Munich. During her masters she studied at the University of Nottingham through the Erasmus programme, before completing her Part I at Sergison Bates Architects in London. Here she worked mainly on their hotel and retail Mönckebergstraße project in Hamburg. She has a wide range of experience in offices across both England and Germany, most recently including Dinkel Persch Architects in Munich where she worked on a care home project and led a residential competition.

Nora is dedicated to creating durable yet beautiful architecture which adapts and changes with the needs of future generations, with a particular interest in working with existing buildings. In her master’s studies, she focused her thesis on the conservation of a listed post-war modernist building in Karlsruhe, Germany, that is due to be demolished. She developed an alternative proposal for the preservation and sensitive renovation of the listed building, retaining its cultural and historic importance and also achieving massive savings in grey energy and material resources.

HANNAH KRUSE

Hamburg Studio, Architectural Designer

BA Architektur, MSc Architektur

Hannah joined vPPR’s Hamburg office in August 2024 with a focus on German projects. Since joining, she has focused on the detailed design of a new house in Potsdam as well as supporting projects in Hamburg.

After completing her bachelor’s degree at HTWK Leipzig, Hannah went on to complete her master’s degree at the Bauhaus University Weimar. Before moving to Hamburg, she worked at several architecture firms in Leipzig and Copenhagen including Nord Architects & Woltereck Fitzner Architekten.

Hannah has worked German phases 1-5 which include private houses, large scale residential developments and the refurbishment of historical buildings. She is particularly passionate about buildings that put people’s health at the centre which was central to her master’s thesis. Through intensive research and interviews, she developed an approach to a sensitive, health-promoting architecture.

CHARLOTTE MOORE

Architectural Designer

BSc (Hons), MA RCA

Charlotte works across a range of public realm, research, exhibition design and private residential projects in both the UK and abroad. She is currently working on the Camden Highline in collaboration with New York-based practice Field Operations and Piet Oudolf to turn a disused stretch of railway viaduct into a new elevated park and walking route that connects Camden Gardens to King’s Cross.

Charlotte has a particular interest in cast materials and in creating spatial design products and has previously worked across a range of creative disciplines and projects as well as gaining further experience with Richard Weston, Open Practice Architecture and Graeme Williamson Architects.

Charlotte completed her MA at the Royal College of Art in 2019, where she studied on the Karakusevic Carson Scholarship. During her time at the RCA she focused on the research of natural materials and experimenting with design through making. Prior to this, she completed her BSc at the Welsh School of Architecture where she won the T Alwyn Lloyd Memorial Travelling Scholarship for her graduating portfolio.

CLAUDIA ROBALINO

Architectural Designer

BSc (Hons), MA RCA (Distinction)

Claudia joined vPPR Architects in 2022 after completing her Part II at the Royal College of Art in 2021 where she was nominated for the RIBA Silver Medal Prize.

Claudia studied her BSc in Architecture at Universidad San Francisco de Quito and University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Her professional background includes working in architectural practices in Poland, and Ecuador and personal explorations of furniture and material making.

The diversity of her country influenced by the complexities of a human–nature based research gave form to her thesis “Tailoring Camouflage” at the RCA where she won the Head of Programme Prize and was nominated for the Dean’s Prize.  She is an Associate Lecturer at the RCA.

STEPHANIE RAE LLOYD

Architectural Designer

BA (high honors), MArch (distinction)

Since joining vPPR Architects Stephanie has worked on a mix of materials research, exhibition proposals, and residential projects. She coordinated the inaugural Shopfront Gallery exhibition, HANDMADE by vPPR, and has been leading the internal research and development on carbon sequestering building materials and their architectural applications.

She views architecture as a fundamental mode of production that influences political, technological and environmental processes. She is also invested in the relationship between architectural practice and architectural education and is currently a Research Associate in Early Design Education at Harvard University. Stephanie co-teaches a studio in the Intermediate Programme at the Architectural Association with Jessica Reynolds. The studio investigates the role of museums in the environmental emergency, seeking to rethink our relationship to the natural world through a cultural lens.

Stephanie holds a MArch with distinction from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, where she was the Gregory S. Baldwin fellow. Her master’s thesis, Matter of Fact, investigated how acts of architectural fact-making inscribe new types of spaces and produce new types of audiences. While at the GSD, Stephanie was also a contributing editor of Pairs, a student-led journal dedicated to conversations about design meant for provisional thoughts and ideas in progress. Stephanie holds a BA in Architecture with high honors from the University of California, Berkeley, where she received the Eisner Prize for Architecture as well as the university’s prestigious Leadership Award. Prior to joining vPPR, Stephanie worked as a designer and researcher in Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

ALASTAIR WALKER

Architectural Assistant

BArch (Hons)

Since Ali joined vPPR Architects he has worked on a number of exhibition design, residential and public realm projects. He is currently working on upcoming art exhibitions at the Wellcome Collection and Barbican Art Gallery and is assisting with the local Camden Highline project. Ali completed work experience in 2018 and 2019 with vPPR working on the Higham Hill Theatre and Plas Newitt projects.

Ali studied at the University of Nottingham graduating with First Class Honours. This investigated the cultural and creative impact of the lace industry in Nottingham historically and today, alongside the creative reuse of disused interstitial concrete frame structures within the urban fabric. His design was selected by tutors to represent the department at “Project: Nottingham” exhibited in Nottingham’s St. Mary’s Church, showcasing innovative sustainable design brought by Nottingham’s zero carbon 2028 target.

DEIRDRE MCGINNIS LOPEZ

Studio Manager

Since joining vPPR Deirdre has been working on operations, sales and marketing at the studio.

Deirdre has a background in arts publishing and events with a focus on sales and marketing. Deirdre was responsible for all White Cube events including Frieze Art Fair and artists’ events including Gilbert & George’s Venice Biennale, 2005.

Deirdre co-founded Art & Music Publications in 2008 and was the advertising sales director for The Saatchi Gallery Magazine Art & Music, Taste Journal and HIX Magazine.

Deirdre graduated in Business Studies with French at Middlesex University.

Clients

  • 100% Design
  • Alleyn’s School
  • Architecture Foundation
  • Barbican Gallery
  • BeFirst
  • Brick By Brick
  • British Council
  • Camden Highline
  • Create London
  • Coca-Cola
  • Emma Smith
  • Fotomuseum Antwerpen
  • Hepworth Gallery, Wakefield
  • Investec
  • Labtech
  • Lancaster University
  • London Borough of Croydon
  • London Borough of Havering
  • London College of Fashion
  • Londonwide Developments
  • The Lucky Club
  • Manns of Cranleigh
  • National Trust
  • Quintain
  • Raven
  • Redchurch Street Properties
  • Royal Academy of Art
  • Salesian Sisters
  • Second Home
  • St John of Jerusalem Church, Hackney
  • Two Hands Nursery
  • The Science Gallery, London
  • Victoria and Albert Museum
  • Waltham Forest Council
  • Wellcome Collection
  • White Cube Gallery
  • The White House School

Testimonials

“There might not be a vPPR house style, but they share an interest in expressive geometry which is as different from the stereotypical Cambridge ‘hair shirt’ architecture as it is to the allusive collectivised architecture of another bunch of ex-Cambridge practitioners, Assemble.”  Hugh Pearman, RIBA Journal

 

“The shifts in scale and location of modern globalised architecture mean that vPPR combine intricate London homes with a large arts centre in China. Their ambition, however, is that small-scale thinking can have large-scale effects in their home city.”  Rowan Moore, The Guardian

 

 

“We have worked with vPPR for several years. They have designed one spectacular house for us and are in the process of designing another one for us. Their sensitive appreciation of the possibilities and limitations of a site combined enable them to maximise the potential for any site. Whilst their aesthetic is extremely contemporary, they design houses that would be a pleasure to live in rather than just admire as an uncomfortable work of art. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them.” Ivo Hesmondhalgh, Managing Director, Londonwide Properties PLC – Vaulted House

 

 

“It is amazing how the design allows the majority of our customers to have a great view out on to the High Street and indeed those and the front can almost feel they are sitting outside. Turnover for the first quarter exceeded our expectations by 20%. It has been easy to recruit personnel because the space is so attractive. The flexibility of design allows us to look warm and cosy in winter and cool and comfortable in the summer.” Richard Womack, Managing Director, Manns of Cranleigh – Cafe M

 

 

“We have been impressed by the energy and dedication vPPR have put into the project presenting us with exciting new ideas and original thinking at every stage of the design. From the outset they have shown strong capabilities of taking concepts through to reality placing an emphasis on various sustainable aspects of the design such as planting on the roof, natural day lighting and material choices.” Private Client – Split House

 

Awards

 

Contact

LONDON (HEAD OFFICE)

123 Camden High Street
Camden Town
London NW1 7JR

+44 207 729 6168
admin@vppr.co.uk

 

LIVERPOOL

44 Canal Street
Liverpool L20 8QU

liverpool@vppr.co.uk

 

HAMBURG

vPPR Architektur GmbH
Große Elbstraße 279
22767 Hamburg

+49 40 60574868
hamburg@vppr.co.uk

 

 

von Preussen Pease Reynolds Architects Limited
Registered in England No. 6906627 | VAT 1218115
Registered Office 1 Poultry, London EC2R 8EJ

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