Studio aki is a multidisciplinary design and research practice that is committed to creative and socially-engaged architecture and design. We strive to create beautiful spaces people and communities will love and to help organisations build their brands. The studio straddles the boundaries of architecture, design, art and engineering with projects which include small scale objects, branding, installations, work at the architectural scale and public spaces. We have a strong interest in the use of narrative, images and storytelling to develop spatial propositions and use film and photography as tools to communicate ideas about architecture and cities.

We are committed to working collaboratively with clients and support our work with research into the socio-economic and cultural context of each project. Our aim is to help make people’s live better through design. We aim to respond to the diversity of people, cultures and contexts that our world is up made of, and add richness and texture to the built environments, whilst catering to everyday need.

Studio founder Sarah is passionate about using the skills gained in filmmaking and photography and to conduct research, communicate her own work and ideas and to help others communicate their own vision.

Sarah’s passion for photography began during her architecture studies when she began using the camera as a means of reading and documenting the city. This lead her to joining Pascal’s Schoning film based unit whilst at the Architectural Association (AA), where filmmaking was employed to as a means of developing narrative and communicating ideas. She is also trained as an actor, having gained an MA in acting from Drama Centre, Central St Martins. Sarah has worked with awarding winning theatre companies, as a filmmaker and performer, her work has been shown internationally and round the UK and she brings knowledge of storytelling, and communication, from this sphere to Studio Aki.

We work closely with our sister organisation, Appropri8, to reactivate disused urban spaces using installations, performance and cinema.