Llewelyn Davies Yeang

The original partnership of Llewelyn-Davies Weeks was formed in 1960 by (Lord) Richard Llewelyn-Davies and John Weeks, both actively engaged in the research of complex building types and systems, hospitals in particular. The company today provides design consultancy services encompassing Architecture, Planning and Urban Design, Interior Design, and Graphic Design, all underpinned by a proven commitment to Sustainability.

During the 1960s, the founding partners pioneered the concepts of flexible, long life, loose fit and ‘indeterminate solutions’ to the planning and design of the built environment. This pioneering work developed an international reputation for the practice, and the company has now worked in over 90 countries worldwide (over 30 in the 1990’s alone).

Since its foundation, the firm has continued to develop new fields of expertise, including a full range of services for corporate, commercial, residential, mixed use, healthcare, science, education, aviation and transport projects, and has successfully attracted new business through the consistency of its output and the high standards of its design quality.

Whilst the work of the architects became increasingly influential in the UK and overseas, the firm established its master planning credentials in the late 1960's with the planning of Milton Keynes, the largest of the 32 new towns created in Britain, based upon the concept of the ‘Plug-in City’ where choice and access to education, transport and other opportunities were the key drivers. Milton Keynes was recently hailed as "one of the most enduring achievements of modern British town planning." (Planning magazine, 27 February 2004, page 16.)

The company is conscious of its rich heritage, and through many influential development policies and research assignments, such as the UK's groundbreaking Urban Design Compendium - which has been exported to several other countries - continues to influence the shape of our cities and the built environment. As leading thinkers in the development of the planning and design agendas, the innovative work of Llewelyn Davies Yeang is at the heart of the Government’s vision for Urban Renaissance.

In tandem, the firm’s architectural work has been recognised with the delivery of ‘signature’ buildings, such as the University of Oxford EPA Project, where the city planning officer commented that Llewelyn Davies Yeang’s building “represents the standard by which all new buildings in Oxford should be judged”.

At the same time, the practice is engaged in the delivery of large-scale urban and architectural developments in excess of £500 million construction value. This is demonstrated in our regeneration work, where projects such as Cardiff Bay Regeneration, Edinburgh’s Waterfront Granton, the Royal Arsenal Woolwich and Bath Western Riverside delivered vibrant, commercially successful and quality environments.

Since being commissioned, in the early 1990’s, by major airport authorities and airline companies, including BAA Heathrow, BAA International, CAAC China, Airports Authority of Jamaica, British Airways, Lufthansa and Cathay Pacific, the company has established an international reputation in the field of airport/aviation consultancy.

The addition of Dr. Ken Yeang to the company in July 2005 and the subsequent rebranding of the company to ‘Llewelyn Davies Yeang’ represents a major step forward in providing our Clients with ‘signature green’ design and planning solutions.

Ken Yeang is the world’s leading architect in ecological design and passive low energy design. He has delivered over 200 built projects, and his ‘bioclimatic’ towers have had an impact around the world, fusing high-tech and organic principles.
He has actively disseminated his vision through teaching and through a series of books that are as concerned with the science of low- energy building as with the aesthetics of the end result. His contribution to leading edge and sustainable design extends far beyond landmark buildings. His thinking infuses peer group discussions on building form and disposition of the public realm through the objectives of sustainability.

The integration of policy, design and delivery now establishes Llewelyn Davies Yeang at the forefront of sustainable signature design and urban regeneration worldwide.