Denizen Works makes architecture with other ideas.
We design singular, opinion-forming projects, naturalised to their context. We’re an international studio that treats every project as a new, shared endeavour, built on trust and optimism. Being robust but not rigid in our process frees us up to imagine more. Our work comes from humble origins, shaped by stories of site and the biography of the client. In it, you can find the familiar, the joyful and the unexpected: it reads legibly, with a rich and complex tone.
Studio & staff
Murray Kerr
Founding Director
Murray established Denizen Works in 2010, leading the practice to a number of prestigious awards including multiple RIBA National Awards, BD Architect of the Year and the Stephen Lawrence Prize. Murray oversees the creative and strategic output of the office, building strong relationships with clients and project teams to deliver exceptional buildings.
Murray has lectured widely and chaired the RIBA London awards jury, was a judge of the RIAS Doolan Prize in 2018 and acts as an external examiner at architecture schools across the UK. In addition, he has been leading a number of architecture workshops for children looking to build on his earlier thesis on the possibilities of play being utilised as part of the creative process.
As Denizen Works evolves, Murray continues to seek out projects and clients that are keen to work with creative people to find solutions to both architectural and strategic problems.
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Andrew Ingham
Director
Andrew joined Denizen Works in 2015 and delivered a number of multiple award-winning buildings, including The Floating Church and Hundred Acre Wood, whilst also overseeing the practice’s first housing project, Haddo Yard. Along with Murray, Andrew oversees the creative and technical output of the practice and leads the studio’s interest in product and furniture design.
In addition to talks for RIBA, EASA and The Faith Conference, Andrew has lectured at a number of universities and delivered architecture workshops at primary and secondary schools. He is a visiting critic at the University of Greenwich and is a member of his local Community Land Trust.
Andrew is interested in the atmospheric and poetic qualities of architecture resulting from carefully detailed spaces that resonate with place, materials and craft.
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Yuto Fujii
Associate
Yuto joined Denizen Works in 2020 to assist in the delivery of a range of challenging projects requiring careful detailing and coordination, at masterplan, site and individual building levels. Since joining Denizen Works, Yuto has been leading a number of residential projects for developer and private clients, including a mixed-use development in West London, a timber modular house research and development project for an international MMC housing developer, and a family home for a private client on a sea-side plot in Onomichi, Japan.
Yuto is a technical tutor and guest critic at Greenwich University and has lectured at universities in Japan. He was the co-curator at the Japanese Junction London exhibition in Clerkenwell, which gave 20 Japanese architects and designers based in the UK an opportunity to present their work to the wider public.
Yuto is keen to work on projects from different parts of the world as he continues to explore his interest in the role of indigenous craft, construction method and material use in architecture.
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Rebecca Woodward
Architect
Since joining Denizen Works in 2019, Rebecca has been involved in projects across the practice's portfolio, with a particular focus on housing and individual homes. She led the delivery of Barn B and is now furthering this interest in the re-use of existing buildings in the technical design of Red Flint Barn and Ceilidh House.
Rebecca undertook her architectural studies at the University of Cambridge, where her master's research explored the spatial challenges of urban schools and methods for teenage learning in today's 'culture of distraction'. As part of this research, Rebecca undertook a fieldwork placement in the US, volunteering at the New York Centre for Architecture to help deliver architectural design workshops for local school children.
Having grown up on the west coast of Cornwall, Rebecca has a particular interest in rural projects and enjoys architecture that creates harmony with the natural landscape and historic vernacular.
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Semi Han
Part II Assistant
Semi joined Denizen Works as a Part I in 2020 and returned as a Part II Assistant after achieving her MArch.
Since joining the studio, Semi has worked across several typologies of various sizes, from a small modular sauna to an ecology centre designed for educational training and creating biodiversity habitats. She also leads the practice's BIM workflows, coordination and management.
Semi is currently working on a mobile artist’s studio, a mixed-use community project in London, and a conversion of a red flint-walled barn in East Sussex.
Her postgraduate thesis at the London School of Architecture focused on the significance of intangible cultural heritage, questioning the West's fabric-driven approach of conservation practices and legislation. Her project proposed prioritising community significance within heritage to re-assess the management and adaptation of Listed buildings, through which architectural conservation supports a site's continuity over generations by its active cultural groups.
Outside of the office, Semi is a mentor at Narrative Practice and has worked as a freelance writer for Dezeen.
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Sophie Arvidsson
Studio Manager
Sophie joined Denizen Works in early 2024 after spending a year off on maternity leave.
Before joining the practice, Sophie has worked for three other practices in London, giving her over seven years experience of the industry.
Sophie’s role as a studio manager is both broad and covers several interesting areas of the business. Sophie loves working with people and this is where she most enjoys spending her time.
As well as a BA in Business and Finance from Heriot-Watt University, she has studied History of Ideas, Human Geography at Stockholm University. The latest addition to her studies is a course in organisation & leadership and cross-cultural management.
Away from work, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, preferably in the countryside.
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sophie@denizenworks.com
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