What Make Architects does

Make Ltd., trading as Make Architects, is an international architectural practice founded in 2004 in London by Ken Shuttleworth — formerly a senior partner at Foster + Partners and lead designer of 30 St Mary Axe (the Gherkin). The firm operates studios in London (headquarters), Hong Kong, and Shanghai, with 51–100 staff delivering architecture, interior design, and urban design services. Make is 100% employee-owned under the legal entity Make Ltd. and is B Corp certified (score 133.8) and Fair Tax Mark accredited.

The practice has delivered more than 100 built schemes worldwide and serves a mix of commercial, institutional, hospitality, retail, and public-sector clients. Notable engagements include the Harrods masterplan, UK Ministry of Defence estates, Department for Work and Pensions frameworks, University of Oxford projects, Brookfield Properties developments, Hammerson retail schemes, Far East Consortium residential work, Capella Sydney, and Nobu Hotel London. Technology delivery is centred on BIM with Revit, supplemented by MassMaker (an in-house Revit-based productivity tool) and the Make Materials Hub. Surrounding initiatives include Make Neutral (sustainability), Future Spaces Foundation (research), Exchange (thought leadership), and the annual Architecture Drawing Prize.

Make generates revenue primarily through fee-based architectural services, with geographic exposure across the UK, Hong Kong, China, and Australia. Award traction — including AJ100 Practice of the Year (2016), RIBA National Award (2019), BCO awards (2022 and 2025), ULI Awards (2022), and AHEAD Global Hotel of the Year (2023) — supports positioning in the upper tier of UK practices. The firm is privately held with no public funding disclosures, and revenue, headcount, and segment-mix data are not publicly reported.

Name

Make Architects

Legal name

Make Ltd.

Website

https://makearchitects.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Make Architects is an international, 100% employee-owned architectural practice founded in 2004 by Ken Shuttleworth, operating studios in London, Hong Kong, and Shanghai to deliver architecture, interior design, and urban design to commercial, hospitality, and public-sector clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Architecture and Design Services: Professional services revenue generated through architecture, interior design, and urban design services from concept to completion. Services are delivered across multiple sectors including workplaces, residential, retail, hospitality, education, and urban regeneration projects.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Make Architects is an international architecture practice delivering full-service architectural design, interior design, and urban design from concept to completion. The firm works across sectors including workplaces, residential, retail, hospitality, education, heritage, and urban regeneration for enterprise clients such as developers, corporations, and government bodies. Services are delivered through studios in London, Hong Kong, and Shanghai as a unified 100% employee-owned practice.

Product overview

Make Architects is a 100% employee-owned architecture practice founded in 2004 by Ken Shuttleworth, operating as a single studio across London, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. The firm delivers three core services — Architecture, Interior Design, and Urban Design — spanning project typologies that include workplaces, tall buildings, residential, hospitality, retail, education, healthcare, heritage, sports and leisure, transport, and science and research. These services are supported by internal sustainability capability (Make Neutral), a research arm (Future Spaces Foundation), a thought leadership programme (Exchange), and an annual drawing competition (The Architecture Drawing Prize). The firm has completed more than 100 built schemes globally and targets net zero whole-life carbon design on all projects by 2030.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Make Neutral: In-house cross-sector sustainability working group that ensures every Maker is equipped with information, tools and confidence to commit to climate action.
• Future Spaces Foundation
• Exchange
• Architecture Drawing Prize

Products and services

• Architecture Services Full-service architectural design from concept to completion covering commercial, residential, hospitality, retail, education, healthcare, heritage, and urban design projects across multiple geographies.
• Interior Design Interior architecture and design services including workplace fit-outs, retail interiors, hospitality interiors, and heritage interior conversions, delivered standalone or alongside architectural services.
• Urban Design Masterplanning and urban design services for large-scale regeneration schemes, including public realm design, transport integration, and mixed-use developments.

Quantifiable outcome

• Targeting 2030 net zero carbon on all projects
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Blueprint for All (formerly Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMake has a long history of supporting work experience and mentoring schemes with Blueprint for All, including the 'BeMore Inclusive' programme led by Blueprint for All and recruiter Urban. They also partner on recruitment at all levels, from Part 1s to qualified architects.
• Built By UscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEDI consultancy partnered with Make to help discover how the practice can strengthen its own practices around inclusion, outreach, recruitment, development and retention. Also involved in the FLUID programme.
• Dramatic Training SolutionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLearning specialists partnered with Make to explore how they can strengthen practices around inclusion, outreach, recruitment, development and retention.
• RIBA Architecture AmbassadorscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMake participates as Architecture Ambassadors for the RIBA, providing outreach and mentoring to inspire future architects.
• Construction Youth TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMake supports the Construction Youth Trust 'Budding Brunels' work experience scheme to inspire young people to pursue careers in construction and architecture.
• Inspiring the FuturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMake participates in Inspiring the Future programmes to provide career guidance and mentoring.
• RIBA Architects for ChangeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMake director Katy Ghahremani is a member of this RIBA group focused on EDI in architecture.
• Materials CouncilcoreTechnology or IntegrationMaterials Council collaborates with Make Neutral to manage the Make Materials Hub - a curated physical and digital materials library with emphasis on innovative products like recycled materials and biomaterials.
• carbonfootprint.comcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMake partners with carbonfootprint.com to offset their entire carbon footprint plus 10% through its Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Tree Buddying scheme, supporting international tree planting projects.
• UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMake Neutral collaborates with UKRI on live sustainability research projects, contributing to shared knowledge around sustainability to address the climate emergency.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Wilkinson Eyre: London-based international architecture practice with comparable scale and workplace, commercial, cultural and infrastructure portfolio. Overlapping enterprise developer client base and similar award profile.
• Heatherwick Studio: London-headquartered design and architecture studio operating across buildings, public realm and masterplanning with a distinctive design-led approach. Highly comparable in scale, sector mix and brand-led positioning.
• Zaha Hadid Architects: London-headquartered international architecture practice with global project portfolio spanning commercial, cultural, hospitality and residential sectors. Comparable founder-led brand identity and award-winning design reputation.
• David Chipperfield Architects: London-based international architecture practice with strong cultural, commercial and heritage-led portfolio. Comparable scale, design reputation and global enterprise client base, including heritage and adaptive reuse projects.
• RSHP (Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners): London-based international architecture practice with overlapping workplace, transport, commercial and sustainability-led portfolio. Comparable in size, UK-anchored with international reach and similar high-profile public and developer client base.
• Foster + Partners: London-headquartered international architecture practice with comparable scale, multi-sector portfolio (workplace, residential, hospitality, heritage, masterplanning) and global studio model. Most directly comparable peer given shared UK origin, enterprise client base and global project delivery.
• Allies and Morrison: London-based architecture and urban design practice with comparable workplace, residential, heritage, education and masterplanning portfolio. Similar scale, sector breadth and UK enterprise client base.

Broad incumbents

• Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF): International architecture practice with strong workplace, tall building and commercial portfolio across US, UK and Asia-Pacific. Overlaps with Make on enterprise commercial and mixed-use developments.
• SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill): Global architecture, engineering and urban planning firm with deep presence in commercial workplace, tall buildings and masterplanning. Overlaps with Make on enterprise commercial and workplace projects globally.
• Gensler: Global architecture and design firm operating across workplace, hospitality, retail and commercial sectors with much larger scale. Competes with Make for enterprise workplace and commercial mandates worldwide.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/makearchitects
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/make-architects
• Instagraminstagram.com/make_architects
• Xx.com/makearchitects

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Make Architects