The First Ten Layers: Founding Director Simon Reflects on a Decade of Design
As Layer.studio approaches its 10th birthday, we’re taking a moment to slow down with members of the team and reflect on what’s shaped the studio’s first decade.
First up, we’re taking a walk Hardman Square with our founding director, Simon, retracing the path from the studio’s early days in 2016 to the moments that have defined the journey so far.
Casting your mind back to 2016, what led you to set up the business?
I’d had a fantastic time working at another brilliant landscape firm, with a good deal of freedom to run my own projects and forge my own client relationships but, without wanting to sound cliché, there just came a point when it was the right time to move on. I wanted the creative freedom, the ability to choose what opportunities to go for and the potential to have more of a direct impact on places. And the chance to build a culture where we could create brilliant work and have a lot of fun doing it. Like most business owners can probably relate to, it was a leap into the unknown. But I knew I had it in me and had to give it a go. I’m really glad I did.
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What was your original vision?
When things happen organically, like it did for me, you don’t always carve a vision out in stone on day one. But I suppose it was to create a place with like-minded people who wanted to have a positive impact on the places we work in. Initially my vision was north west based, though now we have projects all over the country so our vision has naturally shifted in scope.
Growth was an ambition, but not too much. When a team grows beyond around 14 or 15 people the person at the top becomes a people manager and I knew I wanted to keep on doing what I love – landscape architecture. Since those early days we’ve expanded geographically as the studio has grown – we now have satellite studios in Newcastle and Bristol as well as our original hub studio in Wilmslow. And we’ve expanded in terms of the services we offer. As well as landscape architecture, we offer visual impact assessment, urbanism and creative community engagement.
What makes Layer.studio different?
We take an approach to spatial design which is grounded in landscape but works across all scales. We can design neighbourhoods – quite strategic city-wide landscapes, and all the way down to the design of a bench.
On every new project we take on, we understand that everyplace has depth and we work across all layers. From the foundational analysis involved in visual impact assessment, and appraising sites for their development potential in 3D using the latest technology, to layering on that crucial community engagement work. In 2023, Danny joined the leadership team bringing consultancy in urbanism into our service offering. His work adds another layer: using data to stimulate conversations and understand a place, its needs and opportunities for growth. Perhaps above all these things, we’re a fun team. We genuinely enjoy our work, and spending time together. That’s a great recipe for success.
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Walk us through your work at Hardman Square in Manchester’s Spinningfields
This project was a real opportunity and turning point for us, because of the high-profile nature of the site and client, Allied London, and a place that many people experienced firsthand.
Our work coincided with the opening of The Ivy restaurant, which had been envisioned as a “discovered pavilion in the jungle”. That idea became a useful point of inspiration for the wider public realm works, helping us reimagine the hard, corporate plaza into a greener, more inviting sanctuary. I installed myself in a nearby café and spent time people-watching to understand how the square was being used. Immediately I noticed that no one spent any dwell time in the square. There was no friction, no reason to divert course or linger.
We designed a series of green pockets with carved out social seating elements within the planting, so you feel enclosed by vegetation. It’s successful because it brings something which was of a vast scale down to the human scale, making it more inviting and giving it its own character. The spaces, the vegetation, it’s all evolved well and still looking great. And it’s informed plenty of our project work since – we’re now well versed in how to deal with structural challenges like planting over carparks, podiums and roof terraces. This felt like a real milestone in the studio’s journey and even earned us a shortlist for a Landscape Institute Award in 2019.
What do you love about your work?
I still get a buzz every time a new enquiry comes in. The prospect of digging into a new place and potentially getting to make a difference is exciting. I also love that landscape architecture is never static. You design something and then it evolves. Trees grow, planting matures and people begin to use the space in ways you couldn’t fully predict. Watching that process unfold over time is incredibly rewarding.
How do you feel approaching your 10th birthday?
It’s come around fairly quickly, and hard to believe it in all honesty. We’re established across the country and have great people in our team, which is what makes the business. So, yes, I’m feeling pretty good about it! We’re celebrating with a barge trip in the Pennines – perhaps getting the locks to open will be the ultimate test of our teamwork…
And where are you heading next?
Our current model of small teams in satellite studios across the country works brilliantly, so that’s the vision for the next 10 years: continuing to see the growth in our existing studios and building a bigger ecosystem of studios all around the country. We’ll keep building on what’s working, because we’re still enjoying it. Running a studio is a rollercoaster, but it’s one I’m very happy to be on.
