What We Do…
At Platform 23 Architecture, we see design as a dialogue between people, place, and possibility. Our services are shaped to meet clients at every stage of this conversation- from the first ideas that define a project to the lived experiences that follow its completion.
We work across scales and contexts, combining creative exploration with technical and social awareness. Whether designing a home, facilitating community engagement, leading research, or curating learning experiences, our approach places people and their stories at the centre of every decision.
Each service is guided by the RIBA Plan of Work and informed by our belief that meaningful architecture grows from listening, understanding, and collaboration.
Spatial Introspection
Explore with us how your current spaces serve you.
For individuals, families, and organisations seeking spaces with purpose and identity.
Spatial Introspection is a collaborative and human-centred design process that uncovers the deeper stories behind how people live, work, and connect. Whether exploring a private home, a community building, or a shared environment, we work closely with you to understand your values, narratives, and social context.
Our approach brings together creative consultation, site analysis, and conceptual design to produce a visual and written report. This report maps your needs, memories, and aspirations into spatial strategies that are both personal and practical. Suitable for residential and community projects at their earliest stages, the service helps you establish a clear and meaningful brief rooted in human experience and guided by RIBA Stage 0 and Stage 1 principles.
Spatial Story-Building
Define your narratives and the spaces that support it.
For individuals, families, and organisations seeking spaces that tell their story.
Spatial Story Building transforms ideas, memories, and values into a coherent architectural narrative. Through in-depth conversations, we explore the stories that define your life, community, or brand and translate them into meaningful spatial concepts. Each design becomes a chapter that reflects your identity and the way you wish to inhabit the world.
Our process blends narrative consultation, design development, and sensory exploration to shape spaces that engage both emotion and experience. We consider light, acoustics, texture, and atmosphere to ensure every space feels alive and authentic. For commercial clients, we integrate brand identity seamlessly into the architectural narrative, creating environments that resonate with users and visitors alike.
This service aligns with RIBA Stages 2 and 3, refining concepts into visual and written presentations suitable for planning. The outcome is a narrative-driven design supported by sketches, models, and visualisations that bring your story to life within the built environment.
Dream Home Workshop
For homeowners, families, and romantic couples seeking to imagine a home that reflects their life, values, and aspirations.
Perfect gift for ambitious dreamers.
The Dream Home Workshop is an immersive and collaborative process that helps you define what home truly means to you. Together, we explore your routines, memories, and ambitions to uncover the essence of how you wish to live. Through guided discussions and creative exercises, we translate these insights into clear design intentions that form the foundation for your future home.
Our approach combines practical design knowledge with personal reflection to balance emotion, functionality, and beauty. You will receive visual and written outputs — including sketches, mood boards, and spatial recommendations — that outline the next steps towards realising your vision.
Aligned with RIBA Stages 0 to 2, this service establishes a strong conceptual and emotional brief for your project, ensuring that every space we design grows from your story and sense of place.
Community Co-Design
For local authorities, organisations, and community groups seeking inclusive and participatory design processes.
Prioritising engagement and social value.
Community Co-Design places the people most affected by a project at the centre of its creation. Through surveys, workshops, exhibitions, pop-up stalls, and public consultations, we create opportunities for dialogue, collaboration, and shared authorship in the design process. This approach ensures that spaces evolve from the lived experiences, aspirations, and values of their communities.
Guided by the RIBA Social Value Toolkit and the RIBA Plan of Work Engagement Overlay, our process adapts to each project’s scale and context, from early concept to post-occupation review. The outcome is a design journey that builds trust, strengthens social value, and delivers spaces that genuinely belong to those who use them.
Planning & Compliance
For homeowners, developers, and organisations seeking a clear and confident route through the planning process.
Maintaining harmony within your local communities.
Our Planning Applications service translates your design vision into a well-prepared submission that meets local authority requirements and planning policy. We manage the process from initial advice to final submission, ensuring your proposal communicates intent clearly and effectively.
We undertake all necessary drawings, statements, and coordination with consultants, addressing design, access, heritage, or environmental considerations as required. Through open communication with planning officers, we help anticipate challenges and present your project in the best possible light.
Aligned with RIBA Stage 3, this service ensures your design and documentation are developed to a professional standard, ready for submission and consideration by the planning authority.
Research & Reports
Pre-requisite for optimisation and innovation.
For organisations, public bodies, and private clients seeking insight to guide thoughtful design and planning.
Research and Reports offers an evidence-based foundation for projects that require a deeper understanding of context. We study the historical, cultural, social, technical, and economic contexts that influence each project, helping clients understand how place, people, and policy intersect. The findings inform better design decisions and support long-term value for both clients and communities.
Each study follows a clear methodology and includes written analysis, illustrations, data, and visual material that communicate ideas with clarity and depth. This service can support an ongoing project, precede design work, or stand alone as an independent commission to inform future strategy.
Technical Craftsmanship
For clients ready to move from concept to construction with clarity and precision.
Transition from design to construction.
Technical Design develops your approved concept into the detailed information required for tender and construction. We prepare coordinated drawings, specifications, and schedules that communicate design intent clearly and support accurate pricing and delivery on site.
We work collaboratively with engineers, specialist consultants, and contractors to ensure that the design meets relevant standards and performance requirements. Our approach upholds design integrity while addressing practical considerations of cost, programme, and buildability.
Aligned with RIBA Stages 4 and 5, this service provides the technical clarity and coordination needed to move your project from vision to construction with assurance and precision.
On-Site Learning
For groups, organisations, and individuals seeking to explore the built environment through experience and reflection.
Exploring “built” drama on foot.
On-Site Learning invites participants to engage directly with architecture, culture, and place. Through guided or self-led tours, we explore cities and sites of architectural and social significance, uncovering how history, politics, economy, and community shape the spaces we inhabit. Each tour encourages curiosity and understanding of the deep connections between people, policy, and the built environment.
Tours can be hosted by a member of our team or coordinated remotely with curated information booklets and learning materials. Whether for educational groups, professional networks, or curious travellers, this service offers a structured yet playful way to learn from real spaces and the stories they hold.