ABOUT US
Find out more about our studio, design philosophy and personnel below.
Our small, friendly studio is located in East Dulwich in southeast London. We work hard to foster a friendly, relaxed atmosphere for our staff because we believe a happier team creates a better project for our clients.
Studio
STEPHEN BONNINGTON
BBsc BArch
Director / Founder
Stephen is a director and founding principal of Bon Atelier.
Prior to founding Bon Atelier, Stephen accrued over 11 years of experience in the UK architectural industry within reknown architectural practices such as Allies and Morrison and Dixon Jones. During that time Stephen worked on numerous high profile projects including; West Wing, Said Business School, Oxford; The National Gallery Masterplan, London; The Regents Palace Hotel, London; Milliner House, SW10 London; and Station Hill II, the new masterplan for Reading Town Centre. He has a proven track record of delivering exceptional design quality and value for clients across both the residential and commercial sectors.
Stephen has also worked internationally in both Canada and New Zealand, during which time he was Joint Design Principal for several award winning single family homes.
Relevant teaching experience includes tutoring posts in both design and structural design at Victoria University of Wellington and the Wellington Institute of Technology (formerly Central Institute of Technology), both located in Wellington, New Zealand.
People
Philosophy
Our design philosophy is simple. We believe every project is unique and as such requires a tailored response.
To us process is paramount. We purposefully eschew a 'house style' in favour of a more explorative approach. We love difference and believe that by diversifying our means of exploration we will discover the vital ingredient that will differentiate each concept, the specific 'thing' that will set each project apart.
We are also interested in materials and how they are put together. Our thinking is reductivist in nature, we have a "less is more" mentality, to borrow a Miesian maxim. By this we mean, when considering all the elements of a project, we apply a process of distillation, a honing of all the constituent parts to leave only the essential ingredients. However, this attitude should not be confused with minimalism. We also love ornamentation - but only if it contributes meaningfully to the uniqueness of a space or object.