“We find that our mixed-sector approach creates better outcomes across a range of projects,” says Tim Robinson, Architect and Co-Founder of London-based Sonn Studio. With fellow Sonn Studio Director, Phoebe Laing, Tim is crafting a sector-spanning portfolio of projects that transcend traditional industry boundaries.
“After I finished my studies, I spent 9 years working as an architect at Rock Townsend, which is where I first met Phoebe,” Tim says. “At that time, I worked primarily on the education, hospitality and commercial side of the business, where Pheobe focussed mainly on high-end residential projects. That mix is key for us as we’ve come back together with Sonn Studio because we’re able to bring knowledge across various sectors to whatever it is that we’re doing. It also keeps the work interesting.”
Where many firms choose to specialise, Tim’s goal for Sonn Studio is to maintain this cross-sector approach as the business grows. “Because the practice is so young - we launched in May of 2024 - we are inevitably getting a lot of smaller-scale residential projects and following the natural progression of a newer firm, but we’re excited to keep applying our skills to projects across a range of scales and typologies.”
A big part of the job is getting buy-in from clients, Tim says, and sharing the Studio’s vision in a way that makes them excited to embark on the design and construction journey. “It’s not just about drawing something amazing; you have to tell them the story of your idea. I’ve worked on a lot of multi-stakeholder projects where everyone at the table has an equal say. A skill I’ve taken from those experiences is how to mediate disparate perspectives and get everyone aligned on one route forward.”
Sometimes, the ideas that ultimately make it past the drawing table are the ones that are most surprising, Tim says. “The final design might end up being something that we’ve challenged the client on, perhaps something different from what they initially thought they wanted. Explaining your vision and process is the most difficult thing. Being able to share ideas and express them to a multitude of people has really helped us. And the ability to surprise people and get them excited is one of my favourite parts of the job.”
Because of their range of industries and typologies, Tim and Pheobe are able to apply ideas and methodologies on a number of scales, Tim says. “For instance, larger companies and institutions have a big drive towards sustainability that you often don’t see applied on a residential scale. Because we work in both of those spaces, we are able to draw down the lessons from our commercial work and apply them across the portfolio in smaller projects as well.”
Tim recently shared some of these lessons in a Teulo webinar focussing on small-scale approaches to lowering embodied carbon. “As a small and newer studio, we get a lot of people asking how we can have a meaningful impact on this. In my session, I shared a number of strategies for how this can be done on a small scale and how this work, collectively, can still have a big positive impact.”
Tim grew up in Yorkshire, one of two brothers in a family of craftsmen. “My grandad was the lead designer for a caravan company back in the day when there were no concept teams or approval processes. You just thought up an idea and then you made it. I learned a lot from him: how to work things out and bring ideas to life. Mum was always interested in interior design and Dad was a keen DIYer. I remember being surrounded by incomplete projects, our back garden a maze of roadworks cones partitioning off quasi-building sites for whatever everyone was working on. That was a prominent aspect of my childhood.”
Fascinated by the tangible outputs of creative ideas, Tim found himself drawn to the woodworking studio in his local college, where he built large-scale projects including a sun lounger made from bent metal. “The workshop was this totally forgotten-about space at the back of the school and, when our teacher realised a few of us were really interested, he encouraged us to think and build big. We were there at all hours of the day; when we snuck out of other classes to finish our projects, he turned a blind eye.”
Tim never knew any architects growing up and wasn’t even sure what the job entailed, but he says that the university prospectus showed nothing else that seemed to be the right fit. “When I looked at the Venn diagram of all the things I enjoyed, architecture was what sat in that overlap.” As he completed his studies at Leeds Beckett University, Tim briefly became one of the youngest qualified architects in the UK. Since then, the momentum hasn’t stopped.
Tim’s project Terrazzo Studio earned significant media and industry attention, aided by paradigm shifts surrounding the pandemic. “My girlfriend and I got the planning approved for it in 2019 and finished building it in our garden in late 2021 at a time when working-from-home spaces were hugely topical.” Taking influences from Italian Modernism and Mexican architecture, Terrazzo Studio was a timely undertaking that helped lead the industry in well-designed home studios and workspaces. “I find that hands-on building experience is key for my understanding of how design is going to work in practice. It helps me to marry form and function. That project ultimately inspired what has since become Sonn Studio.”
Tim is excited now to see the Studio grow, and he looks forward to taking on more projects in the hospitality sector. “I’d love to push into more hotel and small-scale retail spaces,” he says. “We’re keen to grow our expertise as we grow the business. We’re also working with Autex Acoustics on really interesting installations and are looking forward to some more experimental projects with them.
“We just finished a residential project in Margate that takes inspiration from the local landscape: bold sweeps in the ceiling that resemble the local waves and rough coastline. We’re quite excited for people to see that one. We also have a rooftop extension project in development for a really challenging and interesting site in Soho, right in the middle of London. There’s a lot to look forward to with a big range of projects in the pipeline.”
To learn more and connect with Tim, visit https://www.sonnstudio.co.uk/ and follow Sonn Studio on Instagram.
