Jamie Ross

We nominate Jamie for this award due to his achievements as a young architect and practice director committed to delivering high-quality architecture while advocating for and implementing an open and collaborative studio culture. After graduating from Duncan of Jordanstone School of Architecture in 2012 with First Class Honours, Jamie worked with Stallan-Brand Architects from their inception to their growth as one of Scotland’s leading practices. Jamie established Technique at the age of 30, with the ambition to create exceptional sustainable homes by delivering refined and lasting architecture. This has led to his growing body of independently completed work at a young age. Technique Architecture and Design was founded on solid principles of collaboration, participation, and progressive studio culture. Jamie has continually encouraged the team’s contribution to every aspect of the practice, from design to business. He promotes financial transparency to foster greater collective awareness and responsibility when making decisions as a studio. An open profit-sharing model shares the success of the practice with the team. The studio actively avoids overtime and unpaid work hours, a culture prevalent within the industry, through the continuous review of office workflow and striving to effectively fee for and resource projects. Jamie also encourages and supports flexible working amongst the team to prioritise better work-life balance. Since founding the practice, Jamie has completed several bespoke residential projects within Scotland. The Den, which won a GIA Design Award and the Schuco Excellence Award, was shortlisted for the SDA 2021 and was recently shortlisted for the 2022 RIAS awards. His most recently completed project, The Pond House, shows his ability to place the client at the heart of the design process while delivering architecture that responds to and integrates with its context. Upon completing these projects, the clients have subsequently commissioned further work or recommended the practice to new clients. Jamie’s ability to build trust with those he works with is also evident in his repeat relationships with other clients, consultants, and contractors. Jamie’s collaborative approach to design and business has been crucial to the success of both his projects and the practice. He has shown that through organised teamwork and ambition to continually improve; it is possible to create aspirational and well-executed architecture within a positive studio environment.

Jamie’s passion for craft, sustainability and working closely with clients has led to a focus on private residential work, an area in which Jamie has built a growing portfolio of projects across a range of scales and budgets. Jamie’s first individual commission came from former employer Paul Stallan and his wife, Seonaid. The brief was to transform two dilapidated flats into a remarkable home and studio space. The client was committed to maintaining the richness of the stonework and exposed features of the existing shell. Jamie developed an innovative technical solution, adding an exoskeleton and a ‘jacket’ externally whilst capturing the atmosphere of the existing building internally. Defining the old and new and maintaining the spatial connectivity between levels was fundamental. The design solution was to house the practical requirements of a home within a sculptural plywood volume winding between all three storeys and revolving around the kitchen – leaving the carefully repaired existing stone walls to act as the main feature. Jamie led and managed this small but technically and spatially complex project from start to finish, working collaboratively with both client and contractor to resolve details and ensure the execution of the design concept. The next major commission Jamie undertook was The Pond House, a private house and artist’s studio sitting within a mature garden. Working closely with the client, Jamie developed a simple but effective spatial arrangement and massing that embraces the qualities of the site. The house is both outward and inward-looking, connecting to the different areas of the garden and broader views and offering the opportunity to display the client’s art collection in more introverted top-lit spaces. Working around existing trees and framing views, the long low-level house sits comfortably in its setting and is finished in a quiet palette of natural and hard-wearing materials. In the design and delivery of the Pond House, Jamie brought together the budget, brief, and site to form a balanced, considered, and unique home. Since the completion of the Pond House, Jamie’s primary focus has been the transformation of a Georgian villa into a significant family home. The project brings together the restoration of the original property, a large extension and the addition of a wellness suite and extensive landscaping. Managing and delivering a project of this complexity is the biggest challenge yet for Jamie and the Technique team but one which demonstrates a growing capability and strong leadership.