Architecture that performs beautifully

A large group of students in school uniforms sitting on wooden steps inside a modern library or educational facility, with some students standing and walking around, and bookshelves and a glass ceiling in the background.

“Ellis-Miller + Partners immediately understood us; they were great fun to work with and were unafraid to question and encourage us. We could never have built a WI office in the same old way when the Women’s Institute was stressing the importance of saving the planet and, thanks to Ellis-Miller + Partners, we didn’t. Thanks to them, we were really able to put our money where our mouths were.”

Ruth Bond, President, National Federation of Women's Institutes

Client, RIBA Award Winning, Women’s Institute HQ, Cambridge

Ellis-Miller + Partners is a distinguished UK architecture firm with over 30 years of experience, founded by Jonathan Ellis-Miller and Barry Coupe, harnessing their complementary skills to deliver timeless, innovative, regenerative and sustainable architecture.

Ellis-Miller + Partners have a strong track record in commercial offices, hotels, retail, mixed-use masterplanning, education, and high-quality residential projects. Our work is context-sensitive, robust, and above all sustainable, with expertise in adaptive reuse and regenerative design that minimises ecological impact and supports net-zero goals.

We are architects whom clients love to work with, specialising in beautiful, cost-effective buildings that stand the test of time, from large-scale commercial and public projects to bespoke residential designs. With studios in London, Cambridge, and Poole, we create modern, environmentally responsible architecture across London and East Anglia.

Early projects, such as the Ellis-Miller House and the Reyner Banham Studio alongside 83–85 Mansell Street, have stood the test of time and been recognised as highly significant, with the 20th Century Society naming the Ellis-Miller House one of the top 100 houses of the 20th century and the Reyner Banham Studio one of the best 100 buildings of the 20th century. Our work has earned over 100 major industry awards over the past three decades. We want to work with you to create more timeless projects.

City street scene with modern office building, historic brick building, and traffic signals at an intersection during daytime.

Why us?

Our client’s are our partners.
that’s why we are Ellis-Miller + Partners. We value these relationships, building them on trust, experience, and clear communication to encourage lasting collaborations.

We listen.
We carefully listen to you, then we offer practical options to deliver successful project outcomes.

People + the planet come first.
With over 30 years of delivering sustainable design, we apply proven expertise and pragmatic environmental principles for your benefit.

We are experts.
Our depth of expertise, demonstrated through three decades of delivering award winning projects, the evidence is here on our website, take a look.

We have an team experienced team.
Our skilled team blends talent with experience that can handle projects of any size or complexity, ensuring your vision is realised on time and on budget.

Open + clear.
We collaborate with openness, integrity, and professionalism to build your trust and deliver outstanding results.

We deliver great value.
We deliver quality with fair fees, avoiding shortcuts to maximise your value and efficiency.

Awards.
Our awards stem from solid client partnerships, always placing clients priorities front and centre at all times.

Hands on leadership.
A dedicated partner will help you navigate your project from start to finish, addressing every detail.

We are evolutionary.
We draw on over 30 years’ of award winning experience, we embrace and encourage daily learning from each project, applying feedback to enhance future projects. We use cutting edge technology alongside old tried and trusted techniques to achieve best in class results.

Principles

Simplicity. Architects are often accused of making things complicated. Not us. We believe that simplicity lies at the heart of good architecture. Achieving simple architecture can be difficult as designers steer through a series of technical and organisational challenges. Nevertheless, we place simplicity at the heart of everything we do and the result, we believe, is buildings that are easy to use, easy to understand and elegant in their appearance.

Integrity. Our ideas are informed by rigorous options analyses, lateral thinking and a clear focus on users. Once formed, we ensure those ideas remain the basis for every subsequent decision we make. This gives our buildings clarity, allowing them to be easily understood and enjoyed by everyone who uses them.

Function and delight. We always choose materials that are robust, appropriate and beautiful. We know too that good architecture has spiritual as well as physical elements, and we therefore aim to inspire delight by creating experiences of a building that go beyond its superficial finish.

Sustainability. We are recognised as pioneers in sustainable design and our approach has earned us important industry awards. By placing durability and whole-life performance at the heart of our architecture, we create buildings that will last and reduce the need for environmentally harmful and unnecessary maintenance or remedial work.

Collaboration. Successful projects are the result of teamwork and we understand the value of building long-term, meaningful relationships with clients, consultants and contractors who share our ethos and values. We use thorough consultation exercises to clarify briefs, shape our ideas and accommodate users’ and stakeholders’ requirements.

Delivery. We bring our experience of complex procurement and contractual administration processes to provide excellent support to clients. We take pride in ensuring that all our projects are properly resourced with a direct and senior management input together with an experienced and committed team who are able to meet the most challenging design and programme demands.

About Jonathan Ellis-Miller:
Founding Partner & Head of Design Studio
jem@ellis-miller.com

A man sitting on a black leather sofa holding a small dog, in a modern living room with a coffee table and various plants.

Jonathan Ellis-Miller leads our Design Studio, he directs a team of skilled architects, designers, makers and project leaders in designing imaginative, sustainable solutions for public and private sector clients. Jonathans expertise covers diverse typologies, from large mixed-use developments, large public sector procurements to unique one-off houses, emphasising beautiful, sustainable architecture, and he is a RIBA Chartered Architect.

Jonathan was trained at the world famous Liverpool University School of Architecture where he won the Sikorski Prize. He was selected for the RIBA 40 under 40 exhibition and the Young Architect of the Year, he has gone on to win over 100 architectural awards in the intervening years.

He contributes to industry panels including the RIBA President’s Advisory Panel. Jonathan is currently a member of the London Borough of Enfield Design Review Panel and has served on the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, National Design Review, Inspire East, Places Matter!, London Borough of Hackney and Cambridge Design and Conservation Panels. Jonathan is a highly respected teacher and has lectured worldwide. Jonathan as well as winning numerous major awards he has chaired many awards panels including London RIBA Awards. He maintains an active involvement in architectural education with posts in UK and European Schools of Architecture.

About Barry Coupe:
Founding & Managing Partner
bc@ellis-miller.com

A man leaning on the door of a white vintage Alfa Romeo car parked on a gravel driveway with green bushes in the background.

Barry Coupe manages the firm’s operations and strategic direction, blending creative design oversight with robust business practices. As an architect, he conducts critical reviews of all projects to ensure excellence in sustainable and innovative UK architecture. Barry is an expert on Animal Welfare and Veterinary Architecture and has completed numerous high-profile projects in the UK and Europe.

Barry oversees staff development, training, recruitment, finances, infrastructure, communications, risk management, and long-term planning, building a collaborative team for exceptional architectural services.

Beyond architecture, Barry is deeply involved in charity work. He chairs Blind Veterans UK, a £30 million charity founded in 1915 (formerly St Dunstan’s) that provides lifelong practical and emotional support to vision-impaired ex-Service men and women from the UK Armed Forces, helping them regain independence and rebuild their lives. Barry’s personal connection stems from his father, who received support from the charity after losing his sight in 1943 during Royal Navy service. Barry joined the board as a trustee in 2016, became Chair in 2022, and brings his volunteering experience to advance the organisation’s mission of transforming lives beyond sight loss.