Process

AIR's work begins before construction with a feasibility-led process.

We currently combine architectural concept with early commercial and environmental analysis that includes:

• Reading the existing building and its constraints

• Testing spatial and programmatic potential

• Assessing planning risk and regulatory context

• Outlining build logic, cost ranges, and carbon impact

• Framing value uplift and possible exit strategies

Our philosophy is underpinned by a rigorous yet pragmatic framework:

• Honour what has already lived

• Intervene lightly and reversibly

• Maximise carbon and resource economy

• Enable lean manufacturing and fast installation

• Celebrate ruin and layering of time

• Redefine architectural value

We design through mixed media, combining hands-on experimentation with intuitive spatial studies and digital tools. This ensures our work holds a human scale, tactile character, and precise execution.

We curate the inherent qualities of each site to create contemplative spaces. 

While we embrace the possibilities of AI and advanced CAD, these tools are always balanced with physical testing, material investigation, and slow thinking.

Each project is approached from first principles, responding directly to the specific conditions and constraints of its place. 

Our studio process encompasses drawing, painting, modelling, photography, CAD, writing and first hand experience.