What brings us together

Architectural ambition is at the heart of all that we do, but we have always seen the development of the practice and its people as a project in itself, and by investing in and nurturing the diverse talent across all areas of the practice we put ourselves in the best position to sustain our ambition. With that in mind, since September 2017, our employees have been majority owners of Allford Hall Monaghan Morris Ltd through the AHMM Employee Ownership Trust, formalising our long-held belief that the success of the company and its work comes from having a positively engaged team, where each person is invested in where they work and what they do.

How we work

Our culture is founded on strong leadership coupled with a collaborative working method which depends on each person taking on individual areas of responsibility in pursuit of a collective endeavour. Working to the simple rule that ‘if it’s not drawn, it can’t be discussed’, our design process encourages constructive critique and demands active participation in drawing and design development: a transparent process to which everyone can contribute. We consider architecture to be a broad area of expertise and so our Director-led teams do not specialise by sector or work stage. Instead, team size and structure create the sense of a collection of like-minded smaller studios working within our shared spaces. We value the diversity of design intelligence that this brings.

Work is a place we go, not just a thing we do

We operate from offices in London, Bristol and Oklahoma City, with each workplace designed to encourage collaboration by providing a variety of working environments with spaces to share lunch, take a class or just catch up. Regular opportunities to connect and socialise are the lifeblood of the practice, with weekly presentations, monthly updates on current projects and larger practice-wide gatherings across the year, whether at our annual spring conference or city research trips each summer. Sporting activities sit alongside creative opportunities, which include the sketch club, crafting, photography and cookery classes. Building visits, talks, and curated gallery tours are all made available to encourage a greater understanding of our own work as well as the broader cultural context that informs it.

Having the right tools

We invest in our infrastructure so that our architects have the resources they need to get on with making good architecture, whether this is through tools and equipment, or specialist skills and experience. Our Building Performance and Technical Design teams work in close collaboration with our Knowledge Management and Digital Design teams to promote best practice, provide technical guidance and undertake detailed peer reviews. We use models as a primary tool to communicate our architecture and its tactile and spatial qualities, and our fully equipped modelshop is one of the most engaging places in the office, operated by an experienced and highly skilled team of modelmakers.

Benefits

Everyone at AHMM has access to a range of benefits that support their personal and professional lives and provide additional help when it’s needed. Among these are private medical and dental insurance, income protection, critical illness and life insurance, as well as an employee assistance programme.

To support parents in their careers at AHMM and to encourage them to take time out to care for their children, our parental leave policy offers all new parents, in all circumstances, a total of 13 weeks full pay subject to a minimum of one year’s service.

As an employee owned business we believe that when the practice is performing well and profits are made, these should be shared, and all staff are eligible to take part in our profit share scheme on successful completion of their probation period.

Looking in - reaching out

Through our Employee Ownership Working Group, we encourage people to put forward ideas for ways in which we can improve our working practices and policies and we facilitate other working groups to create action plans in important areas of practice development including diversity and inclusion, gender equality, and wellbeing.

At the same time, our Partnerships Group engages in a diverse programme of community, cultural and education outreach to which everyone is encouraged to contribute their time, skills and resources. Read more about our Partnerships work here.

Fair Employment

AHMM is an equal opportunities employer and treats all job applicants equally, irrespective of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, age, pregnancy or maternity, disability or religion or belief. We do not offer unpaid internships and all of our employment and placement opportunities, including our Part I placements, are paid a salary at no less than the London Living Wage. We have been an accredited Living Wage Employer since 2015.

Broadening Access

Since taking part in the RIBA Trailblazers apprenticeship initiative in 2016, we have offered a number of Level 6 and 7 Architectural Apprenticeships each year. We also offer opportunities for younger students to learn about working in architecture through our Summer School, open studio events and work experience opportunities. We support schools of architecture including Sheffield, the Bartlett, the LSA and Bath through sponsorship of summer shows, prizes and bursaries as well as teaching and mentoring.

We support those with Part II architectural qualifications in gaining their Part III; typically, AHMM covers the cost of Part III course fees and provides up to 10 days of study leave, as well as mentoring, advice and guidance. We also invest in the multiple learning opportunities that occur throughout a career.