Place 54 is a forward thinking studio of award winning designers based in Central London. We provide our clients with extensive expertise in masterplanning and place overview, architecture and interiors with a diverse portfolio of projects across UK and Europe.
We provide design expertise and leadership a long way before architecture, providing inspiring ideas and visions for communicating placemaking, we publish our ideas for review emphasising environmental and sustainable design in response to the climate emergency. Our Place Overview reflects our interest in the specifics of place responding to the risk of souless placemaking through the use of Ai. We provide outreach and support for all ages, especially young people aspiring to develop careers in design communication.
Our architects produce innovative and sustainable building designs, recognising a critical need for our profession to meet the urgency of the climate emergency challenge. We feel pride in performing this role along with an understanding of the value in sharing ideas across the profession, with other consultants, developers, investors, local authorities and occupiers, to come together to solve problems.
Gary Young,
Gary Young, Architect and founding Director of Place 54 Architects has established his reputation designing masterplans, both complete and in progress, including new villages and towns with housing and mixed use including NW Bicester Ecotown, completed urban brownfield mixed use regeneration with leisure and retail riverside walk, bridges and station improvements at Norwich Riverside, business and E commerce logistics parks in UK, Europe and Middle East. Residential designs includes completed new build single family and multiple homes in London, Oxfordshire and Kent, conversions and fit out for domestic and commercial uses in Central London.
Awards include: 1993 Europan 3 housing competition in Haarlem, Netherlands, completed in 2005, British Homes Awards Home of the Future and RIBA Tomorrows Garden City housing in Letchworth 2007, completed in 2012.
Gary Young collaborated with Sir Terry Farrell for many years on award winning, mixed use developments including: Reusing listed buildings combined with new infill at Comyn Ching Triangle in Covent Garden listed by Historic England in 2016; Tobacco Dock, Wapping; masterplans include: Greenwich Peninsula, Birmingham’s Brindley Place, Otterpool Park garden town, NW Bicester eco town and Cambourne new town.
Contributions to publications & teaching include: 1980 First European Passive Solar design handbook; 1993 Europan 3 Competition results; 1992 Studio tutor at Kent KIAD; 2007 British Homes Awards, 2014 Market Garden City; Greater London 2020 for Planning in London.
Nisha Vekaria,
Nisha Vekaria, is Senior Architect with Place 54 Architects with experience across a diverse range of projects. These include commercial offices, high end housing in London and Kent and conversion of listed buildings. Nisha has contributed to masterplans and public realm vision.
Completed designs for construction for residential interiors include private house interiors and extensions, conversion and extension for flats. Her projects and client endorsements result in many recommendations. She was project architect for new build residential completed projects apartments in Brentford, London and private eco home at Goudhurst Kent. Her commercial projects include craft bakery and industrial fit outs and refurbishments.
Nisha has used her experience in the architectural profession to feedback to aspiring designers and architects including with other GDST Alumni of her former school to host Architecture Day 2020 at Blackheath High School.