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At the age of five, Magnus Ström wanted to be an architect. Growing up in Sweden, he was immersed in a design culture that believed function and beauty are not in competition, that knowing what to remove matters as much as knowing what to keep, and that the natural world belongs inside as much as out. The best buildings, in that tradition, earn their presence rather than perform it.

Good architecture should feel inevitable, not designed, but revealed. The best spaces we have made are the ones where we relentlessly edited until what remained was exactly right, nothing added for effect, nothing kept out of habit. When it works, you walk into a room and feel it before you can explain it. This accumulative effect is what Magnus refers to as the "je ne sais quoi" of buildings, with the result so particular to its owners and its site that it could not have been built anywhere else for anyone else. Magnus has always gravitated towards the sea and the horizon, and the practice's work reflects that - framing views, connecting inside to out, putting people in direct contact with their environment.

We design bespoke private houses, multi-residential developments, and high-end hospitality projects including spas and resorts. Most of our clients engage a full Architecture and Interior Design Service. Our studios in England and the Turks and Caicos Islands, Caribbean, service work across Europe, the Americas, and the Middle East.

We take on a limited number of the right projects each year. We choose our clients as carefully as they choose us. The relationship has to be built on trust and genuine creative alignment. When it is, the results tend to be something neither party could have arrived at alone.

Working across different planning systems, construction cultures and climates has given the practice a practical fluency that a domestically focused architect cannot offer. We know how projects get built in different parts of the world, and we manage that on behalf of clients.

Every commission gets consistent attention from senior people throughout. Magnus leads design across the practice, Nicky Jones manages operations as Managing Director, and Kyle Barclay leads the Turks and Caicos Islands studio as its co-founder. Hugh Richardson leads technical delivery as Technical Director. Together with our team of architects and associates, we cover every stage from the first conversation to completion. The goal is always the same: a building that improves the life lived inside it.

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1. Track Record

The portfolio is the place to start. What it demonstrates is not just a visual identity but a depth of thinking that transfers across typologies, climates and contexts. A practice that has resolved complex briefs across multiple countries and building types brings that accumulated problem-solving to every new commission, including ones it has not encountered before.

2. We understand how you live

Every client we work with has a particular way of living. We find that out early, and build everything from it. The brief is not just about rooms and square footage - it is about how someone moves through a day, what they need a building to do for them, and what they want to feel when they are in it. Most clients engage us for architecture and interior design together. That integration is not a service add-on - it is how the most considered spaces get made, with every decision in the building serving the same intention.

3. We straighten the process

Time is the one thing clients cannot recover. We handle complexity so that clients do not have to: identifying risks before they become problems, resolving decisions before they reach site, and maintaining cost clarity throughout. The goal is a process that demands as little of the client as possible while delivering as much as the project is capable of. Clients tell us the process feels different from what they expected — more collaborative, more considered, and significantly less stressful than building at this level usually is.

4. Responsibility for the whole

Design is only part of what we manage. We apply the same rigour to selecting contractors, specifying materials, appointing consultants and working with sub-contractors. Over fifteen years and across multiple countries we have built deep experience of what it takes to deliver well in different parts of the world. For larger schemes, a dedicated project team is structured around the commission from day one - the same people, the same design rigour, regardless of how many units are on the plan.

5. Value that lasts

A considered building by a practice with a strong international reputation adds value that goes beyond the cost of construction. It becomes an asset, and it holds its value in a way that an ordinary building does not. It is also the quality of living in a building that is particular to you, your site and the way you want to live. For developers, that value is also competitive. A scheme with a strong architectural identity is easier to sell, and commands a price that reflects it.

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Founder and Creative Director
UK | Turks & Caicos


Director TCI
Turks & Caicos


Managing Director
UK | Turks & Caicos


Technical Director
UK | Turks & Caicos


Senior Associate
UK


Senior Associate
UK


Senior Architect
UK


Senior Architectural Designer
UK


Part II Architectural Assistant
UK

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Magnus Ström BA(Hons) DipArch ARB RIBA SAR/ MSA

Founder and Creative Director
UK | Turks & Caicos

Magnus has an avid interest in houses and homes, as well as interior and furniture design. This developed as a child growing up in Sweden being surrounded by - and brought up in - Modernist houses. He was fascinated by their beauty, and how design was part of daily life. When asked as a child what he wanted to be when he grew up, the answer was easy, and always – an architect.

Magnus founded Ström Architects in 2010 and is responsible for developing the vision of the practice and leading the design of projects. He works with a talented team of architects to deliver buildings that improve the life of people, inspire and offer delight. Throughout the project process he is directly involved and is passionate about the detail, ensuring that we deliver buildings where the architectural vision has been carried through to completion.

Magnus enjoys working with clients to create their dreams throughout the UK, but also internationally with houses in Sweden, Spain and the USA. His designs have been recognised by winning both UK and international architecture awards.

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Kyle Barclay

Director TCI
Turks & Caicos

Kyle’s experience in the creation and management of development projects in the Caribbean led him to join Magnus as a director of the Strom Architects TCI studio. Having also worked in Architectural practice, he allies a strong design interest with the organisational expertise of running projects. 

Formally trained in the RIBA pathways at Glasgow School of Art and the University of Edinburgh, Kyle subsequently worked in London, Melbourne, and the Turks & Caicos islands. Over the last decade he has worked to develop numerous projects for award-winning residential developers, with the architecture always a focal point.

With a love of the ocean and an allergy to the cold the Caribbean has become home. When not working to create exceptional villas you will likely find him at the beach with his much-loved island dog, Ziggy. 

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Nicky Jones

Managing Director
UK | Turks & Caicos

Nicky's keen interest in architecture and property development led her to join Ström Architects, where she applies her exceptional organisational skills to the office. Having lived in much older properties, Nicky has grown to appreciate the bright, airy interiors and purposeful spaces characteristic of Ström's designs. With three children, dogs, and a love for watersports and the forest, the Scandinavian philosophy of clean family living resonates deeply with her.

As the Managing Director, Nicky ensures that the business and studio thrive, enabling Magnus and the team to focus on design and delivery. Her dedication to smooth operations and efficiency is the backbone of the creative environment at Ström Architects.

 

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Hugh Richardson BA (Hons) DipArch ARB

Technical Director
UK | Turks & Caicos

Hugh’s route into Architecture was through art college where a foundation course in fine art, sculpture, and graphic design triggered an interest in Architecture as both a profession and an art form.  

Having studied Architecture at Portsmouth, where he met Magnus, Hugh moved to London to begin his career at Wilkinson Eyre Architects. This was an exciting time which saw the office win two Stirling Prize Awards. 

During this time Hugh gained invaluable experience working on the redevelopment of the Museum of London and City and Islington College. Applying this experience to a masters in professional practice Hugh qualified as an architect in 2003.

Feeling a pull towards the coast Hugh accepted a job at John Pardey Architects (JPA) where he worked with Magnus on private houses and educational projects. While at JPA Hugh valued his role in the Building Schools for the Future programme where he worked with the late Sir Colin Stansfield Smith and HKR Architects in the redevelopment of the Eveline Lowe Primary School in Bermondsey. 

Hugh’s work in education continued during his time at Design Engine Architects where he worked as project architect for the new Les Beaucamps High School in Guernsey.

In 2018 Hugh joined Ström Architects where he oversees production information across the whole office, bringing his experience of delivering high quality complex architecture to the practice of crafting bespoke homes.

James Chapman

James Chapman BA (Hons) PG Dip Arch ARB

Senior Associate
UK

James came to study architecture through his love of hand-drawing and sketching. He has always been a dreamer and enjoys nothing better than imagining the perfect home, using drawings to explore all possible solutions.

During his formal education, the process of design fuelled his passion for art and contemporary culture which has informed his interest in design. James’s appreciation for domestic architecture was encouraged by a particularly enthusiastic professor who had an interest in Modern Scandinavian houses. The Villa Mairea by Alvar Aalto was an early inspiration for James, with its use of natural materials and the continuity between inside and outside spaces. This seed has grown, and whilst James has worked for numerous design-led studios on projects of various sizes, joining Ström Architects has allowed him to pursue his enthusiasm for bespoke houses – creating crafted spaces utilising beautiful natural materials.

As a project architect, James enjoys working alongside Magnus and the team to bring designs from the drawing board to their reality on site. He delights in the process of architecture, and the creative, collaborative relationships with clients and building specialists.

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Daniel Cutter BSc (Hons) MArch PGDip ARB

Senior Associate
UK

Daniel undertook his education at the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University, a course that nurtured a sensitive yet creative approach to architectural design that is firmly anchored in its brief, users and context. With the early, formative years of his career spent at Dixon Jones, Daniel soon honed his drive for quality, care and attention to detail. These skills were applied across varied scales, building types and across residential, commercial, education and cultural projects - earning him an associate role early in his career.

Progressing into further design-led practices, Daniel acted as project lead on a number of prestigious and complex projects, each with their own significant and sensitive sites within central London.

In 2024, it was the call of the New Forest that drew Daniel and his young family towards the south coast. The chance to work with Ström Architects on some of the finest houses in the UK and internationally was an opportunity that couldn’t be ignored!

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Ashley Dawson HND, BA (Hons), Prof. Dip, PG. Dip, ARB

Senior Architect
UK

Ashley studied architecture in northeast England and qualified as a chartered architect in 2012 from Newcastle Upon Tyne University. He began his career working on residential and master planning projects before moving to New Zealand, where he contributed to the Christchurch earthquake recovery. There, he gained broad experience across residential, educational, commercial, and heritage sectors, developing a strong understanding of seismic design.

Ashley later relocated to Dubai to lead the design of the UAE embassy in Cairo, Egypt managing large multi-disciplinary teams on very complex and fast paced projects.

Ashley returned to the UK with his young family in 2025, joining Ström Architects, bringing with him over 15 years of international experience across three continents. 

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Dan Bolton BAS, MArch, PArch

Senior Architectural Designer
UK

Born and bred in South Africa, much of Daniel's imagination was shaped by time spent in the bush - where storytelling, landscape, and atmosphere intertwine. This foundation continues to inform his approach to architecture, grounding his work in a sensitivity to place, narrative, and experience.

Being a typical creative and proficient modern-day explorer of imaginary worlds through books and games, Daniel developed a deep interest in the creation of spaces that evoke emotion and connection. He is particularly drawn to architecture’s ability to craft atmosphere, designing environments that resonate beyond their physical form.

He thrives in collaborative settings, bringing creativity, energy, and a lightness of spirit to projects and teams alike. Outside of architecture, Daniel spends time training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, surfing, and returning to nature whenever possible - enjoying a life of balance and flow that carries through into both his work and everyday life.

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Lauren Swift BA(Hons), MArch

Part II Architectural Assistant
UK

Lauren began her architectural studies at Arts University Bournemouth, before completing her undergraduate degree and joining practice.

Her work is shaped by an interest in how buildings respond to their context, both environmentally and socially, with a focus on clarity, materiality and long-term performance.

Alongside her role in practice, Lauren is continuing her professional qualification through the Architecture Apprenticeship at Oxford Brookes University. She is currently completing her Part 3, working towards full qualification as an architect.

John Pardey Architects in Association with Strom Architects

We primarily work on bespoke private homes and carefully considered residential schemes, including high-end developer-led projects.

While we would ideally work across a wide range of project scales, the structure of our practice means we are typically unable to undertake projects with a construction cost below £1,000,000 ($1.3m).

We believe it is important to be clear from the outset so that expectations are aligned, and to ensure that we can dedicate the appropriate level of time, care and expertise to every project we take on.

It is difficult to give a single figure, as construction cost is influenced by a number of factors including site conditions, location, design complexity and level of specification.

As a broad guide, recent residential projects have ranged between £4,200 – £7,000 per sqm ($5,500 – $9,300 per sqft equivalent). This relates to the physical construction of the building and external works, and can vary depending on the nature of the project.

In addition to this, clients should allow for fit-out items such as kitchens, joinery, furniture, curtains and blinds, as well as ancillary elements including pools, outbuildings and specialist features. Professional fees, statutory costs and landscaping should also be considered as part of the overall project budget.

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Fees for a bespoke one-off home typically fall within a range of 8 to 15 percent of construction cost. But a percentage alone rarely reflects the full picture - the distribution of effort across a project, the complexity of individual elements, or the additional coordination that international work demands.

At Ström, fees are structured across the six stages of the Ström Way, with each stage carrying a defined fee linked to the level of work involved. Different spaces are weighted differently - a highly serviced kitchen or bathroom demands significantly more design input than a simple ancillary structure, and fees reflect that honestly.

For international projects, the scope and structure of our role is defined clearly from the outset - whether we are acting as Lead Designer throughout, or working alongside a locally appointed architect on compliance and delivery.

We are direct about fees from the first conversation. If you would like to understand how fees would be structured for your specific project, we would be glad to talk.

For a fuller explanation of how architectural fees work and what they reflect, read our article ‘Understanding architectural fees’:

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We have extensive experience delivering projects internationally; across Europe, the Americas and the Middle East. We have an expert understanding of how to work across different climates, contexts and construction environments while maintaining a consistent level of quality.

We begin by understanding our clients and shaping a clear brief, allowing the architecture to feel personal and considered. Our focus is on creating spaces that are calm, balanced and easy to live in, with particular attention to light, shade and ventilation in warmer climates.

Projects are approached in a structured and disciplined way, with design and construction considered together from the outset. This ensures that materials, detailing and buildability are resolved early and carried through clearly on site.

We remain closely involved throughout, providing continuity from concept to completion. This level of experience helps to reduce uncertainty, mitigate risk and ensure that the building is delivered as intended.

We work internationally, with projects across Europe, the Americas and the Middle East, and offices in both the UK and the Caribbean.

Our international experience, combined with a presence in these locations, allows us to respond confidently to different climates, contexts and regulatory environments. We collaborate closely with local teams where required, ensuring projects are delivered clearly and consistently regardless of location.

Project timelines vary depending on the scale, complexity and location.

As a general guide, we can typically develop a design through to planning consent within 6-9 months. The technical design and tender stage usually requires a further 6-9 months, followed by a construction period of approximately 20-24 months.

In some cases, projects have been delivered from initial briefing through to completion in under two years, although this is relatively fast for a bespoke one-off house.

For international projects, including those in the Caribbean, programme can be influenced by factors such as procurement routes, approvals and logistics.

A detailed programme is established at the outset and reviewed regularly throughout, ensuring clarity and alignment as the project progresses.

We provide a complete architectural service across all stages of a project — from initial site appraisal and brief development through to planning, technical design, construction oversight and handover. This is delivered through the Ström Way, our structured six-stage process refined over fifteen years of designing and delivering bespoke homes and high-quality residential schemes internationally.

Beyond the core architectural service, many of our projects extend to include interior design, bespoke furniture and joinery design, landscape design in collaboration with specialist planting consultants, and advanced 3D visualisation and modelling. For private clients who want a single point of design responsibility across the whole project — from the architecture to the last detail of the interior — we can provide that continuity. For developer and commercial clients, we offer the same breadth of service with a focus on design quality, programme discipline and the commercial performance of the finished scheme.

We also offer site appraisal and acquisition advice for clients who are still in the process of identifying the right plot or property. For private clients, that means understanding what a site can realistically deliver against their brief and budget. For commercial clients, it means an early assessment of development potential, planning risk and the design opportunities the site presents.

The scope of our involvement is tailored to each client and project. Some engage us for the full service from the first conversation through to handover. Others come to us at a specific stage — for design direction or technical support. For international projects, we work either as Lead Designer and Lead Consultant throughout, or alongside a locally appointed architect where local statutory requirements demand it — retaining design authorship and oversight in either case.

Click on the link below if you still have more questions or get in touch and let us know what you are working on.

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Most clients come to us once they have already secured a site. Many of our projects involve replacing or redeveloping existing houses, where the principle of development is already established, which can simplify the process.

For those at an earlier stage, sites can be sourced through land agents, property consultants and specialist advisors who focus on development opportunities. Online platforms can also be useful, although availability and quality vary depending on location.

For international projects, including those in the Caribbean, the process will vary depending on local planning frameworks, infrastructure and site conditions, all of which should be carefully considered before purchase.

Most clients come to us for the design. The quality of the work, the clarity of the vision, the sense that the building they have in mind can not only be realised but genuinely exceeded. That instinct is the right one. But it is rarely the whole story.

The relationship matters just as much. A building project is long, complex and at times genuinely difficult. There will be moments where the right answer is not obvious, where competing priorities need to be weighed honestly, where the pressure of a decision falls on everyone at once. The architect you choose needs to be someone you trust, not just with the design, but with the process. Someone who will tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear.

Experience shapes that capacity in ways that are hard to quantify but quickly felt. A practice that has delivered projects across different countries, planning systems and construction environments has encountered most of what a project can throw at it. That knowledge sits quietly behind every piece of advice they give you.

Communication is the other thing most clients only appreciate once they have experienced its absence. You should always know where your project stands, not through lengthy reports, but through direct, clear and timely conversation. It is one of the most basic things a client can reasonably expect, and one of the most telling indicators of how a practice is run.

For commercial clients, the ability to hold design ambition alongside programme certainty and cost discipline is what separates a good architect from a valuable one. For private clients, it often comes down to something more intuitive. Do they understand what you are really trying to achieve? If that understanding is not present from the first meeting, it rarely develops later.

And finally, look at the buildings. Visit them if you can. Speak to the people who commissioned them. A practice that is genuinely confident in its work will always welcome that conversation.

Get in touch and let us know what you are working on.

Sustainability

We don’t claim to be ‘eco-architects’, as we don’t believe that such a thing should exist. All designers have a responsibility to consider the environmental impact that their designs have – whether that be during construction, during the building’s lifetime or at the end of its lifespan. Sustainability is inherently part of our design process. We integrate it without fuss – rather than allow it to be a primary driver of the design.

We start with passive ways in which our designs can be more environmentally conscious, before looking to renewables. These technologies have their place, but it is essential to get the basics right first.

We use an energy hierarchy as an effective way of reducing building carbon emissions:

  • Be mean: reduce the demand for materials, energy, water and other resources
  • Be lean: ensure that materials and systems are used responsibly and efficiently
  • Be green: supply any remaining energy requirements from renewable sources

These considerations are second-nature to us, allowing the first principles of sustainability to be immediately integrated into the basic design. We can then look at introducing technologies to boost a building’s credentials.

The desire for a certain level of sustainability can be assessed early-on during the briefing stage, so that the client’s aims can be integrated in the most appropriate way.

To assist us, we often work with Sustainability Consultants to evaluate options and help develop proposals to suit each project.