Profile

7N Architects bring an integrated approach to placemaking. We specialise in generating innovative ideas that deliver simple solutions to complex problems and focus on delivering transformational change by unlocking the full potential of buildings, places and spaces.

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Our strength lies in an holistic approach to making better places through ideas led strategies that are embedded in their physical, social and economic contexts.
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An approach that always seeks to unlock the full potential of a project opportunity and deliver added value and wellbeing in their widest sense.
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We design and deliver our projects in 3D using Building Information Modelling (BIM) software to enhance our client’s engagement in the design process and optimise the quality of our technical information.
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Team

Our team structure enables us to deliver an agile and dynamic response to our client’s needs. We have the ability, proven experience and attention to detail to deliver projects at all levels and scales, from start to finish.

Ewan Anderson
Director

Ewan is an Architect and Urban Planner with almost 30 years experience of delivering major, complex projects throughout the UK. Previously, he worked at a number of significant practices including Conran + Partners and Foster + Partners, before establishing 7N Architects in 2009.

Ewan leads the practice that has built a powerful reputation for its innovative approach and ability to deliver transformational change. He is an active member of the Architecture + Design Scotland Design Forum Panel, the Academy of Urbanism and is regularly invited to speak about placemaking and urban design.

Laura Adamson
Architect

Laura is an architect working across a number of residential and mixed-use projects in the practice. She has extensive experience navigating complex sites through the planning process. At 7N she has been project architect on Edmonstone Woods, Salamander Yards and 525 Ferry Road. Laura completed her Masters in Architecture at The University of Edinburgh. Previously she has worked at practices in London, Prague and Germany. She has a keen interest in mentoring and diversity and inclusion, and is the head of the Learning Working Group and Outreach programme.

Collette Anderson
Practice Manager

Collette has extensive experience of providing efficient, effective and safe management of organisations and their finances to ensure smooth running of the business and wellbeing of staff. Previously she worked in commercial/corporate roles in financial and private sector organisations before joining 7N Architects in 2011. Skills and qualities such as rigor, compliance/legislation and quality have readily transferred to the creative industry of architecture.

Collette focuses on managing the business finances and supporting delivery of key elements of the studio’s growth and operations strategy in line with the 7N Architects’ philosophy.

Alex Angus
Architect

Alex is passionate about civic design and sustainable construction methods, and proficient in BIM processes, which she champions through her work. She has honed her skills in commercial design, as part of the team contributing to the Haymarket Yards development.

Alex previously gained valuable experience at Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects in Copenhagen, where she played a key role in creating innovative and sustainable mixed-use and office developments. Prior to joining the practice, Alex studied at the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and The Built Environment, where she earned her Master of Architecture with Distinction.

Lisa Blyth
Architect

Lisa is an architect and long-standing member of the 7N Architects team, helping to found the practice in 2009, before returning in 2022 after a career break. In that time, she has worked on a variety of 7N projects, including the delivery of large-scale mixed-use housing led projects and major masterplans, notably West Town, a new ’20 minute neighbourhood’ on the western edge of Edinburgh. She also helped 7N to pioneer community led design in Scotland in the Sottish Government’s Charrette Mainstreaming Programme and to develop practical placemaking strategies in the Scottish Government’s Town Centre Toolkit.

Lisa’s experience reflects her personal interest in how designers and stakeholders can work strategically to shape our built environment to significantly improve the quality of day-to-day life for its inhabitants. Lisa studied at the Dundee School of Architecture.

Amy Drabble
Part II Architectural Assistant

Amy has a particular interest in developing placemaking strategies that have a clear, strategic vision, and connect with the unique strengths of their local context. Her holistic approach to design, keen attention to detail and innovative use of technology has contributed to projects such as the Edinburgh Green development and West Town masterplan.

She joined 7N after graduating from the University of Edinburgh, where she was awarded Master of Architecture with Distinction and nominated for the RIBA President’s Silver Medal. During her studies, she explored architectural interventions set within rich historic contexts; designing an architectural proposal within the island Abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel, France.

Prior to her postgraduate degree, Amy gained experience at practices in Edinburgh and Manchester where she worked on complex multi-million-pound projects that include healthcare, commercial and higher education schemes.

Dylan Isaac
Part II Architectural Assistant

Dylan has previous experience at JTP Architects in London, where his projects included new high-rise London apartments and modern rural homes in Cambridgeshire.

He graduated from Queen’s University Belfast with a Master’s Degree in Architecture. His academic portfolio ranged from a tea factory in Perthshire that explored the production of native tea with local Scottish botanicals, to a community led project in Belfast. It was this project that drove his thesis around the idea of redefining the high street away from existing anti-social attributes and dated consumer and retail relations.

Tokini Kent
Architect

Tokini joined 7N Architects with experience working in London with Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands, where she worked on a number of high profile mixed-use, residential, educational and master-planning projects on prominent sites across the City. She previously worked at The Bazeley Partnership where she gained experience in technical design of high-end bespoke homes.

Tokini studied at the University of Dundee, graduating with a First Class Honours in Architecture with Urban Planning. She completed her professional studies at the University of Westminster.

Harry Kirkham
Projects Leader

Harry is a Projects Leader and Architect with over a decade of experience designing and delivering many of 7N’s largest and most complex building and master planning projects. He has a particular focus on placemaking at both the architectural and urban scales, which has been proven through numerous awards and successful project delivery.

Harry joined 7N with experience of delivering higher education and residential projects at a practice in Newcastle Upon Tyne. He studied at the University of Bath and the University of Edinburgh, graduating with Distinction.

Rachel Leatherbarrow
Architect

Rachel joined 7N with extensive experience working across a broad range of building typologies across the Arts & Cultural, Residential and Civic Sectors. Prior to joining 7N Rachel worked for MUMA, Allies & Morrison and Squire and Partners in London where she was part of the design team on two Stirling Prize nominated projects and achieved planning consent on notable developments of strategic importance in London and Bath.

Her passion is for crafted design that embodies spirit of place with richness of materiality and intelligent environmental design. Educated at Newcastle University, Edinburgh University and the Bartlett School of Architecture, Rachel graduated with First Class Honours.

Christopher McHale
Architect

Chris brings over a decade of project running experience on complex schemes at varying scales. From this extensive experience he has gained a comprehensive knowledge of what is needed to ensure the quality of the idea and design is maintained from the initial concept design stage, through to the completion of the construction works on site, all whilst maintaining a great attention to detail and focus on quality.

Chris’s previous work for renowned design practices in London has been acclaimed with national awards and his wealth of knowledge allows him to lead the design of high quality schemes from inception to completion. Presently, at 7N he is part of the team leading a significant mixed use office and hotel next to Haymarket Station.

Chris studied architecture at the Glasgow School of Art and received his professional qualifications from The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL.

Adam Neep
Architect

Prior to joining 7N, Adam was an associate at Fletcher Joseph in Edinburgh where he delivered a number of mixed use and purpose built student accommodation projects. He previously worked at Fourpoint Architects in London, where he gained experience on a range of award winning residential and commercial projects.

Adam studied at the University of Edinburgh, graduating in 2012, and qualified as an ARB registered architect in 2015.

Rachael Neville
Architect

Rachael’s experience is wide-ranging, from small cultural projects to large scale commercial residential work. Spanning all RIBA stages from feasibility to construction, she is experienced in navigating sensitive urban contexts and planning situations.

At 7N she has helped progress the multi-residential Fountainbridge redevelopment through planning milestones, with her commercial and technical design knowledge key to developing the Haymarket Yards office scheme.

Previous experience includes seven years at Piercy&Co in London, designing for clients such as Argent, The Wellcome Trust and Workspace, and delivering the award-winning Drayton Green Church.

Niamh O’Reilly
Associate Director

Niamh is an architect with over 15 year of experience in the design and delivery of large-scale, residential, commercial, transport and educational projects in the UK. Since joining the practice, Niamh has worked on a wide range of 7N projects, including the delivery of large-scale mixed-use housing led projects, notably New Eidyn and Fountainbridge and also 7N’s award-winning Re-imagining Railways project.

She is currently leading the team on Edinburgh Green, a new kind of workplace campus, focused on sustainability and the well-being of the occupants and surrounding community.
Niamh enjoys the challenges, and opportunities, that come with large, mixed-use projects. She is especially interested in collaborative place-making and integrated design approaches, and how they can be employed to re-energise existing places to support, and strengthen, the local communities and context.

Prior to joining 7N, she worked at Studio Egret West, in London, where she led on the design and delivery of a number of mixed-use residential and educational projects, such as East Wick & Sweetwater, the Old Vinyl Factory and Lime Wood Primary School. She was also involved in the London Underground Station Design Idiom project, including prototype design and sample station development. Niamh studied architecture at the Glasgow School of Art and received her professional qualifications from the University of Westminster.

Kara Pankiw
Studio Administrator

Coming from a background in scenography and architecture, Kara is passionate about design. She has worked as a set, costume and lighting designer for the past five years across numerous theatre productions in Canada. Having earned a Bachelor of Environmental Design in Architecture from the University of Manitoba, she has now returned to an architectural setting in a supportive administrative role; while having the opportunity to learn about built environment design strategies in a new country.

Maya Potvar
Part II Architectural Assistant

At 7N, Maya is involved in progressing the residential projects including Inverlair Avenue, 525 Park View and Rowanbank Gardens. Throughout her time at the practice she has developed expertise in 3D printing and BIM processes. Maya joined 7N after completing her Master’s Degree in Architecture from the University of Dundee, graduating with a First Class Honours. Her Master’s retrofit project ’Rethinking Tenements’ received the student conservation award from the DIA, and was also nominated for the AJ student prize. Maya previously worked at Miller Bourne Architects in Brighton, primarily engaging in educational projects.

Chris Raeburn
Associate Director

Chris brings practical knowledge and strategic experience to the team after delivering projects from concept to completion for a broad range of clients in the UK and USA.

Chris joined 7N after spending seven years working in New York City, where he managed the design and construction of award-winning projects in both public and private sectors. Prior to this, Chris worked for Conran + Partners in London where he worked on residential, hospitality, and retail developments.

Chris is skilled at working sensitively with diverse clients, collaborators, and contractors; relishing the rigour of the design process while finding pragmatic solutions to challenges. Most recently, Chris has overseen the delivery of New Eidyn for 7N and contributes to other projects through review and oversight processes.

Chris studied at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Westminster. He has had his architectural drawings exhibited at the Royal Academy in London, Glasgow Lighthouse Gallery, and in Trieste, Italy.

Craig Tait
Director

Craig is a Director at 7N Architects and takes a leading role in the design and delivery of our residential and place-making portfolio, including Jordanhilll Park, Rowanbank Gardens, 525 Park View & Inverlair Avenue. Craig studied at the Glasgow School of Art, and has over 20 years of professional experience across all work-stages. He brings a collaborative, detail-focused approach to projects. Craig additionally curates our internal design-review process focusing on design quality across the studio.

The buildings that Craig has worked on have been awarded several accolades including the Architects’ Journal AJ100 Building of Year and the Grand Prix Winner for Architecture at the Scottish Design Awards. Prior to joining 7N Craig was an associate at jmarchitects and has twice collaborated with Steven Holl Architects in New York, fulfilling the role of project architect for Maggie’s Barts in London and the Reid Building at the Glasgow School of Art.

Gabriella Togni
Architect

Gabriella is a passionate designer who is interested in the intersection between design, sustainability and supporting more ethical and healthy ways of living. Since joining 7N, Gabriella has been the chair of the Sustainability Working Group; the team undertakes research, drives the processes and sets the sustainability strategies for the practice.

Gabriella holds a Masters in Architecture from the Glasgow School of Art and previously studied Environmental Engineering at UWE graduating with a First Class with Honours. Gabriella also worked in the Sustainability Team at AHMM, London. Here she gained invaluable experience in the development of a BREEAM Outstanding commercial development.

Evelina Vasileva
Architect + BIM Specialist

Evelina is an architect, BIM specialist and certified Passive House designer. Evelina is experienced in delivering a wide range of projects within the residential, commercial and transport sectors across the UK. She brings sound technical knowledge, analytical thinking and insights into implementing collaborative workflows and delivering projects to BIM Level 2 standards. Evelina is passionate about the role of technology in the design process and creating more sustainable cities of the future. Her design ethos is defined by open collaboration, rigorous attention to materiality and detail, and thorough research of places’ social and cultural contexts and opportunities.

Ben Watson
Director

Ben co-leads the practice as a director alongside Ewan and Craig. He is adept at leading teams and providing strategic direction to projects. As an architect with experience across a range of sectors, including large-scale urban regeneration, residential, workplace, and transport, he is comfortable working at different scales and with a broad range of clients. During his time with the practice, Ben has led some of 7N’s most significant projects, such as Western Harbour, Re-Imagining Railway Stations, and Haymarket Yards.

Ben studied architecture at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Westminster. Prior to joining 7N, he worked at Ben Adams Architects in London where he delivered a variety of complex retrofit projects for market leading clients.

Magda Wloczka
Architect

Magda is a designer passionate about civic placemaking, having studied how architecture is perceived by its inhabitants during her post-graduate degree. She is putting her interests into practice, currently working on the delivery of our residential and commercial projects, and delivering the first phase of the Western Harbour Masterplan.

Magda joined after graduating with a Diploma in Architecture from the Mackintosh School of Architecture. Prior to her postgraduate degree, she gained experience wide-ranging experience in residential and mixed-use projects at Howells in Birmingham.

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Clients

Our focus is designing places with an enduring legacy, capable of delivering tangible civic and economic benefits to our clients. We offer an integrated and inclusive approach to our work and are proud to have collaborated with the following organisations.

Awards

March 2024
RICS Awards
Residential Development - Shortlisted
Rowanbank Gardens
March 2024
Spotlight Rail Awards
Outstanding Project - Under £20m - Winner
Re-imagining Railways
March 2024
Spotlight Rail Awards
Net Zero Pioneer - Shortlisted
Re-imagining Railways
September 2023
New London Awards
Transport and Infrastructure - Shortlisted
Re-imagining Railways
May 2023
Scottish Design Awards
Finalist - Planning
20 Haymarket Yards
May 2022
Scottish Design Awards
Commendation - Future Building or Project
Reimaging Railways
May 2022
Scottish Design Awards
Winner - Design For Good
What If..? / Scotland
December 2021
Urban Design Awards
'People Friendly Place’ Award
Sauchiehall Street - Glasgow City Centre Strategy
October 2021
EAA Awards
EAA Ambassador Award
What if...?/ Scotland
August 2021
AJ Awards
Shortlisted - Housing Category (up to £10million)
Fraser Avenue
July 2021
Scottish Design Awards
Winner - Affordable Housing Category
Fraser Avenue
November 2020
Edinburgh Architectural Association Awards
Commendation - Regeneration Award
Holyrood Distillery
October 2020
Scottish Homes Award
Large Affordable Housing Development of the Year
Fraser Avenue
February 2020
Scottish Property Awards
Finalist - Regeneration Project of the Year
Holyrood Distillery
November 2019
AJ Architecture Awards
Shortlisted - Masterplanning
The Knab, Shetland
August 2019
Scottish Design Awards
Masterplanning Award
The Knab, Shetland
August 2019
Scottish Design Awards
Highly Commended - Future Project
Western Harbour
April 2019
Edinburgh Architectural Association Awards
Shortlisted - Large Project
Fraser Avenue, Phase One
April 2019
Homes for Scotland Awards
Shortlisted - Affordable Housing Development of the Year
Fraser Avenue, Phase One
August 2017
Inside Housing Awards
Shortlisted - Best Build for Rent Development
India Quay, Fountainbridge
July 2017
World Architecture Festival Awards
Shortlisted - Education Future Project
University of Glasgow Masterplan
June 2017
Saltire Society Housing Design Awards
Commendation - Innovation in Housing
Fraser Avenue
April 2017
Scottish Civic Trust
Commendation - Scottish Civic Trust My Place Award
Inverness Campus
April 2016
Planning and Placemaking Awards
Commendation - Planning and Placemaking Award
Inverness Campus
March 2016
Edinburgh Architectural Association Awards
Shortlisted - Building of the Year
Westfield Avenue Phase Two
February 2016
RTPI Planning Excellence Awards
Shortlisted - RTPI Planning Excellence
Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park
November 2015
Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning
Groundbreaking Approach to Local Planning
Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park
May 2015
Scottish Design Awards
Shortlisted - Placemaking/Masterplanning Award
India Quay, Fountainbridge
March 2015
Scottish Property Awards
Best Achievement in Masterplanning
India Quay, Fountainbridge
March 2015
Scottish Property Awards
Shortlisted - Development of the year - Public Building
Inverness Campus
June 2013
RIAS Awards
Shortlisted - RIAS Award
Garscube Link
September 2012
Saltire Society Housing Design Awards
Large Scale Housing Development
Westfield Avenue Phase One
June 2012
Scottish Homes Awards
Large Affordable Housing Development of the year
Westfield Avenue Phase One
March 2012
Edinburgh Architectural Association Awards
Commendation - Building of the Year
Westfield Avenue Phase One
November 2011
RIAS Andrew Doolan Awards
Special Mention - Best Building in Scotland Award
Phoenix Flowers
October 2010
Roses Design Awards
Placemaking and Landscaping
Garscube Link
May 2010
Scottish Design Awards
Best Future Building
Garscube Link
March 2010
Scottish Awards for Planning
Commendation - Planning Award
Speirs Locks
March 2009
BURA Awards
Strategy and Placemaking
Speirs Locks

Accreditations

7N Architects is a RIBA Chartered Practice.

We have achieved ISO certification for our Quality Management, Environmental Management and Occupational Health and Safety Management systems.

As a practice, we are committed to modern business practices and encourage our suppliers to support the Living Wage. 7N Architects are Mass Timber Academy Student Sponsors.

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