About us
We are Transition by Design, an RIBA chartered and Passivhaus certified architecture and design cooperative based in Oxford. Our team builds homes, neighbourhoods and cities for an ecologically sustainable and convivial future.
We specialise in ecological architecture, community engagement, citizen-led and participatory design, action research, meanwhile use, and community-led housing. As a workers’ cooperative, we operate democratically—reinvesting profits into our team, our community, and projects that align with our values.
If you've got a project in mind, please get in touch. We'd love to hear from you.
Our people
Sammy-Jo Hagan
Architectural Designer & Retrofit Coordinator
Liv Harrison
Architectural Designer & Retrofit Coordinator
Wongani Mwanza
Architect & Participatory Urban Designer
Alex Towler
Senior Architect
Joyce Yiu
Part 1 Architectural Assistant
Associates
Florence Collier
Sustainability advisor, Mechanical Engineer, Passivhaus Designer
Andy Edwards
Researcher & Project Designer
Jack Feather
Architectural Designer
Charlie Fisher
Project Designer
Nor Greenhalgh
Placemaking facilitator
Patrick Osborne
Architect
Ellen Shaw
Part 1 Architectural Assistant
Felicity Stone
Architect/Project Manager/CDM Principal Designer
Emily Wright
Architectural Designer
Kate Ylioja
Architectural and Passive House Designer
Awards
2025
Pineapple Award Shortlist (Blackbird Leys Community Centre Community Engagement) Category: Community Engagement
2024
Retrofit Academy Graduate Award Shortlist
2023
Pineapple Award Shortlist (Meanwhile in Oxfordshire, in partnership with Makespace Oxford & collaborators) Category: Activation Reuse
2022
Archiboo Activism Award Winner (Homemaker Oxford)
2021
Co-op of the Year Award Shortlist
2019
RIBAJ Rising Stars Nomination
Oxford Times Charity & Community Award Finalist
2018
The Developer Magazine’s Meanwhile Prize Winner (Open House Oxford)
Oxfordshire Charity and Volunteer’s Innovation Award Winner (Makespace Oxford)
Collaborators
A selection of our collaborators:
21 Degrees
5th Studio
AMC Build
Aspire Oxford
Bioregional
Black South West Network
Bristol City Council
Cambridge City Council
Cohousing Hub
Community Action Groups Oxfordshire
Community First Oxfordshire
Coops UK
Currie & Brown
Edgars
Flo's in the Park
Footwork
Global Centre for Health & Urbanisation
Good Ancestor Movement
Gort Scott
Greencore Construction
HTA Design
Incremental Urbanism
Jessop & Cook
JTP
Jungle Arts
Land Justice Oxfordshire
Lankelly Chase
Logan Foundation
Maddison Graphic
Makespace Oxford
Marmalade Festival
Mikhail Riches
Mother's 4 Justice Ubuntu
Old Fire Station
OWL Building Control
OX4 Food Crew
Oxford Brookes University
Oxford City Council
Oxford City of Sanctuary
Oxford Cohousing
Oxford Diocese
Oxfordshire County Council
Passivhaus Trust
Paul Hamlyn Foundation
Perkins & Will
Platform Housing Group
Platform Places
Pointe Michel Limited
Retrofit Academy
Shared Assets
SLC Rail
South Oxfordshire & Vale of the White Horse
Stir to Action
Ten Years' Time
Thame Community Land Trust
WeCanMake
Who Owns Oxford