Celebrating Stephen Harrison’s Promotion to Associate

Rigby & Rigby is delighted to celebrate the promotion of Stephen Harrison to Associate within our Architecture team.

The announcement was made during our 20-year anniversary celebrations, an especially fitting moment in which to recognise Steve’s contribution to the continued development of our practice. The news was warmly welcomed and celebrated by colleagues from across Architecture and the wider Allect family, reflecting the respect Steve has earned throughout the group.

Steve is a key member of Team Urban, led by Associate Director Paul Jones. The team specialises in delivering amazing complex projects within sensitive and often highly constrained urban settings, where strong technical knowledge, careful coordination and meticulous attention to detail and beautiful architecture are essential. Steve’s breadth of experience, calm approach and commitment to quality make him an invaluable part of both the team and the wider architectural studio.

Having qualified in 2006, Steve brings 20 years of experience across the education, commercial and residential sectors. His career has included approximately ten years working with listed buildings, barn conversions and private residences, giving him an excellent understanding of the care and technical rigour required when adapting existing and historically significant buildings.

Steve also spent five years working within the public and social housing sector, developing further expertise in the delivery of complex projects involving multiple stakeholders, demanding regulatory requirements and a clear responsibility to the people who ultimately occupy the buildings. Most recently, he has spent over four years working on ultra-prime private residences in the UK and internationally, where exceptional standards of design, coordination, detailing and delivery are expected at every stage.

This varied background allows Steve to bring a particularly valuable perspective to our projects. He combines practical technical knowledge with an understanding of design quality, buildability and collaborative project delivery. He is equally comfortable resolving detailed architectural challenges, coordinating with external consultants and helping colleagues find clear and effective solutions.

A particularly important part of Steve’s contribution has been his knowledge and leadership in Building Information Modelling. Steve has worked with BIM for the past eight years and was involved in implementing BIM workflows within his two previous architectural practices. Since joining Rigby & Rigby, his experience, dedication and ability have been instrumental in helping us successfully introduce and embed Revit and BIM processes across our Architecture team and the wider Allect group.

This work represents much more than the adoption of new software. Steve has helped us establish more coordinated, consistent and efficient ways of working, supporting better communication between our internal teams and the external architects, engineers, consultants and specialists with whom we collaborate. These evolving workflows are empowering our teams to produce higher-quality information, identify potential coordination issues earlier and provide greater clarity throughout the design and construction process.

Steve is also generous in sharing his knowledge. His approachable manner and willingness to support others have helped colleagues develop their own confidence and capabilities in Revit and BIM. This combination of technical expertise, patience and team spirit embodies the collaborative culture we value at Rigby & Rigby.

Mark Cowley, Studio Director of Architecture, commented:

“It is an absolute pleasure to work with Steve. He is the consummate professional, bringing a positive, can do attitude to every project and challenge. He is someone that everybody wants to have within their team, not only because of his considerable experience and technical ability, but because he is dependable, supportive and always willing to help others.

“Steve has played an incredibly important role in advancing our Revit and BIM capabilities, helping us improve the quality and coordination of our work across the studio. Above all, he is a genuinely likeable and grounded family man who is respected by everyone around him. His promotion to Associate is thoroughly deserved, and I look forward to seeing him continue to grow and make an even greater contribution to Rigby & Rigby and the wider Allect family.”

Stephen’s promotion recognises both what he has already achieved and the important role he will continue to play in the future of our Architecture team. We congratulate him on this significant and richly deserved milestone.