Zebra Architects began 19 years ago, when our Managing Director Chris Partington had a vision for a family-centric working environment that prioritised the flexible needs of a team. Chris envisioned an innovative design studio that was sensitive to the external pressures of the team, and supportive of their unique circumstances. Understanding that people have lives outside of work, he wanted to create a business that could adapt to their needs.
In those early days, we started at the kitchen table, and within three months, we opened our first office in Trinity Street, Worcester. Our workload was varied, ranging from local housing developers to student operators. We believe that our authentic approach to business has helped us grow into the successful firm we are today.
Spotlight on… Chris Partington, Our Managing Director
Chris, why Zebra?
This is a question I get asked a lot.
When I decided that forming my own business was something I wanted to do, we had a ‘steering group’ which effectively was a group of mates in a pub. I wanted to put a name to something that people would remember that I could put a strong brand image to. After looking at different names we decided on Zebra, as we believed it was strong memorable and easily recognisable through an image rather than just text. I tested the theory by drawing a zebra stripe for my 3 year old daughter and she immediately said ‘Zebra’. Bingo! Zebra was born.
How would you describe Zebra as a business?
We are a small friendly architectural practice that delivers schemes nationwide with a particular bias on residential design whether that is affordable housing, open market housing, residential care and student accommodation. We also have expertise in heritage, education and industrial.
What would you say is your greatest accomplishment so far?
I have been privileged to make a lot of friends during the 19 years. Retention of clients has been key, with my first client 19 years ago, still a client today. I think the greatest accomplishment is to still have the reason why I set Zebra up being the spine of the business, where adaptability is paramount. Most of all we like working with people we like.
Where We Have Been
Zebra has moved offices 4 times due to expansion over the years but remained true to its core values. More recently we have opened our Hertfordshire office to expand our reach, serving clients all over the country ranging from schemes as far north as Scotland to the south of England.
Throughout our journey, we've always been committed to giving back to our community. We've had the privilege of supporting charities such as Shelter, and our very own Chris even ran the London Marathon for them back in 2008. Additionally, we've supported local homeless charities, as well as grassroots football and rugby teams. We take great pride in sponsoring youth football and rugby teams, as well as rugby clubs like Worcester Warriors and Harpenden RFC.
Our journey has been filled with ups and downs, but we're grateful for every step of the way. We remain committed to our clients and our community, and we're excited to see where our journey takes us next.
Where We Are Now
We're currently located at St Georges Square in Worcester, sharing space with our sister companies Zebra Landscape Architects, Ecology, and Trees since 2020. Our team consists of three directors - Chris, Julian Hill, and Louise Brown - who have worked together for over 20 years. Our Associate Director Peter Mc Breen has led our technical team since 2010, with Associate Director Matthew Parsons heading the Harpenden office. We are very proud of our design team, including Sophie Meakin, who specialises in Heritage work, Nicola Gibbons - a former Zebra student turned qualified Architect, Ayo Karim, who is our decarbonization expert and talented designer, and Emma Padfield, who recently joined us with a background in interior design and a flair for 3D modelling. We've always supported student growth and development, and while it's always bittersweet to see them move on, we're thrilled to be part of their journey and watch them flourish.
A special thanks has to go to every past and present member of the team over the 19 years of Zebra. Big or small, each team member has had a part to play in the success of the business.
