Jo Cowen Architects rebrands to Cowen+Partners

As covered by Green Street News, Cowen+Partners is working to reposition the traditional architect role.

The new brand recognises the growth in the breadth and depth of the team and business since its foundation by Jo Cowen and Chris Wilkinson over a decade ago. Central to the brand is the launch of a new Strategic Site Advisory service, which the practice offers alongside design services or as a standalone.

“We are more than just architects,” explains Jo Cowen, CEO of Cowen + Partners, “this is not a rebranding but a redefining. Real estate challenges are more complex than ever, and we are responding to this by providing clients with real estate advice rooted in our unique understanding of wider viability drivers, thereby helping to unlock value in sites and portfolios.”

The advice provided by Cowen + Partners new service supports clients with funding, inflation, planning and regulatory advice across the residential sector from operations, build and efficiency as well as creative marketplace positioning and strategy.

Cowen + Partners also offers a bespoke Technical Delivery service to clients. Led by the practice’s Technical Director, Gregory Malek, the service provides clients with knowledge and management of the route through BSR Gateway 2 introduced by the Building Safety Act (BSA 2022). By investing heavily at RIBA stage 1-2, Cowen + Partners works to ensure compliance and ability to bring planning approved schemes straight to delivery.

The rebrand follows a successful year for the practice with Cowen + Partners having achieved consent on over 2,000 homes across multiple projects, including Bournemouth’s tallest tower.

Cowen + Partners was also recently appointed on Morden Wharf by Galliard Homes and City Developments Ltd. Designs for the scheme will include 1,500 homes and residents’ amenities alongside a landscaped riverside park.

Chris Wilkinson, Managing Director and co-founder of Cowen + Partners added: “These recent successes are a result of our amazing team’s hard work and our ethos of collaboration with clients and peers – the reason we are placing partnerships at the heart of our new brand. We believe that impactful design is only possible through wider understanding and consideration of real estate as well as genuine collaboration between client, architect and the end users of the buildings or spaces.”

The recent consents achieved by Cowen + Partners projects include over 500 new homes in Kidbrooke Village for Berkeley Homes, achieved through a unique floorplate design; one of the last permissions to go through under LLDC for St William in Stratford and 866 new homes for Knight Dragon in Peninsular Quay, which is now progressing to delivery. Cowen + Partners also supported Marchmont and Peveril Securities with funding alongside the design of their now consented build-to-rent scheme, which will deliver Bournemouth’s tallest tower at 29-storeys.

Read more about our new brand on Green Street News: Skyscraper architect to offer site acquisition and viability advice