Studio Culture  

At Mackay + Partners, we combine a keen commercial awareness with a quest for quality and design integrity. Thirty years of experience, at the forefront of contemporary design has enriched our team with the talent, skill and confidence to challenge the usual. As a small practice, we work on a variety of project types and scales and always ensure our client’s objectives are exceeded.

We are a progressive team. We aim to learn and evolve our ideas and knowledge through projects. In collaboration with our client. We examine the brief to expand the potential outcomes, pushing the boundaries of architecture and interior design to find the best solution. To each project we bring a fresh perspective and plenty of enthusiasm. We enjoy what we do.

We believe that projects are the result of teamwork and that our job is to be clear communicators of our client’s reputation and culture. The range and scale of our projects is varied, but our ability to challenge perceptions of design and our dedication to the needs of our clients remains our mission. Our passion is to see the best design through whatever hurdles are strewn across our course.

Ken Mackay
Senior partner, architect and founder of Mackay + Partners.
BA Arch, MA RCA, RIBA, FCSD

Ken leads the firm and has been involved in major architectural and interior projects in the UK and across the world. He works at board-level with clients to set strategic, design and aesthetic direction for each project and agree how it is to be implemented. Many of the projects he has overseen have won international awards, including those for architectural design effectiveness, interiors, lighting and product, and space management.

Ken has the spirit and passion of a creative entrepreneur. He welcomes challenges, whether they relate to design, materials, construction methods or planning issues, and meets them with energy and enthusiasm. He makes things work in ways that might not have been previously considered.

This spirit was evident from his time at the Royal College of Art. He went on to work as design director on London’s Royal Opera House redesign with celebrated architects Jeremy Dixon and Ed Jones before setting up architectural firm Harper Mackay/MAK Architects with David Harper in 1987.

Ken’s entrepreneurial instinct shows through his ability to identify the potential of a development site, often bringing opportunities to developers. It also underpins the way he works, collaborating with other designers from Lord Rogers and Renzo Piano to Philippe Starck and Patricia Urquiola.

It has led him to partner with like-minded people outside architecture on ventures requiring a marrying of expertise. For example, for ten years he was a partner in Clerkenwell restaurant, Portal, which he also designed, with restaurateur Antonio Correia.

Portal was an adjunct to Mackay & Partners, which remains his main creative outlet.

Ken Mackay on LinkedIn

Design Team

Miguel Timoner-Salvá
Architect
BA (Hons) and M Arch. ETSAB
Barcelona

Jesus Ciller
Architect
B. Arch. (Hons) and M. Arch. ETSAV
Valencia

Pablo Martin
Architect
B. Arch (Hons) and M. Arch. UEM
Madrid

Sit-Yen Hampson
Studio Administrator
Westminster Kingsway College
(Interactive Design), England

Sarah Radcliffe
Office Manager
Chichester College for Further Education
(Business Studies), England