About us
who are we?
Jessop and Cook Architects was established in 1974 by Graham Jessop and John Cook with a commitment to social and environmental responsibility.
We are a practice with a passion for our community and we are enthusiastic about the power of design to drive positive change in our city and region.
With 50 years of experience we have built a reputation for quality, attention to detail, and an empathetic approach to design. We design for schools, education, the STEM sector, private housing, housing developments, local community groups, businesses, start-ups, churches, charities, local councils, and university colleges and departments.
We are proud to have been recognised for several local awards and nominations including:
RIBA award for Best Educational Building in the South East
Short-listings for two further RIBA Awards
Architects Journal Small Project Short-listing
Evening Standard Housing Award
Two Civic Design Awards
Two letters of commendation from Oxford Preservation Trust
Thames Valley Property Award 2021: Architectural Practice of the Year
Thames Valley Property Award 2022: Community Impact Award
Plaque at the Oxford Preservation Trust Awards 2022 for the New Lodge at Exeter College
Certificate at the Oxford Preservation Trust Awards 2022 for conservation works at Blackfriars Priory
what we do:
We work on projects of various scales from a few thousand to multi-million-pound schemes, providing services tailored to our clients’ needs, including:
Full project management from conception to completion
Feasibility studies
Master planning and space planning
Architectural consultancy
Heritage and conservation consultancy
Quinquennials and condition surveys
Interior design
Organising public consultations
Pre-application and planning support
Building regulation drawings
Principal Designer services (CDM 2015)
Principal Designer services (Building Safety Act 2022)
Passivhaus Design services
Retrofit coordinator services
Community Involvement:
Jessop and Cook Architects is involved with various local initiatives and charities and encourage local groups to contact us to see if we can offer support.
Architects Declare Climate and Biodiversity Emergency:
We are one of many practices to sign Architects Declare, which encourages a devolved network of architectural practices to share best practice and coordinate responses to the issues surrounding climate change and biodiversity loss. Architects Declare is an industry recognised initiative and we are using the clarity of the declaration to help drive effective change within our organisation.
Business Model:
We are a team of like-minded individuals who work collaboratively to deliver a wide range of projects; we all play an important and pivotal role in the practice. We want to recognise this and hold ourselves to account in delivering best practice in light of Architects Declare. Inspired by other practices which have done the same, we are taking the initial steps to convert Jessop and Cook Architects to an Employee-Owned B Corp. Certification for a B- Corp is based on several requirements, including:
Social sustainability
Governance
Workers and community impact
Environmental performance
Accountability
Transparency
