Donald Insall Associates is a firm of architects, designers and historic building consultants in the United Kingdom.
They have worked on contemporary and historic listed buildings, monuments and sites throughout Britain, and at UNESCO World Heritage Sites including The Palace of Westminster, Cross Bath, the Tower of London, Kew Gardens and Caernarfon Castle. They were involved in the restoration of Windsor Castle following the 1992 fire. They have worked extensively in the adaptive re-use of historic buildings, contemporary interventions and new design.
Sir Donald Insall founded the company during 1958 and was chairman until 1998. He continues to act as a consultant. They continue to operate according to the methodology and philosophy established by Insall, as outlined in his 2008 book, Living Buildings.
They have won over 200 awards for their work, including twice-winning the Europa Nostra UK Medal of Honour, as well as the 2014 RIBA Building of the Year, Wales, for the Copper Kingdom project at Amlwch, Anglesey.
Donald Insall Associates are now majority employee-owned and work from seven UK locations, as well as working internationally as both architects and consultants. Their principal office is at 12 Devonshire Street, London. They currently have branches in Bath, Birmingham, Chester, Manchester, Oxford, Conwy and York. In 2015 they were ranked number 39 in the Architects' Journal AJ120 list of largest practices in the UK.
Major projects Major projects include:
Public and institutional
The Palace of Westminster, London Westminster Hall House of Lords Chamber Cloister Court and the Pugin-designed Courtyards The Encaustic tile floors Sovereign's Robing Room The Pugin Room The Tower of London, London Hampton Court Palace, London Goldsmiths' Hall, London The Banqueting House, Whitehall Cross Bath Spa, Bath Lincoln's Inn Great Hall Mansion House, London Liverpool Town Hall Lord's Cricket Ground, London Cardiff Castle, South Wales Caernarfon Castle, Gwynedd, North Wales Hotel Café Royal, Regent Street, London The former Regent Palace Hotel, Regent Street, London Kew Palace, London
Arts: museums, galleries and libraries
Somerset House, London Major refurbishment of the South Building, incorporating a new gallery and restored Seamen's Hall, and repaving and fountains in the courtyard. Staircase House, Stockport Battle Abbey Gatehouse, Kent The Kew Pagoda, Temperate House and the Marianne North Gallery, Kew Gardens, London Kew Palace, Kew, London Bluecoat School, Liverpool
Religious buildings and sites
Chester Cathedral, Cheshire Bangor Cathedral, Bangor, North Wales Pembroke College Chapel, Cambridge University, Cambridge
Educational
Wren Library, Trinity College, Cambridge Stephen Hawking Building, Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Performing Arts Centre, Woldingham School Codrington Library, New College, Oxford Cockerell Building, Cambridge: Bangor University Arts Building, North Wales
Research and education
Publications
Donald Insall Associates' members publish regularly. Major publications by the firm include: The Care of Old Buildings Today Living Buildings – Architectural Conservation: Philosophy, Principles and Practice. Chester: A Study in Conservation
Academic activities
Donald Insall Associates lecture at specialist conferences in Europe, the Americas and Far East. They have lectured regularly at Royal College of Arts International Centre for Conservation, Rome University Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium College d'Europe in Bruges. Canterbury University
References