Editional Studio is run by architects Jo Sharples and Jack Richards. We are a Manchester-based architecture practice that celebrates sustainable, considered design. We work from our high-street shop, promoting approachable and useful design directly to the community. We love working on projects of all scales, with a diversity of people, so we embrace the chance encounters that come with shopkeeping.
We strongly advocate for a less is more attitude. The construction industry is responsible for almost 50% of the UK’s carbon emissions and we’re determined to change this. Jo is an accredited Passive House Designer which allows us to design and model buildings to use around 75% less energy than standard new buildings. Jack is a certified Retrofit Coordinator, looking holistically at buildings to improve the performance of the existing fabric and ensure efficient energy use. We aim to re-use built fabric wherever possible and use natural, local materials with low embodied carbon. We help you to do this in all of our projects.
Projects begin with conversation and are developed through drawings, models and collaboration to create joyful, celebratory places. We take time, working with care and consideration in the belief that to be environmentally responsible our designs should be built to last.
The studio is profiled in the Architect’s Journal 40 under 40 “a who’s who of the nation’s next generation of boundary-pushing designers and innovators” and featured in the Architecture Foundation’s ‘New Architects 4’ showcasing the best practices in British architecture of the last 10 years.
Jo Sharples
Director, Architect, Passive House Designer
BA (Hons) Architecture, DipArch, ARB
Jo’s passion and expertise is in repurposing existing structures for a new lease of life. Whilst at Caruso St John Architects, she worked on the Lycée Hôtelier de Lille, which converted huge, industrial sheds into a cookery school and student housing. With Casswell Bank Architects she converted a former military house ‘Shingle Street into a tantalisingly raw coastal retreat, upgrading its environmental performance in the process. She was responsible for the interior detailing of Damien Hirst’s new Soho studio, before returning to Manchester to set up Editional Studio in 2018.
Jo completed her RIBA Part 1 at Manchester School of Architecture with a First Class Honours and her Parts 2 and 3 at London Metropolitan University and the Architecture Association, graduating from both with Distinction.
Jo runs an MArch studio at The University of Sheffield focusing on retrofit and re-use and has been a guest reviewer at The University of Cambridge, London Metropolitan University and The University of Nottingham. She has given talks with MatriArch and UrbanistasNW and continues to push for a more representative industry.
Jack Richards
Director, Architect, Retrofit Coordinator
BA (Hons) Architecture, DipArch, ARB
Jack has significant experience of large scale, public housing projects such as the multi-award winning and highly praised Colville Estate Regeneration, which he worked on for four years whilst at Karakusevic Carson Architects. Prior to setting up Editional Studio, he worked on the £100 million Great Jackson Street Regeneration Project whilst at Hodder + Partners in Manchester.
His self build project for a Market Hall in Slovenia earned a nomination for the Architects Journal Small Projects Award and he also represented the UK at the International Architecture Showcase; a residency, symposium and publication organised by the British Council.
Jack completed his RIBA Parts 1 & 2 at Manchester School of Architecture and London Metropolitan and his Part 3 at RIBA NW. He teaches a second year studio at The University of Sheffield and is an accredited Retrofit Coordinator.
