About us:
We are a small team of architects based in Bristol and Bradford on Avon, operating throughout the Cotswolds and south of England.
We work on all scales of private residential projects and have extensive experience in reusing, refurbishing, and extending historic and listed buildings.
We are determined to minimise our impact on the environment and are striving to be good ancestors. Wherever possible, we use local, natural and responsibly sourced materials that enhance both their locations and the lives of their users.
Our values:
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We believe that well-being begins with a healthy home that enhances the everyday lives of its occupants and all those who experience it.
We pride ourselves on the close connection that we build with our clients - and approach the design process as a conversation, ensuring a collaborative end product.
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We prioritise the use of low-carbon, natural materials to create beautiful sustainable architecture.
We seek to enhance the biodiversity of sites, consider ways to maximise the efficiency of the processes involved in projects, eliminate waste where possible and look to incorporate micro-renewable technologies.
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We aim to create buildings that respond to, enhance and are rooted in their locations.
We believe that we can learn from traditional buildings, which are often adaptable, create long-term value and resilience, and nurture a sense of attachment and belonging.
Our team:
Tobias Feilding-Crawley
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Tobias is particularly interested in the fusion of modern architecture with historic fabric, enabling the development of historic buildings to be clearly read.
Before starting Tonic Architecture with Nick Tomlinson, Tobias worked at Parr Walker & Associates in the Cotswolds, where he focused on the high-end domestic sector, creatively refurbishing and extending listed country properties and estates, as well as designing new and contemporary one-off houses.
He has also worked for Alec French Architects in Bristol on education and mixed-use development projects and Hamiltons Architects in London on landmark residential and commercial projects, including a scheme for 101 apartments overlooking Hyde Park and a £9m contemporary private house in Buckinghamshire.
Tobias studied architecture at Oxford Brookes University and became a chartered architect through the Architectural Association, London. He is a RIBA-accredited Conservation Registrant.
Nicholas Tomlinson
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Nick has always been drawn to the way buildings are felt and experienced - how light falls through old glass, the patina of age, the layers and traces of human occupation that give a building a particular atmosphere and sense of place.
He understands that working with historic properties isn't about imposing solutions, but about pausing, observing and learning - reading the stories old buildings tell while understanding the requirements of contemporary life and helping them evolve naturally into their next chapter.
Nick trained at Oxford Brookes, Kingston University and UWE, and previously worked with Simon Morray-Jones and Richard Parr.
Megan Hill
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Megan has a passion for all aspects of sustainability, which feeds into her aim to make the practice of architecture more environmentally respectful and climate-responsive. She hopes to implement her current learning from a part-time Masters in the Environmental Design of Buildings at Cardiff University within the practice.
Before Tonic, Megan worked at Concept Eight Architects, a high-end private residential practice, where she led extensive refurbishment and renovation projects on properties within central London and Surrey. Her work has been published in the design magazines Beautiful Homes and Self Build.
She is inspired by vernacular materials and design and especially loves architecture that responds to and enhances a natural setting. She believes a building should bring unexpected joy to those who experience it.
In Megan’s spare time she enjoys getting muddy and lost in the woods whilst trail running (and going on any kind of adventure), cycling up and down (mainly the down) the hills around Bristol and Bath, exploring art galleries, and attending music festivals where fancy dress is encouraged.
Joe Young
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Joe gained his degree in Architectural Studies from Cardiff University. Following a passion for environmentally sustainable design, he progressed to postgraduate study at the specialist Centre for Alternative Technology in rural North Wales.
Here he was introduced to a wealth of unconventional materials, methods and approaches beyond the narrow constraints of conventional UK construction. He went on to complete his architectural education at the University of Portsmouth, qualifying in late 2016.
Before joining Tonic, Joe worked for three years at MD Architecture in Cirencester where he gained invaluable experience working on a number of exciting high-end residential projects. He is passionate about honest, materials driven design with a “place making” approach.
Parallel beliefs in progressive modernism and the importance of conservation drive him to seek the considered, harmonious meeting of the traditional with the contemporary. Passions for politics and environmentalism are deeply woven into the core of his design philosophy.
Outside of work, Joe enjoys film, board games, attends regular life drawing sessions, plays the odd game of squash, and (probably above all) loves good food and drink in great company.