Having been a limited company since our inception, we have now changed our form of incorporation to become a limited liability partnership - Stubbs Rich LLP.

This will not affect the high quality of our responsiveness and service in any way.  For all practical purposes, the change will have no noticeable effect.

The benefits of the change will become more tangible in the medium term, since the LLP structure is better suited to leadership growth and succession management within a professional firm, and this is the reason we have made the change.

Today, Friday 20th March, a BBC Newsnight interviewer, producer and cameraman spent the afternoon recording an item for tonight’s Newsnight.  The thrust of the article was the greater effect of the recession on the private sector than the public sector.

Why us?  Apparently the leader of the local chamber of commerce had made an announcement that Bath was less likely to be affected by the recession than most places because of its high proportion of public sector employees.  And with architects at the front end of the construction industry, we are likely to be hit hard and sooner than most.

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Stubbs Rich continues to deliver in a very tough market with five new commissions confirmed in February.

Like many practices, over recent months we have experienced the deferral of imminent projects, however new instructions like these remind us that the economy has not stopped, it has just slowed down.

What is perhaps of greater interest is the segments of the market from which these commissions have come: residential; motor retail; and education.  Education could have been predicted but residential and motor retail? Surely not - but the common theme in all these new jobs is adding value: adding value to land and making projects better value. (more…)

Stubbs Rich have prepared for the oncoming recession by re-structuring the company to meet the anticipated reduction in our workload and settling into new premises, the aptly named Ice House on Walcot Street in central Bath.  Directors Daniel Plunkett and John Hewitt have left the practice to pursue new avenues and our core team remains to deliver the service that has been valued by our clients over the last 16 years.

Founding directors John Rich and Nick Stubbs feel well placed to ride out the storm, indeed having protected the company’s future, they both feel rather optimistic.  John Rich comments:

“As you can see on our project news page, we have recently won a national competition for a project in Abergavenny and this is progressing well.  Our VW and Audi work across the UK continues unabated and we are working for universities on well-funded projects.  The recent BCO award win has also been a major boost”.

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Stubbs Rich is collaborating with Bath’s Holburne Musuem to help promote The Big Draw this Saturday, 18th October. The Big Draw is a national annual event that encourages people of any age to draw. The Museum has chosen an architectural theme this year and we are delighted to be invited to work with them. Hands-on workshops will explain the art of perspective using the view from the gallery down the beautiful Georgian Great Pulteney Street and our architects will show how computer aided design can be used to translate drawings and ideas into 3D designs. Director Nick Stubbs says: “We are passionate about promoting architecture to young people and this provides the perfect forum to give people a taste of drawing and design in a beautiful and supportive environment.”

The event is being held in the Museum’s Middle Gallery from 12 noon until 3pm and entrance and participation is free to all. THe Holburne Museum can be found at Great Pulteney Street, Bath, BA2 4DB.