Review of the Year

As BDP’s first chief executive to be born after the inception of the practice in 1961, I am struck by the elegance and longevity of our practice model, which is more relevant today than ever before.

We continue to think long-term and consider the needs of future generations. Our values have stood the test of time and are prioritised in our plans for succession and in maintaining a democratic decision-making processes.

The social values which inspired George Grenfell Baines have expanded naturally to include our environmentally focused design ethos. This evolution now finds its expression in our comprehensive Environmental, Social, and Governance strategy. Our multidisciplinary teams exemplify these values and bring integrated design thinking by offering all parties an equal voice to set out their ideas to address the unique challenges of each project.

At the heart of this is our focus on the needs of people, both in our design approach and our studios. People, who share our core values, possess a deep understanding of future possibilities, and actively shape our collective journey.

The tools that we use to bring life to our designs are evolving quicker than ever before, with Artificial Intelligence and Digital Engineering both giving a competitive advantage to those who pioneer these technologies and harness them to improve design outcomes.

Keeping the pioneering spirit of BDP at the forefront of our practice is the space we create for innovation, and we continue to invest in our ideas to provide creative responses to the challenges of the modern world.

We have experienced remarkable growth in the last year, expanding to 19 studios and continuing to assemble diverse, talented teams worldwide through our shared values and use of technology. This ‘connected collective’ is what distinguishes us from others, bringing together people with the best ideas from across the globe to add insight and measurable value to our clients’ projects.

BDP’s New York studio has secured its first project wins in the Media Environments, Retail, and Healthcare sectors, demonstrating the increasing global recognition our design approach and expertise are achieving.

We have worked in collaboration with Nippon Koei to deliver complex stations for Dhaka’s new metro system and there is further transformation in place as we align to take advantage of synergies across the group. The humanitarian nature of its work in developing economies and its focus on the low carbon energy transition makes a compelling offer in the context of the ever-present need to address climate change.