The Practice

Founded over 25 years ago by Ian Adam-Smith, the Practice specialises in 'The English Country House'. Ian's eldest son, Mungo, joined full-time in 2023, continuing the family tradition. Both Father and Son are lovers of beautiful things and firm believers in lifestyle-led home design with architecture, interiors, and landscape working as one. This integrated vision is paramount and shapes everything the Practice does.

Our focus is on creating houses that feel as though they have evolved naturally over time, whether new build country homes or the sensitive refurbishment of individual houses and historic estates. Each project is approached as a complete and coherent whole. We combine extensive knowledge, meticulous attention to detail, and a deep understanding of planning and heritage parameters, together with a full appreciation of property values to deliver homes that are handsome, balanced, and built to endure.

Our Legacy

Ian's passion for architecture is rooted in a lifetime immersed in Lutyens territory and in the classical tradition. His instinct for translating a blank canvas into something compelling, joyful, and refined is tempered by his practical knowledge of planning systems, the property market, and the potential end value of each project.

Before joining the Practice, Mungo worked for various London Practices and Interior Designers specialising in both traditional and contemporary architecture. He has, however, been involved in the Practice since he could hold a pencil, growing up surrounded by Country Houses and witnessing the birth of many of the Practice's Schemes from inception; English Country Houses are the world he has always known.

The Adam-Smith’s way of life is informed by regular visits to important English Country Houses, to Art Galleries, Auctions and Antique Dealers. Magazines such as Country Life, House & Gardens and World of Interiors can be found on their desks as well as their coffee tables and a close eye is kept on the property market through visiting sources such as Rightmove. Their understanding for their passion is highly informed in all aspects, both in the UK and further afield.

Our Work

The Team has delivered more than 700 projects, primarily Private Country Houses and Estates, across West Sussex, Hampshire, Surrey, and the wider South of England. Based in the South Downs National Park, much of our work is within this protected landscape, where sensitive design and planning expertise are essential. We also have an extensive list of completed projects in the Surrey Hills National Landscape AONB where our approach to design has been well received. Our portfolio ranges from careful extensions and renovations to estate masterplanning, with an increasing focus on New Houses that appear to have evolved over centuries.

We have also undertaken Restorations and Additions to important Arts & Crafts Houses by Sir Edwin Lutyens, Charles F. A. Voysey, Richard Norman Shaw, and Sir Robert Lorimer. These projects demonstrate our expertise in conservation architecture, preserving architectural integrity while adapting and adding to historic homes for contemporary living.

Our Approach

We focus on ‘quality not quantity’ throughout, from the schemes we develop to the desks we sit at. This ethos, along with designing ‘houses that evolve’, results in homes that are built to stand the test of time.

Every scheme we produce draws on the combined design insight of Ian, Mungo, and our senior team of experts. We have a dedicated team of Architects, Technologists, and Architectural Assistants who help guide each project from concept to completion. We like to present clear options rather than overwhelm you with endless choices. No two of our clients or projects are the same. We are well versed in keeping projects of all types moving forward with clarity and purpose, negotiating challenges and anticipating needs.

Collaboration is at the heart of what we do: We work closely with estate agents, search agents, surveyors, interior and landscape designers, and specialist consultants to deliver homes that are individually tailored, fully resolved and a joy to live in. 

We deliberately share a limited portfolio online. Instead, we invite all prospective clients to visit our offices based in a group of barns in the West Sussex countryside. In our studio we can show a fuller picture of our work and spend time understanding your aspirations. We listen carefully, becoming trusted confidantes along the way, often forming friendships that last well beyond project completion; Many clients return to us for second homes and additional projects.

Most of our work comes through word of mouth and personal recommendation. This, alongside our personal touch, underpins our reputation as discrete luxury residential architects trusted to deliver characterful and timeless homes.