Sam White 1978-2021

We are heartbroken to announce that Sam White passed away on 31 January 2021.

Sam was a vital part of this company since the beginning, becoming its first employee in March 2007. He was a true friend and mentor to his colleagues, valuing the personal relationships built up within a close-knit team and quietly supporting and inspiring us all. As Director, his leadership was steadfast and highly intelligent, helping to guide the practice on an exciting yet uncharted path.

Sam had a sophisticated clarity in his understanding of architecture, combining an elegant simplicity of form with an outstanding ability to put his finger on the defining detail, material, or quality.

Although working in the field of engineering, Sam always reminded us we are architects, and our contribution to a project must necessarily reflect that, sensitively tackling not just visual but human and environmental factors. Many of his favourite projects demonstrate such a harmonious relationship between structure and context, as well as the needs of the user.

Sam appreciated Hugh Pearman’s words in the RIBA Journal, summing up his design for Knostrop Footbridge in Leeds, commended in the RIBA MacEwen Awards 2019, that the design “does not shout its architectural or engineering message, rather working through understatement... it displays a clear intelligence and commitment to the old idea that public works are a matter of civic pride”. Those same words could be well applied to the designer. He will be greatly missed.