Chris Mackenzie
Director, Architect
Chris is the founding director of Designscape Architects. Whilst at Designscape, he has been responsible for a diverse range of projects; Science Studio, art gallery, production and archive facility for Damien Hirst, Hill Farm Dairy, Park Grounds Energy Recovery facility and a number of award winning residential projects including Twinneys House, Innox Lodge and Chilliswood House, Bath. He has a particular interest in sustainable design and creative re-use.
Formerly a senior project architect at Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, he held overall responsibility for the £23m Portland Square Building at the University of Plymouth and also worked on the technical design issues of the 2008 RIBA Stirling Prize winning Accordia Housing in Cambridge. Chris regularly contributes to the Masters Degree course at the University of Bath and is a member of The Devon and Somerset Design Review Panel. Chris trained at Portsmouth University and is a former President of the Bristol Society of Architects and Chairman of the RIBA Bristol and Bath Branch.
Spencer Back
Director, Architect
Spencer joined Designscape as co-director in 2010. Whilst at the practice he has been Project Director responsible for a wide range of residential and non-residential projects from inception to completion, including; Exactaform Tools, Coventry; Springfield Farmhouse, 7-9 Bannerdown, Bath and Hillcrest Houses, Bristol and the Avenue Minehead.
Prior to joining Designscape, Spencer was for five years a director of Angus Meek Architects in Bristol, where he was responsible for a range of new build and refurbishment projects for both end user and developer clients, from concept design through to construction and completion. These projects included the headquarters and distribution building for medical supplies company Vygon UK in Swindon, and residential schemes such as the award winning Praedium, a development of 95 apartments and 11 houses in Redland Hill Bristol for Crosby Homes. He has also worked on several student accommodation projects in Bristol, including the 356 room Dean’s Court whilst working for Alec French Architects.
Spencer had previously worked in London for ten years, first for Alsop Lyall and Stormer then John Lyall Architects, on a diverse range of prestigious projects including Tottenham Hale rail and underground stations, Harry Ramsden’s Fish restaurant in Cardiff Bay and Listed Corn Exchange and Third White Cloth Hall in Leeds. Afterwards joining Foggo Associates where he worked on a number of influential and award-winning office buildings in the City of London; 60 Queen Victoria Street, Cannon Street Station and 288 Bishopsgate.
James Palmer
Architect
James studied at Oxford Brookes University where he graduated with Distinction and was awarded for his final year project in Havana. He has completed a selection of digitally fabricated pavilion and furniture projects that informed his MArch dissertation on digital craft, which was nominated for the 2016 RIBA President’s Medal.
James has a keen interest in the interaction between digital and physical making, having contributed to the research and development of robotic tools for cutting fluted joints in bamboo.
jp@dscape.co.uk
Max Stembridge
Architect
Max joined Designscape in 2022, and successfully passed his Part III professional qualification with Distinction in 2024, having had very ”hands on” experience of designing various projects and seeing them through the construction phase.
Max completed his university studies in architecture at both the University of Greenwich and Bath University, graduating with distinction.
His final projects at Bath included a three-month master planning project in Cadiz, and his final design project, ‘The Cadiz wind turbine blade recycling and remanufacturing plant’, a modulating building which explored complex structural solutions and the innovative use of GRP and Polycarbonate.
Prior to his academic studies max undertook his City & Guilds in Marine Construction, Systems Engineering and Maintenance – constructing his own clinker-built boat in this time and developing a keen interest in traditional methods of timber construction and the use of modern materials in marine systems.
Max is currently involved as a Project Architect in a number of varied projects including the local Bath City Farm charity, and various other residential and commercial projects. He has a thorough grasp of BIM modelling and information management, and is also getting to use his building experience running a couple of small projects in the capacity of Construction Manager.
Thomas Harvey
Architectural Assistant
Thomas joined Designscape in August 2023 after completing his Part 1 at the University of Bath. He will be with us for 6 months whilst he completes a placement period as part of his MArch course also at the University of Bath.
Thomas’ final degree project was a special educational needs school, based in Oxford. This project enabled him to follow his interest of providing sustainable and high-quality learning environments that are relevant for the 21st century.
As part of his placement during undergraduate studies, he worked at a small country practice in Oxfordshire where he had the opportunity to work on many smaller projects, and is keen to continue his direct hands – on experience of architectural projects in his placement at Designscape
Alfie Champion
Architectural Assistant
Alfie joined Designscape as an architectural assistant in January 2025 after finishing his Part 1 at Liverpool University.
For Alfie’s final year project, he explored the potential of using hemp in the circular economy of a high street building. The scheme involved the retrofitting of an existing store into a community centre, with the opportunity of using predominantly hemp materials. Growing, processing, producing, and selling this material would be the main driving force in this design, as these functions would create the need for workshops, processing plants, and retail areas.
Alfie is interested in many areas of architecture, such as the public realm, low carbon design and how an emerging “circular economy” will affect the way we design our environment in the future. Alfie is planning to complete his year long placement with Designscape and then return to University to do a Masters / Part 2 in 2026.
In Alfie’s free time, he enjoys painting and sketching to develop his skills. He also enjoys rowing at his local boat club after picking it up at university.
