AThe practice
Four people in an old salt mill.
Plinth was founded in 2011 by Hester Quaile after twelve years drawing museums for other people. We now work from the first floor of Saltmill Yard, with a model table, a plan chest and a view of the canal.
Small on purpose.
We take on around eight projects a year. That is enough to keep four people busy and few enough that a director draws on every one. We charge a fixed fee for each stage, agreed before we start, and we tell you early if a project is not one we can do well.
We work across the Harrow Vale and up to an hour from the studio, so we can be on site within a morning.
See what we have builtBApproach
Four things we hold to.
None of them is original. All of them are easy to forget when a programme gets tight.
Keep what is there
The greenest wall is the one already standing. We start every project by asking what can stay.
Draw it until it is simple
A good plan takes forty sketches. We would rather spend the time on paper than on site.
Build with the weather
Sun paths, prevailing wind and where the rain runs decide more of a building than its style does.
Stay for the snagging
We are on site until the last door closes properly, and we come back a year later to check.
CPeople
Who you will be talking to.
Everyone here draws, visits site and answers the phone.
Hester Quaile
Founding directorArchitect. Leads civic work and every first site visit.
Dev Marwaha
AssociateRetrofit lead and certified passive house designer.
Ruth Amberley
ArchitectHouses and interiors. Keeps the specification honest.
Sol Petrakis
Architectural assistantDrawings, models and the measured surveys.
DRecognition
Awards and shortlists.
Nice to have, and mostly a credit to the builders.
| Year | Award | Body | Project |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Small Project of the Year | The Retrofit Register | Gatehouse Surgery |
| 2025 | Conservation Award | Northern Brick Society | Corn Exchange Library |
| 2025 | Shortlisted, house of the year | The Lintel Prize | Weir Cottage |
| 2024 | Commendation | Harrow Vale Civic Society | Sedge Common Hall |
| 2023 | Regional House Award | Association of Small Practices | Kiln House |
Want to meet us at the studio?
Come and see the models and the drawings. Visits are by appointment, Monday to Friday.