BDP's Seamless Architecture, Design and Engineering

"In architecture, knowledge and professional competence, including the crucial matter of sustainable development, will be increasingly codified and widely available. As architects, our value will be increasingly determined by the cultural meaning and simple delight we can bring to dense urban living" - Ar. Graham McClements.


The firm
BDP is a global interdisciplinary practice of architects, designers, engineers and urbanists. Founded in the UK in 1961, the firm currently employs over 1000 professionals in 16 studios across the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, UAE, China and India. Their expertise covers residential, retail, commercial, transport, education, leisure and healthcare sectors. The firm works on the philosophy of 'Creating Places for People' and adheres to a very simple design approach placing the user at the heart of the design process which shapes the architectural, functional and social concept within each project.

After having its firm hold in various countries, BDP started its Indian operation in 2008 and by 2010 opened its own Studio in New Delhi to support the growing projects in the country. The firm brings together the major and specialized skills involved in the design of great buildings and environments into a single, managed service.

BDP India has a growing team of dedicated professionals working on detailed design solutions for projects across most sectors. The team in Delhi comprises master planners and urbanists, architects and landscape architects and also has access to the combined expertise of all of BDP professionals including, interior designers, engineers, urbanists, sustainability experts, lighting designers and acoustics specialists to deliver a truly integrated way of working - resulting in high quality, effective and inspiring built spaces. The team works closely with users, clients and the community to create special places for living, working, shopping, culture and learning.

Ar. Graham McClements
Ar. Graham McClements, Chair, architecture, is a main board director and head of BDP's Edinburgh studio, and also chair of the architecture profession for the practice. He is also directly involved in the development of the architecture group in India. Prior to the recent opening of the Edinburgh and New Delhi studios, his 20 plus years with BDP were based in the Glasgow studio. He led the practice's workplace group before taking on the role of architecture chair.


In his profession and process roles for the practice, he helped BDP to become the strongest group of designers in the UK and is now using this specialist expertise to strengthen the New Delhi studio. According to him, "It's our freshness and creative energy - combined with our strength and experience across all sectors - that gives us our edge." He is proud of the projects Scottish Record Office, the Scottish Widows HQ, and the Scottish Enterprise HQ; the latter won a national BCO award.


Specialist in Projects Design & Execution
On the project's design and execution, Ar McClements said, our specialist knowledge in each of our sectors enables us to add value significantly in the project and to build trust. We are strongly committed to sustainability initiatives and we feel it is important to create environments which are designed to the highest environmental standards. Issues of water generation, response to the local climate and topography, minimal waste generation, sustainable methods of transport and spatially planning a synergetic mix of uses are keys towards creating self- sustaining places.
With 50 years of experience and over 500 industry accolades - including seven RIBA awards over the last five years - are proof of our scale, quality and diversity. We design to delight users and create deliverable projects, strive to excel on all schemes, regardless of size or sector and listen to the client, arriving without preconceptions. We work with the client to solve challenges and offer deep knowledge of all stages of the build process from initial briefing to concept design and delivery.

In a short span of time, we have a number of projects in the country including large scale masterplans, such as the 400 acre Kolkata West International City undertaken on behalf of Unitech and it was completed successfully in 2008. We were subsequently appointed to develop proposals for the first phase of the masterplan, a new urban park and two residential projects in Gurgaon. Other projects include the design of a new township on the outskirts of Old Goa, masterplans for an exciting fashion and retail focused project in Delhi, one for Sabio Eagle City at Talegaon and a landscape masterplan near Pune.

BDP's first project in India to complete is a major IT park for Nirlon in Mumbai which has recently won an Indian Smart Living Award.


On future prospects of Architecture, he commented, "In architecture, knowledge and professional competence, including the crucial matter of sustainable development, will be increasingly codified and widely available. As architects, our value will be increasingly determined by the cultural meaning and simple delight we can bring to dense urban living."