At SPACE, sustainability and innovation are not peripheral considerations or retrospective checklists; they are intrinsic to the design process. Our approach is informed by ongoing research and measured against clear frameworks, ensuring design thinking remains directly responsive to the specific environmental and cultural context of each project.

This is seen in the tools behind the Innovation shortlist. The School Configurator and D-CARB are two of our most recent innovations, developed in response to recurring challenges in practice. In education, stakeholders needed a clearer view of design changes to make more informed decisions. At the same time, whole-life carbon analysis was often arriving too late to influence key decisions. Both tools address that gap, bringing decision-making into view earlier through real-time testing.

The School Configurator shifts early conversations from open-ended discussion into more focused, informed dialogue. It allows clients, school leaders and wider user groups to test layouts and the broader implications of design decisions in real time, making proposals easier to understand and respond to. D-CARB approaches the same challenge from a carbon perspective. Created through a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Northumbria University and Innovate UK, it brings whole-life carbon assessment into the earliest stages of design, allowing options to be tested and their carbon impacts to be carefully evaluated while the scheme is still developing.

Sustainability at SPACE has evolved over many years, from a set of shared studio values to a fundamental, measurable part of daily practice. The Zero Three Zero framework gave that work a clearer shape, setting carbon reduction targets across both operations and design, while alignment with the Science Based Targets initiative established a credible basis for measuring progress. Since a carbon baseline was established in 2018, operational emissions have decreased by 48%, achieving carbon neutrality through a reduction-first approach.

Our sustainability measures are further echoed in the kind of projects the practice continues to deliver. In education, Woodham Academy and Callerton Academy extend SPACE’s work in net zero carbon in operation schools. In parallel, projects such as the RIBA North East Award-winning Farrell Centre, STEAM Studios, Hopetown, Darlington and Beamish Museums' latest Georgian exhibits, demonstrate the environmental value of retaining and adapting existing buildings. Reuse is embraced as a deliberate design strategy, offering meaningful architectural and environmental benefits.