Studio

Prior Architecture was founded by Joseph Prior, an ARB registered architect with over a decade of professional experience.

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The practice was established to allow a more considered and reflective way of working, where time is taken to understand people, place and purpose.

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Before founding the studio, Joseph worked across residential, education, retrofit, regeneration and commercial sectors — most recently leading school expansion projects for Kent County Council, including specialist SEN provision and a grammar school scheme, coordinating multidisciplinary consultant teams and public sector stakeholders. He has also been brought into complex retrofit projects mid-construction, working closely with contractors to resolve technical challenges and keep delivery on track.

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Joseph trained at Manchester School of Architecture, Leeds School of Architecture, and the University of Westminster, and remains an active researcher into how architectural practice is evolving — from systems thinking and landscape-scale design to how computational tools can support, rather than replace, human judgement in the design process.

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By balancing ambition with planning, budget and buildability, and by focusing on materials, proportion and light, we help clients navigate complexity with clarity and confidence.

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Architecture, interiors and landscape are treated as a single, holistic design process — because a home works best when every part of it, inside and out, has been considered together.