About

Practice

YOU&ME is a multi-disciplinary architecture platform based in London, Bath and Athens.  Established by architects Alicja Borkowska and Iris Papadatou, our expertise lies in public realm and high street regeneration projects, retail and commercial interiors and public art. For us it is about the interface of these scales and how architecture, art and public space can be stitched together to create animated and loved spaces. We believe even the smallest interventions can have a big impact and community participation throughout the process is key to our approach.  For us it is all about our collaborative approach, the process, the way we work with each other and everyone involved in any one project.  YOU&ME: YOU&US

We are an ARB and RIBA Chartered practice and provide a range of architecture and design services. We have extensive experience in transforming spaces for different events and exhibitions to create unique public environments within modest budgets and tight timescales. Our international clients include museums and cultural institutions, local authorities, industries and domestic clients.  Our portfolio includes Thornton Heath, Deptford, Tottenham and Barking High Street regeneration in partnership with the Mayor of London, heritage exhibition trail in Doha with the Qatar Museums Authority and the British Council, exhibition design for Korean Craft Biennale 2015, Urban Beach public realm installation to celebrate the National Trust Neptune campaign as well as retail interiors and furniture design for various clients.

YOU&ME has recently been featured in The Architecture Foundation's New Architects 3 book, 'The definitive survey of the best British architects to have set up in the last 10 years'.

 

If you are interested in commissioning us for a project and working with us, please get in touch:

us@youandmearchitecture.com

 

 

Who

Alicja Borkowska MA Cantab MA RCA ARB RIBA

Alicja is an architect, co-founder and director at YOU&ME. She has over 10yrs experience running shopfront and high street regeneration projects. She was the project architect and project manager on the Thornton Heath, Tottenham & Barking Shopfront projects, working from the outset of the project (inc managing the shopkeeper sign up process, contracts, cost plans and all other associated project management) through to completion (inc securing planning and listed building permissions, detail design, contract admin and site management). She has also delivered several listed building and regeneration projects within conservation areas (working with Historic England, AHF and NLHF), including Grade II listed Hat Works within Luton’s cultural quarter and the redevelopment of the historic Peterson’s Smoke House within the Grimsby Port Conservation area.

 
Before founding YOU&ME, she studied at the University of Cambridge and The Royal College of Art. She has worked with Alsop Architects and Carl Turner Architects (now Turner.Works), winning an RIBA & Manser Medal as project architect on Slip House. At Alsops’ she worked on urban masterplans inc Kingston Market and Putney Place new public square, as well as the RIBA Winning Faraday School at the centre of the Aylesbury estate.
 
Alicja has taught on the architecture degree course as senior lecturer at Brighton University and Central St.Martins and runs regular school engagement workshops at the Victoria & Albert Museum, RIBA and Royal Academy. She is a member of the Women in Architecture initiative and is currently the external examiner at Brighton University.

 

Iris Papadatou MA Cantab MA RCA ARB

Iris Papadatou is an architect, co-founder and director at YOU&ME. Iris works in all stages of the architectural process and has a strong interest in facilitating user engagement throughout. She has extensive experience in a variety of sectors, from new build community and heritage projects, to public realm regeneration work. She leads Y&Ms community, high street regeneration, placemaking and public realm projects, such as the Woolwich Heritage Action Zone, IQL Stratford Public Realm and the Waterloo Gardens Community Centre regeneration projects. She is experienced working with multi-headed client bodies and carrying out extensive stakeholder engagement throughout the various RIBA stages, facilitating meaninigful community engagement and co-design. She has expertise in heritage led regeneration, meanwhile use and public artwork strategies, having recently completed work on the Shrub Hill Blueprint, Yeovil artworks and West Ealing public art strategy.

 
Before founding YOU&ME, she studied at University of Cambridge and The Royal College of Art. She worked with Future Systems and Featherstone Young, winning an RIBA Project Architect of the Year Award for her work on award winning Stonecrop House.
 
She has been a visiting critics at AUB, Bartlett UCL, Cardiff, Brighton, Westminster, Architectural Association and was the main keynote speaker in the Tate Britain Annual Art Historian Association Conference and the 2014 Surface Design Show. She is on the Haringey Quality Review Panel and has worked as a facilitator for the British Council in Doha, Qatar. Iris is a Women Talk Real Estate panelist and a member of the Women in Architecture initiative. She has been running education workshops at the Royal Academy of Arts, RIBA and Victoria & Albert Museum and has worked as part-time supporting tutor at Central Saint Martins UAL.
 

Clients

Airport Retail Enterprises
Bath & North East Somerset Council BANES
British Council
Brighton University
Cadogan Estates
Croydon Council
Central St.Martins UAL
Djangoly Art Gallery
General Projects
Greater London Authority
Historic England
InTRANSIT Festival
Lendlease
London Festival of Architecture
London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
London Borough of Bromley
London Borough of Ealing
London Borough of Haringey
London Borough of Lewisham
London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
London Borough of Sutton
National Trust
Neon Pictures Post-Production
Majestic Wines
Mshereib Properties
Pavilion Visual Arts Organisation
Prd Partnering Regeneration Development
Project Centre Limited
Royal Borough of Greenwich
QatarUK 2013
Qatar Museums Authority
RIBA
Royal Academy of Arts
Somerset County Council
Tate Britain
Victoria & Albert Museum
Worcester County Council

Events & Exhibitions

   
- Hat District Regeneration Exhibition + talks / Hat Factory, Luton
- Door to Design Exhibition / Victoria & Albert Museum
- Silvetown Flyover / Siemens Crystal
- MAKING SILVERTOWN / Central St.Martins
- Hat Parallels / Korean Cheongju International Craft Bienale
- Urban Beach Public Realm installation / inTRANSIT Festival Portobello Rd
- Future City: Doha / Mataf, Qatar
- Krypti / Zakynthos, Greece
- 2D3D: Fast, Cheap & Out of Control / Woodbury School of Architecture / LA, USA
- Fluxhibition 4 / Texas and New Mexico, USA
- New Photography: Pavilion Commissions / Djanogly Gallery, Nottingham
- Global Cities / Tate Modern Turbine Hall / London
- The Great Exhibition / Hyde Park, London
-     The Global Idiot / Royal College of Art, London

 

Awards & Prizes

- Hat District Enviornmental Achievement, Luton's Best Awards
- Haringey Design Awards: Best Historic & Regeneration, shortlist 
- West Green Road Regeneration - Rising Star Award / Great British High St Awards
-     Old Doha Prize Design Residency Winner, British Council and Qatar Museum Authority
   

 

Talks & Workshops

- RIBA Skills Up Workshop / RIBA Summer School London
- She Draws: She Builds / LFA Film Screening
- AttRAct Architecture Workshop / Royal Academy
- Door to Design Workshop series & exhibition / Victoria & Albert Museum
- YOU&ME Spatial Practices Lecture Series / Central St.Martins
- About Us: YOU&ME / MArch practice talk / Brighton University
- Tottenham High Road Regeneration Tour with Open House / Site walk
- Regeneration Tottenham site walk / NLA Conference, Tottenham Town Hall
- Tottenham Shopfront Improvements / N17 Community Space
- Tottehham mapping community workshop / 639 Enterprise Centre
- Architecture Open Lecture series / AUB Bouremouth University
- Hertige & Renewal in Doha Panel discussion - Urban Pamphleteer 4 launch / UCL
- Trajan's Columns / V&A School Workshops
- Being An Architect / V&A Talk 
- Pecha Kucha key speaker / Hosted by AJ, Surface Design Show
- Architectural Syn - thesis: The meaning of “Syn” / Lecture / University of Thessaloniki
- Cut & Paste Collage Workshops / BA Architecture, Greenwich University
- Don’t be square: Playing with form / Main Keynote Speaker / Art Historians Association Annual Conference / Tate Britain
   
     

 

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