About Us

Why?

The built environment and place-based solutions have a large part to play in addressing both individual and community wellbeing. Not just from the assets they produce but from the whole process, such as: ensuring community engagement in decision making; providing opportunities for volunteering and learning; the potential for a community hub to provide space for meetings, music, arts and craft activities; ensuring access to green spaces and the natural environment; incorporating opportunities for outdoor activity; capacity for housing interventions and employment.

How?

We offer a wide range of architectural services, including design, planning, land agency, and project management. Our goal is to provide our clients with a comprehensive solution that meets their needs and exceeds their expectations.

Our Team is led by

Julie Smyth

Julie is a Chartered Architect with a Masters in Architecture, having spent 15+ years designing a variety of healthcare schemes for numerous care providers in both public and private settings Julie has developed a specialism in the sector. In particular her passion lies in designing buildings for people living with dementia, autism & other complex needs where a sensitively designed building can dramatically improve a resident's quality of life, by combining nature and best practice design, people's health and wellbeing is positively affected.

Working closely with clients, stakeholders and the wider team Julie has brought Later Living Solutions to the heart of numerous mixed-use developments. Julie aspires to aid the growth of the Later Living sector as she recognises that we are aging exponentially as a society, with demand for fit for purpose Later Living accommodation far exceeding provision. Julie works alongside several universities campaigning to get the sector the recognition it requires, this includes sitting on a number of steering groups within these educational settings. Julie recently completed Sterling University's Intersection of Dementia and Design as she endeavours to always be at the forefront of best practice design.

Over the years the care sector buildings Julie has designed have won several design awards including IHEEM 'Best Internal Environment' Pinders 'Care Village of the Year' York's People's Choice award. Julie believes that to truly understand the success of a care building it's crucial to return to the setting, post occupation to meet with residents, family members and staff and request open honest feedback, this knowledge can then be used to inform future schemes, putting people's wellbeing and happiness at the forefront of everything.

Helen Cliffe

Helen is a Chartered RIBA Architect with Masters in Architecture based at Wellbeing Designs; specialising in residential, masterplanning and strategic developments. My passion lies in creating homes and communities that will further people’s everyday lives. Having worked on a wide range of residential and mixed development projects, this has focused my interest further in strategic design developments. Working closely with clients, stakeholders and my multi disciplinary team's I have worked on a number of large scale residential and mixed development masterplans up and down the country. I aspire to create places which contribute positively to whole communities by enhancing, adding to, and using existing local assets, and through biophilic design connecting people to nature, promotes people's health, happiness, and wellbeing.

I'm also RIBA Yorkshire Housing Ambassador and Core Advisor of the housing group advocating regional and government bodies on housing issues to develop a model that fundamentally works and reflects the needs of the Yorkshire Region. Targeting issues and from advising on the NPPF, liaising with Cabinet Minsters, Homes England and using our network to engage with Local Authorities to improve the quality and delivery of housing for the future.