practice
Verk Arkitektur is a Norwegian-British architecture studio founded by Heather McVicar and Ivar Tutturen in 2016. We create thoughtful, site-specific architecture and objects, with a particular interest in projects that establish a close relationship between people, buildings and landscape.
Our work begins with what is already there: the qualities of a place, the needs of the people who will inhabit it, the potential of existing buildings and the resources available. We look for solutions that bring together spatial quality, durable materials and careful construction, with an understanding of how buildings are made and how they will change over time.
We work across scales, from furniture, interiors and transformations of existing buildings to cabins and homes, housing, places for learning, public buildings and masterplans. What connects our projects is an ambition to make architecture that belongs to its place and enriches the experience of those who use it.
Our studio is based on an organic farm, which we run alongside our architecture practice. The proximity of studio, workshop, fields and woodland brings our work into close contact with agriculture, landscape and the changing seasons, while giving us space to make, test and experiment at different scales.
We believe good architecture develops through an open and exploratory process, where observation, drawing and making happen alongside one another. Through drawings, physical models, material studies and full-scale mock-ups, we test ideas and explore possibilities together with clients, collaborators and craftspeople. Throughout this process, we seek to maintain a strong relationship between the overall idea of a project and its smallest detail.
We work both independently and collaboratively, bringing together architects and other disciplines according to the needs of each project. We value the knowledge of consultants, builders and craftspeople, and see collaboration as integral to developing and realising good architecture.
We work closely with our clients and remain personally involved from the first conversations and early studies through design, construction and completion. We take time to understand the ambitions and needs of each project, and believe that good architecture develops through an open and engaged dialogue with our clients.