Our History
We are very proud to take our name from our founder, Louis Emanuel Jean Guy de Savoie-Carignan de Soissons (1890–1962) who is perhaps most famous for creating the Master Plan of Welwyn Garden City in 1920 and in doing so revolutionising the approach to town planning, incorporating housing, retail, green space and industry. We are still involved with the town both with our custodial oversight of the legacy, regeneration, and new projects
Throughout the 20th Century the business has been responsible for many great commissions including the regeneration of Plymouth after WWII, private estates owned by the Duchy of Cornwall, and the design and planning of Brighton Marina, one of the largest single building contracts in Europe. More recently we have delivered schemes for Lords Cricket Ground, Dulwich College and the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists.
It is vital to note that Louis did more than simply create visions of homes and businesses on paper.
For all his insistence on certain classical values of architecture and design, he also recognised that this was not purely an intellectual exercise. He was creating structures to be used and loved by the people within them.
We are honored to be the custodians of the principles and standards of our founder set over 100 years ago which remain at the core of our business philosophy.