Tom Gent is a chartered architect with 23 years of professional experience of significant UK and International architectural design, and has worked with some of the largest and most well known architectural practices including the offices of Norman Foster, Terry Farrell, SOM and Michael Hopkins. More recently Tom was the London office design director for the international design practice Atkins, from 2004 to 2011. Tom’s experience encompasses large complex projects across a broad range of building types and sectors, from an urban planning scale of development, to small scale carefully crafted individual buildings in sensitive locations.
Whilst the London design director, Tom designed the mixed use buildings and 3 Ha site masterplan for the 560 berth Portland Marina near Weymouth which will host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic sailing events. The marina was awarded the Weymouth Civic Trust Award, and was awarded Five Gold Anchor status by The Yacht Harbour Association. The marina was subject to stringent design and programme criteria imposed by LOCOG, the ODA and SWERDA, including environmental criteria; meeting a BREEAM Excellent rating at RIBA design stage C. Tom’s architectural designs for the 3.5 million sqft redevelopment masterplan of Euston Station were featured in the London Pavilion at MIPIM in Cannes. His designs for ‘The Bubble’ visitor centre in Swansea were featured in the MIPIM Future Projects Awards. Tom’s design for the new Waterfront Community Church in Swansea was awarded a Civic Trust award. Many of Tom’s projects have featured in the architectural, property and broad sheet press in the UK and internationally.
Tom established the firm of Tom Gent Architect Ltd (TGA) in 2011 to create architecture driven by the pursuit of quality – the quality of buildings, the spaces between buildings and the surrounding environment, and to enhance the quality of people’s lives and well being.
The TGA studio combines a design led process with commercial awareness to deliver optimal designs, maximising the value of client’s projects. Working collaboratively with the client, the design teams, the consultants, and the stakeholders, TGA produce exceptional and appropriate architectural solutions.
At TGA, we have an acute understanding of context, climate, scale and innovations in technology, integrating sustainable low carbon and innovative solutions, melded with sound commercial judgement to design functional, elegant and inspired buildings.
For our individual home owner clients: we would be delighted to advise on the selection of a potential site or to assess your chosen site in order to establish the opportunities presented by the site’s context. We would explain how the design of your house would best take advantage of opportunities such as layout, views, light and access; and to lead you through the design, planning, tendering and construction process to the completion of your new house.
For our corporate clients: we are able to take on any size, scale and complexity of commission including mixed use city developments, in collaboration with our established design partners in London and the southern counties. We are able to advise on the selection of a full consultancy team if required.
For all our clients, we would be pleased to discuss your project requirements and offer a free no obligation initial meeting to discuss and assess your site and vision proposals.
As the design director of an international firm of architects, Tom’s architectural designs carried out under his leadership include:
- Portland Marina, Weymouth, 2012 Olympic and Paralympic sailing venue and 3 Ha mixed use development, built 2009. Civic Trust Award, 5 Gold Anchor rating by TYHA
- Euston Station, redevelopment masterplan, 350,000m2. Presented at MIPIM, Cannes
- WWF HQ, office building, Guildford – an exemplar sustainable design to stage C
- Lea Square, Newham, residential mixed use, 80,000m2 to stage C
- Thames Square, Staines, retail and residential mixed use 90,000m2 masterplan
- Curtain Road, Shoreditch, office building to stage C, 4,000m2
- Marine Plaza Southend, hotel and casino mixed use, 55,000m2, to planning approval
- Freeport Retail Outlet, Lisbon, Portugal, retail ‘resort’, 80,000m2, built 2004
- Waterfront Community Church, SA1 Swansea Waterfront, new church, built 2006
- The Bubble visitor centre, SA1 Swansea Waterfront, to planning approval, featured at MIPIM Future Projects Awards, Cannes
- SA1 Swansea Waterfront, 50 Ha masterplan and Design Framework, phase 1 built 2006
- Grays Marina, mixed use development, vision masterplan
- Vladivostok APEC 2012, vision masterplan, for the Russian Federation
- Residential mixed use development, Royal Victoria Dock London, to planning approval
- Milford Haven, vision masterplan, for the Port Authority
- Engineering R&D facility, UK, 17,000m2, £150m, to planning approval
Tom’s building sector expertise accumulated over 23 years of project design includes:
residential (apartments and individual houses), offices (commercial and corporate), mixed use, transportation (rail, airport, ferry), hotel, retail, leisure, regeneration, urban design, masterplanning, design frameworks, civic, arts, community, casino, ecclesiastical, refurbishment, conservation, R&D facilities, HM Govt, visitor centre, marinas, museum, aquarium, arena.
We look forward to working with you, to create and deliver your vision in elegant, functional and inspiring architecture.
Tom Gent. Architect. RIBA.
