Our story

John co-founded turnerbates with Howard in 2012. He began his career at Leslie Jones Architects before joining The Design Solution, where he first worked with Howard. His early work included Bluewater Kent, retail projects for Cerruti, Crabtree & Evelyn, as well as the restoration of a Grade II* building in Mayfair.

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His interest in food, travel and heritage led him towards hospitality, including the Grade II* conversion of 160 Piccadilly into The Wolseley. He later became a Director and Partner at Hawkins Brown, delivering award-winning projects across heritage, commercial and education.

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As a founding director, he oversees projects across the studio, working with a wide range of clients including Chelsea Harbour, Five Guys UK, The Restaurant Group, RHS, The Alchemist, Tristan Capital, Vastint and local authorities.

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John works closely with clients & design teams from concept through to completion. He particularly enjoys developing design solutions sensitive to the constraints, locality & heritage of a project and sharing his breadth of knowledge and experience, particularly in mentoring the tb team.  

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Outside the studio, John enjoys wild camping, getting off grid and spending time with his family, occasionally including a glass of quality red wine. 

Howard co-founded turnerbates with John in 2012. He studied at the Royal College of Art, where he gained his MA, before working at Din Associates and The Design Solution, where he first met and collaborated with John Turner. He went on to spend sixteen years at Greig & Stephenson, progressing from Associate to Director and delivering projects across the UK and internationally for clients such as HMV, Marks & Spencer and Borough Market.

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As a founding director, he oversees projects throughout the studio, from initial idea to final delivery. He has extensive experience in the strategic masterplanning of large-scale schemes, including food markets, hotels and office developments, as well as retail & hospitality roll-outs and unique one-off spaces. 

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Over the last 10 years, Howard has worked closely with international developer Vastint on projects across Europe. He also mentors and lectures at various universities, sharing his knowledge, challenging ideas and supporting the next generation of designers.

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Outside the studio, Howard enjoys travelling, with a natural curiosity for architecture, design and culture, always documenting his travels in his sketchbook. But nothing beats coming home to the office dogs, Bo and Vegas.

With a first-class degree in Interior Architecture from Coventry University, Saule joined turnerbates in 2021. 

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Over the last 5 years, she has developed her experience specialising in hospitality, workplace & commercial design on projects at both large and smaller scale. She has worked with many of our longstanding clients, including Vastint, Interogo Group, Bear and The Restaurant Group. Projects of note she has contributed to include Sanfords Loft bar & Diner, Vilnius City Business Lounge & Business Garden Brussels. 

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She has a keen eye for design and plays an important role in our 3D modelling and visualisation, bringing our concepts to life and communicating our ideas visually with our clients. She also delivers detailed design drawing packages and works closely with Tilly coordinating Revit models alongside design teams and delivering BIM compliant documentation.

Outside of the studio she is an art and culture buff; visiting galleries, exhibitions, the theatre, the opera & ballets. She particularly enjoys exhibitions covering fashion & costume design – often trying her own hand at sewing in her spare time. She’s currently upcycling old and unused fabric samples into wearable objects and we love the creativity that entails!

Tilly joined turnerbates in 2018, fresh from studying architecture at UWE Bristol. Over the past eight years, she has developed a role bridging the creative and technical sides of the studio, combining a strong understanding of design with the technical knowledge needed to deliver it.

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She is pivotal to the success of key projects across Europe, driving large-scale mixed-use projects across all stages, including Business Garden Marseille, Business Garden Riga & the adaptive reuse of a 64,000 sqm brutalist building at Weesperzijde 190, Amsterdam. 

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Equally comfortable discussing the big picture or the finer details, she particularly enjoys the point where design and technical thinking meet: how an idea can be made real, resolving challenging details and helping others understand how the pieces of a project fit together. She brings the same attention to quality to the wider office, whether that means leading software & BIM implementation or setting a standard that makes everyone’s work a little better.

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Outside of work, Tilly illustrates bespoke art prints for her small business, tigo prints. She is also a passionate sports fan, following West Ham, women’s football & F1 closely - often using it as an excuse to discover new pubs!

Max joined turnerbates in September 2018 at the age of 17, as part of a higher-level architectural apprenticeship. Since then, he has developed his professional experience with us, working across hospitality, workplace, retail and mixed-use projects for clients including Vastint, Five Guys, TRG Concessions and BEAR.

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Alongside his work in the studio, he recently completed his Architectural Design & Technology BSc degree. We were proud to see his hard work pay off, graduating with a first-class degree and picking up several academic and industry awards along the way. 

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Within the studio, he is responsible for the 3D modelling & 2D drafting of many projects at varied scales. He particularly enjoys some of our more challenging projects, working within the constraints & conditions of existing sites and the complexities of travel hospitality design. He has developed particular strengths in fire-safe design and on-site delivery.

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Outside the studio, Max is a keen sports fan, both watching and playing, with a particular passion for Fantasy Premier League! He also enjoys music, art, camping, and socialising at the pub with a pint in hand.

Monica has been at turnerbates since day 1. She is an experienced designer specialising in hospitality, with a portfolio to match. Ranging from award winning restaurants, local high streets, shopping centres and travel hubs, her experience in the UK & Europe is extensive. 

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Originally from Norway, she completed a foundation there before moving to the UK to study interior architecture at UWIC. She started her career with Grieg and Stephenson in 2007 where she first met Howard. 

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Monica leads many of our hospitality and commercial projects from concept through to delivery. Recent examples include Sanfords American Diner & Loft Bar in Luton Airport, Magdelena Quarter Riga & Sugar House Island London. 

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She has a keen eye for detail, especially enjoying on site collaborations with clients, contractors and colleagues, problem solving the best solution for each and every aspect.

Her attention to detail extends far beyond the studio, she is keen maker currently obsessing over texture making in ceramics and growing produce and flowers as bee friendly as possible. Her weekend walks in nature are well earned and so is the pint at the end of it (only once she’s met her rule…minimum 5k before a pub pit stop!)

Joe joined turnerbates in 2023, working part time whilst completing his final year of university. He graduated in 2024 with a first-class degree in Interior Design from the University of East London. 

Over the last 3 years, Joe has progressed his 2D drawing and 3D modelling, managing drawing packages for two of our fast-paced roll-out clients, Five Guys and Winkworth. He has also contributed to various hospitality, workplace and master planning projects, working with clients including The Restaurant Group and Vastint. 

He has developed valuable experience throughout the process, producing 3D visualisations and gaining on-site experience. He has a passion for graphics and visualisation and enjoys the challenge of working with both design teams & the studio team to represent projects visually, finding the best way for each project. 

Outside of the studio, Joe enjoys going to the gym, watching boxing and football and is another passionate West Ham fan. When he’s not travelling to the London Stadium, he enjoys travelling further afield and discovering new cities, mostly for food, art and architecture. 

Lianne joined turnerbates in 2015. She is an experienced accounts manager, managing our financial systems, processes and tracking timekeeping. She works closely with Howard, John & the associates supporting them on projects​ in relation to fee estimates and billing.

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She is organised and methodical and is an unwavering constant who has supported the business growing and evolving into what it is now. Always offering her support and guidance to everyone in the studio, she is the backbone of our studio. Lianne is also the chief chocolate officer – giving a lift to every Wednesday in the studio.

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Outside of the studio, Lianne enjoys spending time with her family, including her new grandson, as well as travelling and discovering new places.

Karen first worked with John & Howard at The Design Solution, having graduated from Kingston University. She went on to co-found Fusion DNA where she collaborated with John again on The Wolsey project. 

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Before joining turnerbates in 2020, Karen was MD at Brinkworth, working across retail and hospitality and specialising in delivering restaurants for top Michelin chefs like Ollie Dabbous.

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Karen works across the team using her knowledge and passion for creative detailing, materiality and brave use of colour. She particularly loved working on Vastint HQ in Amsterdam where her favourite green brings together the space. 

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She focuses on bringing spaces to life with the final touches, sourcing and curating the important art and objects that populate our tb designs making them established and memorable.

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Outside the studio, she has her own Ceramics Studio, teaching and exploring boundaries of clay on the wheel & always working on her next show. She enjoys travelling to architectural masterpieces, often influencing her work & new house project in the Kent countryside. 

Jake is an architectural technologist specialising in QSR’s, retail, mixed-use and commercial projects. Trained in Sydney, he moved to London in 2006 where he first worked with Howard at Grieg & Stephenson on multiple Marks & Spencer stores and delivering Leicester’s Market Hall. 

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Jake joined turnerbates in 2013, with a deep understanding of working with clients & brands to deliver schemes at different scales. He leads projects across the studio, including: The Boulevard Outlet, Northern Ireland (REVO Re:Fresh Gold 2018); The Junction, Antrim; Lock29 at Castle Quay; and the rollout of 20+ Five Guys stores to date, including three drive-thru’s & their first restaurant in a UK Aiport at Heathrow terminal 5. 

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He has extensive knowledge of the statutory approvals required to deliver projects; planning, licensing, building regulations and landlord consents. He particularly enjoys working closely with clients & consultants to overcome technical challenges and achieve the best results for a brand. Within the studio, he maintains technical consistency, while also finding opportunities to innovate and improve the way projects are delivered.

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Outside the studio, he unfortunately follows Spurs and enjoys running and cycling, even finding time to complete a half ironman in Barcelona last year.

Jo joined turnerbates in 2013, bringing with her a background in hospitality and marketplace projects, working for clients such as Brindisa, Vinopolis, Borough Market and Camden Lock Market. 

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After gaining a first-class degree at Leeds college of art, she began her career at Grieg & Stephenson in 2010 where she first met Howard.

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Within the studio she uses her creativity & experience to plan spaces that are strategically, operationally and commercially sound, working collaboratively with project teams to bring ideas together. She places heavy emphasis on placemaking and people-centred design, which she finds especially rewarding. 

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She leads the creative & strategic development of many of our hospitality, mixed-use, workplace & commercial projects. Her work includes 12,000 sqm of hospitality and workplace planning at Timpuri Noi Square Bucharest, the design & delivery of both Business Garden Vilnius & Aire Park Leeds and various projects with leading hospitality brands. Her portfolio spans the UK, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Outside of the studio, Jo enjoys drawing, sketching and exploring what local art, culture, design, food & pub scenes have to offer - forming valuable research for the spaces we design!

Rachel is a freelance creative at tb, reuniting with Howard, John & Karen who she had previously worked with at The Design Solution.

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Her early studies included a foundation in Art, covering art history, interior, exhibition & product design before beginning her career in interior design in 1988. She has extensive experience across nightclub, bar, healthcare, wellbeing, retail & hospitality design. Prior to freelancing, she spent 22 years at Brinkworth, working in the UK & internationally for retail brands such as Nike, All saints, Whistles and 66 north.

At tb, her focus is on marketing, artwork & object curation, styling and artwork commissions. Recent projects include Gdynia Waterfront Apartments Poland and artwork & object curation at Aire Park & The Venue Bucharest Romania. Her strengths lie in conceptual & creative thinking - seeing the potential in ideas & spaces, developing and resolving design solutions, and collaborating with clients.

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Outside of the studio she loves spending time with friends, going to gigs, exploring arts & culture around London, fitness and travelling. She spends time creating & making in her own studio and is passionate about activism for Equal rights & freedom for all people.