Manalo and White

Manalo & White, established in 1999 by architect Brian Greathead, operates as a diverse and cohesive team of designers who collaborate on both architectural and interior projects. The firm integrates pragmatism with playfulness to develop spaces that are rigorous, inclusive, and joyful. The company fosters a collaborative, inclusive, and good-humoured collective approach, prioritising shared ambition over individual pursuits. Known for its cross-sector versatility, Manalo & White focuses on user needs rather than spectacle, ensuring designs are purposeful and practical. Over two decades, the firm has completed a wide array of projects across the UK, consistently emphasising resourcefulness, materiality, and sustainability in its work.

Since its inception, Manalo & White has evolved from a single-person operation into a talented team of 20 professionals. The London-based practice has cultivated a reputation for delivering imaginative, pragmatic, and user-focused architecture and interiors, executed with both humility and humour. The firm is motivated by principles of inclusivity and empowerment, maintaining a collaborative and ego-free methodology in its design processes. This approach ensures that the buildings and spaces it creates are effective, bring joy to their occupants, and possess a lasting quality. The company strives to ensure that diverse voices are heard, communications remain open, and personal ego does not impede the design process.

The firm's portfolio demonstrates an enviably broad range of projects, encompassing cultural, leisure, education, and industrial sectors. Manalo & White has undertaken work on hotels, museums, galleries, factories, schools, and community halls. The practice has become particularly recognised for its work on arts and cultural projects, as well as creative retrofits, such as the Mandrake boutique hotel. This diverse experience underscores the company's unwavering commitment to creating purposeful and inclusive architecture that prioritises the needs of its users. The firm's work is characterised by its eye-catching and joyful qualities, particularly evident in its material and colour selections.

Manalo & White is a leader in the student accommodation sector within the UK. As of September 2025, the firm has served as architect, interior designer, and design advisor on 75 Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) projects across the UK, including new builds, retrofits, and refurbishments. The company has engaged in extensive research projects, developing a keen understanding of how PBSA buildings are marketed, operated, and utilised. Manalo & White has established strong working relationships with numerous design and delivery teams, as well as key consultants and contractors within the sector. The firm is frequently involved at the interface between the client's strategic team and the design and delivery team, ensuring brand standards are protected throughout the procurement and construction processes. The company's redesign of Stratford One, a 999-bed student housing project, involved reorganising six floors of common areas to create new study, social, and entertainment spaces with enhanced variety and character. The firm approaches the design of student living spaces with a duty of care, aiming to create environments that are welcoming, safe, and engaging, recognising the significant impact these surroundings have on a student's experience and future.

The firm's design approach is often locally rooted and contextual, with materiality and details informed by a building's relationship with its surrounding neighbourhood. Manalo & White operates as a retrofit-first practice, undertaking significant interior architecture work. The company aims for a balance of practicality and playfulness in material selection, often celebrating and elevating relatively humble materials. For clients, particularly in the student housing sector, the firm prioritises robust materials that age well and require minimal maintenance. The practice actively seeks new and innovative ways to create spatial divisions within large floor plates without full compartmentalisation, as demonstrated by the use of GRP mesh decking in the iQ East Court student amenity space. Manalo & White also collaborates with organisations like the DisOrdinary Architecture Project to ensure inclusivity is integrated into its schemes, moving beyond mere compliance to provide personal engagement on accessibility. The firm works closely with manufacturers to develop bespoke design elements, such as ceramic tiles with rounded corners for reception desks in student accommodation projects.