Boutique PRACTICE with big firm HERITAGE.
We are a London-based boutique studio delivering complex, high-value projects worldwide. With senior-level design leadership on every project, we combine big-firm technical expertise with boutique agility to create architecture that inspires, performs and endures.
We partner with developers, operators and investors worldwide to deliver luxury resorts, marinas and waterfront destinations, integrating architecture, landscape and marine engineering to create assets that perform commercially and experientially.
In London, we apply the same senior-level leadership to commercial offices, residential, hospitality and mixed-use projects, bringing big-firm technical expertise with boutique agility and direct partner involvement.
What we do
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Hospitality, Resorts & Waterfront Destinations
We design high-value resorts, luxury hotels, marinas and waterfront destinations where architecture, landscape and marine engineering come together. Our work helps operators and developers elevate guest experience, strengthen market positioning and unlock long-term asset value in the global leisure and yacht sectors.
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Urban Commercial, Residential & Student Housing
With over 20 years of London-based experience, we deliver commercial offices, residential and tall buildings, and student housing on complex urban sites. We help developers optimise layouts, maximise area efficiency, improve planning outcomes and create schemes that perform technically and commercially from feasibility through completion.
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Refurbishment, Cut-and-Carve & Cultural Buildings
We specialise in technically demanding retrofit, cut-and-carve, adaptive reuse and cultural projects. We help clients transform constrained or ageing buildings into high-performing assets through intelligent structural interventions, improved sustainability strategies and design approaches that respect heritage and strengthen urban character.
Projects
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![An image of The Yacht Club]()
Port Nimara
Anguilla, 2025
New Build, Mixed Use - Hotel, Yacht Club, Branded Residences, Villas, Townhouses, Restaurants, Customs&Immigration Building, Infrastructure Building, Back Of House, Marina.
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96-98 Baker Street
London, 2023
Cut and Carve, Change of Use - Commercial Office to Luxury Residential
(Credit: With Perkins&Will)
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Aykon london one
London, 2022
New Build, Mixed Use - Private Residential, Affordable Residential, Commercial Office.
(Credit: With Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates)
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![2 Marylebone Road]()
2 Marylebone Road
London, 2018
Cut and Carve - Commercial Office.
(Credit: With Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates)
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![Sixty Holborn]()
Sixty Holborn
London, 2013
New Build - Commercial Office
(Credit: With Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates)
Latest News
Port Nimara, Anguilla’s forthcoming premier maritime destination, has entered its construction phase, signalling a pivotal moment for SF Marina, in partnership with Brandon Buck Architects and in collaboration with Perkins&Will. The December 2024 groundbreaking marked the formal commencement of this ambitious waterfront vision, where architecture, engineering, and landscape converge to define a new benchmark in Caribbean maritime design. With enabling works progressing apace, the marina’s form is beginning to emerge from the shoreline, setting the foundation for a world-class yachting and leisure enclave that will seamlessly integrate luxury, functionality, and the island’s natural beauty.
Click for Port Nimara Brochure
Click for Port Nimara WebsiteWe’re excited to share that the Beaufort Yacht Club will now be part of the Port Nimara project, a partnership that brings an added layer of international prestige to this waterfront destination. Founded in Zurich, Beaufort is a private, members-only club built around the values of freedom, elegance, discovery, and belonging. With established outposts in Anguilla, Panama, and Peru, it connects a global community of yachting enthusiasts to some of the world’s most remarkable cruising grounds.
Their presence at Port Nimara isn’t just another amenity, it’s a natural fit for a place shaped by the sea. Members will gain access to Beaufort’s worldwide network of marinas and events, from intimate sailing adventures and regattas to gatherings that celebrate the culture of yachting. For Port Nimara, the collaboration underscores a shared vision—creating a destination where exceptional design, coastal living, and maritime tradition come together.
Learn more about Beaufort Yacht Club at Port Nimara and its international network at beaufortyc.com.
Video Credit: SF Marina
OUR LEADERSHIP
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BRANDON BUCK ARB RIBA
FOUNDER & DESIGN DIRECTOR
A passionate architect and collaborator, Brandon spent over twenty years working at esteemed firms including Zaha Hadid Architects, Foster+Partners, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, and Perkins&Will before starting the practice. With a wealth of experience, he has led the design and delivery of prestigious, complex projects both in the UK and internationally.
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Bo Youn Song
DESIGN DIRECTOR - COMMERCIAL AND RESI
Bo Youn worked at Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates and Rafael Vinoly Architects for twenty years leading large, complex projects. She brings a wealth of experience working on commercial, residential, later living, mixed use, and transformation projects predominantly in London and internationally.
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Je-Uk Kim
DESIGN DIRECTOR - HOSPITALITY AND CULTURE
A passionate designer and educator, Je-Uk has spent 13 years running his practice and mentoring future creatives. Previously, he refined his craft for over a decade at renowned firms including Kohn Pedersen Fox, 3XN, and Rafael Viñoly Architects. His expertise spans the design of furniture, retail, exhibitions, and large-scale projects, including the newly opened Zayed International Airport.
INSIGHTS
Designing With Water, Not Beside It
Most waterfront resorts take advantage of being near the ocean.
Far fewer allow the ocean to become a generative force—something that actively shapes the architecture rather than simply frames it.
At Brandon Buck Architects, we approach water as a design partner. Every coastline has its own behaviour and temperament, and those conditions carry far more intelligence than any pre-determined masterplan. We study the rhythms that define each site: the pull of tide and current, prevailing winds, the stillness of dawn, the long evening shadow lines, the paths guests naturally take, and the places they instinctively pause. These cues influence massing, orientation, thresholds, materials and the choreography of movement.
When a resort grows out of these environmental patterns, the result is a place that feels inevitable—calm, effortless, and rooted in its setting. This is where the commercial value lies. Guests sense authenticity immediately. They slow down, settle in, and spend more time in the spaces closest to the water. Operators see the difference in stronger ADR, better F&B performance, and repeat visitation.
Designing with water is not about spectacle or one perfect view.
It’s about creating a sequence of experiences shaped by the shifting relationship between land and sea: sheltered courtyards that capture the breeze, boardwalks aligned to sunset, pools that merge with tide conditions, dining terraces that feel carved from the coastline, and guest rooms tuned to light and privacy rather than standard layouts.
These are the moments that stay with people.
They create emotional memory—something architecture rarely achieves when the ocean is treated as a backdrop instead of a driver.
For us, waterfront architecture is not an aesthetic style. It is a performance of place.
And when design resonates at this level, experience improves—and long-term asset value rises with it.
Marina Masterplanning Trends 2026
How next-generation waterfronts are reshaping guest experience and asset value.
Across our recent waterfront commissions, marinas are shifting from engineered harbours to full destinations—resorts, neighbourhoods and cultural environments shaped around water. Expectations from guests, operators and communities are rising, and master-planning is evolving to match.
The biggest change is the move toward mixed-use, resort-led programmes. A marina no longer succeeds on berths alone; hospitality, wellness, F&B and residential uses drive year-round activation and commercial performance. Boats bring high-value visitors, but the land-side experience keeps them there.
Marinas must also work for multiple audiences at once—owners, guests, crew and local communities. Effective plans separate these layers quietly, creating seamless guest journeys supported by discreet service networks. The complexity is growing, but the desired outcome is simplicity.
Climate resilience is now fundamental. Elevated buildings, adaptive edges, floating structures and hybrid breakwaters ensure reliability while shaping meaningful public realm—places to walk, sit and connect with the horizon. The edge itself is softening, moving from hard walls to ecological shorelines that protect, regenerate and root each project in its setting.
Technology is becoming baseline. Smart berth systems, digital concierge tools and electrification infrastructure streamline operations while creating calmer, more predictable experiences. Arrival—by land or sea—has become a commercial differentiator, with framed views, controlled thresholds and refined materials setting the tone for the entire stay.
Floating architecture is also maturing, allowing restaurants, wellness spaces and event platforms to extend into the water without heavy land intervention.
Together, these shifts are redefining marinas as resilient, mixed-use waterfront economies. The strongest projects integrate architecture, landscape and engineering into environments that feel intuitive, memorable and anchored in place.
If you’re developing a marina or waterfront destination and would like to explore these ideas further, we’d be pleased to share our experience.
Contact Us
We collaborate with developers, operators and investors to unlock value through design.
Phone
+44 791 7831 899
Email
bb@brandonbuckarchitects.com