September 15 2021

AMA Studio has signalled a shift away from city centres after completing a rebranding from Allan Murray Architects and building much of modern Edinburgh, most recently at the St James Quarter.

The change in direction follows a shift to an employee-ownership model in April last year following which Allan Murray departed to establish Allan Murray Design, ending his association with the practice he founded in 1993.

Now with managing directors Conor Pittman and Kenny McNally at the helm, alongside director Tim Blathwayt and associate director Billy Duncan, AMA Studio is shifting away from mixed-use city centre projects to embrace more varied work, including a significant rural project in the north of England, although it will continue to pursue urban work - including an unnamed major residential commission in Glasgow.

Pittman remarked: "The core of the business will always be in Edinburgh, working on the integration of contemporary design within an historic setting, for which we've become renowned.

"That work is now being recognised on a national level, which is helping us expand outward from our traditional ‘urbanist’ label and secure more varied work across the UK - in rural and urban areas and across leisure, office, retail and residential.

"Rebranding as AMA Studio reflects not only this change in direction for the company, but our more collaborative way of working since becoming employee-owned."

Moving forward AMA Studio will place greater emphasis on visualisation, including building capacity to deliver virtual reality models in-house.  

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