Practice Profile

Levitate is an award-winning London-based architecture practice. We repair, retrofit and reuse older buildings and design high quality modern architecture.

It is led by Spencer Guy and Tim Sloan and provides Architectural, Conservation Architect and Principal Designer services across the residential, leisure, cultural and heritage sectors from the scale of single spaces to mixed-use neighbourhood masterplans.

We are known as a practice for robust design concepts that use our extensive experience and technical expertise to develop projects that can meet the challenges of the procurement and construction processes.

Our Approach

Inventive common sense is the basis of all of our work. We aim for this to lead to architecture that is contextual, efficient and life enhancing.

Whether it be a brand new apartment complex, the redevelopment of a historic site, a new community swimming pool or a sculptural installation, we start every project from first principles, and invent thoughtful bespoke solutions that make sense and are realisable within the constraints of the brief. Every combination of client, site and brief is different and our work reflects this.

As a project progresses through the design and construction stages our attention to detail is rigorous as we remain focussed on the delivery of the best client outcomes for the project.

Our Services

We are an RIBA Chartered Practice and provide a full range of architectural services. We are normally the Principal Designer for our projects which enables clients to benefit from our considerable co-ordination skills.

We are experts in conservation work and have experience working with all types of historic listed buildings and scheduled ancient monuments, normally within sensitive landscape settings.

As well as architectural services we can provide landscape and engineering consultancy services, with the help of regular collaborators who we consider to be integral to the Levitate team. Increasingly we also provide a construction manager service to ensure our projects are delivered on time and budget to the quality we design.

Our Team

We are a strong team having been working together for over 20 years. Each project will be led by either Spencer or Tim who will work with colleagues who have complimentary specialist Conservation, Technical and Principal Designer skills.

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Spencer Guy

BA (Hons) DipArch ADPPA FRSA RIBA
Spencer founded Levitate with Tim in 2005 and has an active role in the design of all Levitate projects.
Spencer grew up in Yorkshire, and after studying at the University of Sheffield and the Bartlett School of Architecture, he trained in the offices of Sir Michael Hopkins, Harry Seidler, and Niall McLaughlin.
He lives in Buckinghamshire with his wife, son and daughter, having designed and built their own house on the edge of the Chiltern Hills.

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Tim Sloan

BSc DipArch FRSA RIBA
Tim founded Levitate with Spencer in 2005 and has an active role in the design of all Levitate projects.
He studied at the University of Edinburgh and the Bartlett School of Architecture, where he was awarded the Sir Bannister Fletcher Prize and the RIBA Silver Medal for diploma studies. He gained experience at RHWL Arts Team and in the office of Sir Michael Hopkins, where he spent nine years. He is a fellow of the RSA and a member of the RIBA Library Committee.
Tim lives in Islington with his wife and three sons. Together they are in the process of extending a Perthshire barn into a family home.

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Jo Hibbert

BA (Hons) DipArch RIBA AABC
Jo has been director of our conservation office since 2006. She has extensive experience of conserving, restoring and renovating scheduled ancient monuments and listed buildings. Her work with Levitate includes the conservation of Sandsfoot Castle and the Old Farmhouse at West Pennard, successfully removing both from English Heritage’s Buildings at Risk Register.
Jo studied architecture at Sheffield University. Following her first degree she worked with English Heritage, then undertook an ICOMOS Summer Scholarship with the New York Landmarks in Manhattan. She completed her diploma at Oxford Brookes, winning a SPAB Lethaby Scholarship.
She then worked at Acanthus Ferguson Mann Architects in Bristol, becoming an associate and taking a repair project at the Royal West Academy from inception to completion. From 2004 she worked for Jonathan Rhind Architects, setting up its Taunton office and as a result making excellent contacts with local officials, consultants and contractors. During this time she started the refurbishment of the Grade 1 listed Whitestaunton Manor in Somerset, including the conservation and repair of its hammer beam roof.
Jo is the retained church architect for a number of significant churches in the South West, she sits on the Exeter Diocesan Advisory Committee and is a studio tutor for the final year of Diploma at Bath University.

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David Guy

BA (Hons) DipArch CPPMA RIBA
David is responsible for Levitate’s projects in the North, and is also our Technical Director. He has been the project architect for a number of schemes and has extensive experience in the detailing and engineering co-ordination of projects at a large range of scales.
David followed his prize-winning degree at the University of Sheffield with a diploma at the Bartlett School of Architecture, graduating with a commendation in design. He is also a graduate of the 2002 Murcutt Masterclass, held at the University of Newcastle in Australia, which emphasises ecologically responsive and responsible design.
During his studies, David worked with Michael Wilford on his family home in Sussex and the new British Embassy in Berlin. Following this he worked at MUMA on university projects in America, before joining Levitate, where he became a project director in 2006.

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Toby Knipping

BSc (Hons) MArch (Dist.) ARB
Since joining Levitate in 2012, Toby has worked on a wide range of projects, from a new school cricket pavilion and a 50m regional competition pool to new-build houses, offices and several competition bids.
Toby graduated from the University of Bath in 2009 with first class honours, having been awarded the Basil Spence Prize for design team working. During his studies he worked for award-winning practices in Wales and the South West, including CaSA Architects, who specialise in well-crafted contemporary and sustainable architecture.
He then studied for his Masters in architecture at the University of Sheffield, collaborating on a number of action research projects, including community construction projects in Paris with Atelier d’Architecture Autogérée. After graduating with distinction, Toby worked for Michael Hopkins and Partners in London.

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Adam Longbottom

BA (Hons) PGDip MArch MSc ARB
As well as a qualified and experienced architect, Adam oversees the day-to-day conservation aspects on projects, delving into historic backgrounds to formulate sensitive responses to a project’s brief.
Since joining Levitate in 2017, Adam has worked on a number of projects of different sizes and typologies including works within sensitive historic environments and a number of residential projects ranging from the larger masterplanning level to intimate conversions of redundant buildings into personalised homes. Adam has a passion for working within sensitive settings and historic buildings and has lead works on a number of projects including Jewry Wall Museum, Stocking Farm, and Leicester Museum and Art Gallery.
Prior to joining Levitate, Adam worked at Hopkins Architects for nearly 6 years. During this time he was involved in varied projects including devising innovative active eldery accommodation, new student accommodation within historical settings, and a variety of cultural and civic buildings. Adam also worked and liaised with the Hopkin’s Dubai office and led a team to support works for cultural and residential projects in including the design development of the 2020 Dubai Expo Thematic District shading structures.
Adam studied at the University of Sheffield and is passionate about working with clients and consultant teams to develop and formulate sensitive responses to a project's needs and brief. He is ardent about the continued viable use of historic buildings to ensure they are retained for future generations, and was award a MSC in Building Conservation with Distinction at the Weald and Downland Living Museum (accredited by the University of York).

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Simona Petraityte

BA (Hons) MArch PGDip ARB
Simona graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2018, where she has grown her interest in adaptive re-use of existing buildings and conservation while developing her final year thesis around sensitive issues of temporariness and ageing in Rotherham.
Prior to joining Levitate, Simona spent two years working at Noarchitects in Lithuania. There she worked on a range of small to medium sized residential schemes and bespoke interior projects as well as an urban masterplan focusing on participatory urban regeneration of Snipiskes.
Since joining Levitate, Simona has worked on a wide range of projects including a 77 unit residential scheme in Wokingham, a Grade II listed t out in Reading as well as a Grade II listed Court farm and walled garden scheme in Nynehead.
After work Simona can be found cycling out and about London, climbing and delving into art, design and photography exhibitions.

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Liam Wales

Born in Yorkshire in 1971, Liam is an artist and illustrator and has recently decamped to East Sussex with his young family. His work includes visuals for architects and interior designers, reconstruction paintings for English Heritage, house portraits and editorial illustrations. Liam has been collaborating with Levitate since 2010, lending his watercolour skills to produce elevations and perspectives for several conservation and housing projects.

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Sofia Caccamo

BA (Hons)
Sofia graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2021, where she explored innovative reuse of construction waste and looked at urban social scapes in Argentina and London for her dissertation. She is now studying her Masters through the apprenticeship programme at London Met, to progress further in her career path to becoming an Architect.
Prior to joining Levitate, Sofia spent 1 year working at Shepheard Epstein Hunter, London. There she worked on a range of small to large commercial projects. Including a grade listed, educational building where she developed the interior strategy.
Since joining Levitate, Sofia has been working on the Leicester Museum and Art Gallery retrofit and several new housing projects.