Heritage is not static — it is a living, evolving legacy.
Today we are unveiling our refreshed brand identity and website that better reflects who we are today: a practice of specialist architects, heritage consultants and business operations professionals united by a shared belief in the power of place.
Sir Donald Insall’s pioneering approach redefined conservation as a dynamic process of managing change, and our founding principles remain unchanged.
We continue to evolve as a practice, ensuring that our historic environment continues to serve, inspire and endure.
Brand: @duncanfenech.ltd | Website: Curious Ways / @juxprose
Heritage skills and traditional craft are fundamental to keeping historic buildings alive and relevant.
In the Palace of Westminster, Encaustic tiles designed by Charles Barry and A.W.N Pugin were repaired following years of carrying the footsteps of political history. Working with stone specialists, appropriate materials were identified to match the craftsmanship of the original designs.
In the Belgravia conservation area, works to merge two properties required restoring historic elements, including Baroque-style cornices, ceiling decorations, and reinstating antique fireplaces.
Designed and revised by leading figures of British Baroque architecture, the Kensington Palace Orangery is home to lavish panelling adorned with detailed carvings by Grinling Gibbons, which has been conserved by specialists from Historic Royal Palaces.
At West Norwood Cemetery, work to repair St Stephen’s Chapel included restoring its decorative ceiling with specialists Britain & Co, who undertook a paint analysis which informed the new colour palette.
As London Craft Week is upon us, these projects highlight the value of skilled craft in sustaining London’s historic environment so that it can continue to inspire, educate, and endure.
“We're a visitor destination in a way that we never were, and we're playing our part in making Rochdale a visitor destination in a way that maybe it hasn't been before.” said Caroline Storr, Strategy and Operations Manager at Rochdale Town Hall.
First opened in 1871, the Grade I-listed Rochdale Town Hall is one of the finest examples of Victorian Gothic architecture in Britain, designed by William Crossland.
Now, the restoration of the Town Hall has enhanced physical and intellectual access, created flexible spaces, and reduced carbon emissions, whilst preserving and repairing historic fabric.
"This building is over 155 years and we all play our part in hoping that it will be here for another 155 years, and we play our part in its story and how we have our duty of care to the building and to the stories it tells.” said Caroline.
Described by the judges as “socially and culturally radical”, Rochdale Town Hall has been awarded a prestigious Europa Nostra award for conservation.
Read more through the link in our bio.
How does heritage shape identity?
On June 4th, as part of the London Festival of Architecture, we are hosting a discussion to explore the role of heritage in contemporary placemaking, asking how historic context can ground development whilst resonating with modern audiences.
Speakers include:
- Event chair: Ben Flatman, Architect, Planner, Writer and Contributing Editor to Building Design
- Darryl Chen, Partner, Urban Design Sector Lead, Hawkins Brown
- Anna Mansfield, Director, Publica
- Natalia Roussou, Senior Associate, Landscape Design Director, HTA
- Tanisha Raffiuddin FRSA, Founder and Creative Director, Concept Culture
- Regine Kandan, Associate Director, Donald Insall Associates.
Visit the link in our bio to find out more & book your place.
Last night, the restoration of @rochdaletownhall was recognised with four major awards, including the 2026 RIBA North West Award, Client of the Year Award, and the Conservation Award.
DIA associate director Rebecca Mills was also awarded North West Project Architect of the Year for her work and commitment to the restoration of one of the UK’s most significant Victorian Gothic civic buildings.
“New building services are discreetly threaded through the historic fabric, with interventions such as integrated detection systems set within existing stonework, demonstrating a disciplined approach to unobtrusiveness and long-term maintainability.” shares @ribajournal
Congratulations to all involved in this project. Visit the link in our bio to read more.
How do you clean, repair, and conserve 155 years of history?
Rochdale Town Hall’s Great Hall is home to 16 hammer beams, 330 painted lath and plaster panels, and historic stained glass.
Restoration of the hall required a myriad of both contemporary and traditional conservation techniques, informed by a detailed examination, and carried out with help from volunteers.
Highly decorative surfaces were cleaned, as seven layers of impervious varnish had been applied over the years to both the plaster panels and the timber beams, causing them to yellow with age.
Now, the Great Hall is open to the public, and the restoration project has been awarded a 2026 Europa Nostra Award – Europe’s most prestigious award for heritage.
Read more through the link in our bio.
Video by @dionbarrett
Heritage-led regeneration can bolster and bring together communities.
Over 1,000 volunteer, training and job opportunities were created during the restoration of one of the UK’s most important 19th-century buildings: Rochdale Town Hall.
Now open to all, Rochdale Town Hall has been awarded a prestigious Europa Nostra award for conservation.
Read more through the link in our bio.
The revived @rochdaletownhall is back at the centre of civic life and has been awarded a @europanostraeu – Europe’s most prestigious heritage award.
The Grade I-listed Town Hall has been reopened to the public after a major transformation combining meticulous conservation of highly significant historic interiors with bold interventions to improve physical and intellectual access.
The judges said: “The high-quality restoration of the Rochdale Town Hall is based on respectful and reversible conservation principles. It demonstrates how historic civic buildings can act as anchors of heritage-led regeneration, helping rebuild public trust, civic pride and a sense of shared ownership within the local community.”
The project was funded by @rochdalecouncil with support from the @heritagefunduk , Salix and the Towns Fund.
Read more via the link in our bio.
Film by @dionbarrett .
@gillespies_llp@maxfordhamllp@h.h.smith_builders@priceandmyers@buro_happold@hirstconservation@fwpgroup@yorkglazierstrust@heritagefunduk
“it's is in our DNA - we're in a brilliant position to provide that technical knowledge and experience to upgrade historic buildings without losing what is significant and special about them”
Discussing the heritage skills gap, championing conservation, and his journey from architectural assistant to chief executive, Dorian Proudfoot sat down with David Taylor for his most recent ‘'Five Minutes With' interviews for @nlalondon .
"Something that we have been doing since we were founded by Sir Donald is enabling change in historic environments." says Dorian "So, buildings need to change and stay relevant in order for them to be kept in use and money to be invested in their upkeep. And that is sustainability. That is keeping something going by thinking of innovative new uses."
Read the full interview through the link in our bio.
Four projects have been recognised with five awards at this year’s @civictrustawards .
Rochdale Town Hall has been revitalised following four year of conservation work, that has restored historic fabric while improving physical and intellectual access. The project has been recognised with an AABC Conservation Award and Michael Middleton Award, presented to outstanding projects in memory of the founder of the Awards in 1959.
At the Palace of Westminster, the project to secure 1500m2 of invaluable Encaustic tile flooring has been highly commended in the AABC Conservation Awards.
Led by Feix&Merlin Architects, the Walworth Town Hall regeneration has been awarded a Civic Trust Award. We supported the restoration of the Grade II-listed landmark as heritage consultants.
The transformation of modernist landmark Space House into a future-ready workplace while preserving 90% of the original structure was highly commended in the Civic Trust category. Led @squirepartners , our team provided strategic heritage and townscape advice.
Congratulations to all involved in these projects!
Read more via the link in our bio.
Donald Insall Associates has been named one of the 2026 @dezeen Top Companies.
With only 20 companies featured, the Top Companies list is a new initiative by @dezeen recognising outstanding practices around the world that are redefining what great workplaces look like.
Marsha Ramroop, Dezeen Jobs Top Company judge, said: “The Donald Insall Associates entry was broadly very solid. They scored particularly strongly on social and environmental responsibility by outlining what they were doing, why they were doing it, how it compared with externally verified data points and what the impact has been. There was a robust thread of clear values throughout the entry and a distinct emphasis that supporting their people to be inclusive and sustainable results in outputs that are inclusive and sustainable. For these reasons, it was an enjoyable job to score this studio highly."
Read more via the link in our bio.
Should we rebuild the historic fabric like-for-like, or reimagine it in a contemporary, creative way?
Join our team and discover how historic buildings can be reimagined for contemporary use in the @RIBA 2026 course, Past forward: Rethinking heritage through adaptive reuse and contemporary design.
Find out more through the link in our bio.
