We are determined to work with the very best architects and are convinced that the most successful client/architect collaborations are achieved when the architect is involved with the project from the very earliest stage. We invited 50 practices to submit expressions of interest and then interviewed around half of them. The interviews, which were filmed by a television crew, were informal wide-ranging discussions covering subjects such as sustainable communities, contemporary lifestyles, modern methods of construction, aesthetics, and – that most elusive of subjects – joy.

We subsequently visited 8 of the practices, spending half a day in their offices in order to get a fuller picture about the way they worked. This enabled us to establish a list of three practices – Wright & Wright, David Chipperfield Architects, and dsdha – which we plan to work with on our first projects.