McLeod Bovell

McLeod Bovell is a collaborative design practice specialising in complete residential design. Since 2008, the studio has grown into a team of 10 designers with diverse backgrounds. Our work explores embedded social, spatial and environmental opportunities as generators of invention.

Over the past decade, we have developed extensive experience designing homes on steep and irregular sites. While these locations often offer exceptional views, their immediate natural qualities may not always be remarkable – neither fully built nor untouched wilderness. In these conditions, the priority of the view can dominate the conversation. Our work seeks to balance that primacy with the opportunities offered by extreme topography, allowing for varied and highly specific programmatic sequences. Creating unusual relationships across different levels of the home connects each house to its surroundings.

We work to understand the substantive elements of our clients’ character and aspirations. Sometimes these are clearly articulated, but often what is left unsaid matters most. Through this ongoing dialogue, we establish a framework for design decisions. Ideas emerge from this investigation rather than from predetermined, prescriptive solutions. Spatial experiences and distinctive qualities are given priority. Through this process, we aim to create work that feels expressive and characterful, and that remains open to influences beyond our.