Make Architects is celebrating two decades of design, collaboration and community-building with CO-CREATE, a major exhibition at the Building Centre in London from 17 November to 8 December 2025. Set within the venue’s Main Gallery, the show offers visitors a rare look behind the scenes of one of the UK’s most distinctive architecture practices, with a particular emphasis on the materials, models and tactile processes that underpin Make’s work.

Founded in 2004 by Dr Ken Shuttleworth, Make established itself as the UK’s first employee-owned architecture practice, a structure designed to give every staff member a voice in the design process. That ethos remains central to the practice’s identity. Shuttleworth founded Make with the belief that architecture benefits from collective intelligence: a studio where ideas are shaped through dialogue, constructive exchange and shared ambition rather than top-down direction.

The practice’s collaborative approach is underlined in the exhibition’s title. CO-CREATE reflects the range of conversations that inform Make’s projects, with clients, end users, local communities, researchers and the next generation of designers. This philosophy is presented through an array of  intricately detailed and beautifully created physical models, alongside sketches and developmental drawings that come to life on large projection screens. The meticulous detail of such models highlights the practice’s devotion to iterative testing and helps to inform viewers just how projects such as Four New Bailey, Eden and One Leadenhall evolved.

Make is known for its investigative use of materials and its willingness to interrogate both traditional and emerging construction methods. CO-CREATE foregrounds this aspect of the practice’s work, with displays focused on material samples, research prototypes and mock-ups that illustrate how stone, brick, timber and hybrid material systems have shaped the form, performance and identity of Make’s architecture. 

As the architectural sector continues to scrutinise embodied carbon, local sourcing and the circularity of materials, Make’s decision to feature these elements prominently offers timely insight into how contemporary practices are responding. The exhibition positions materials not as afterthoughts but as foundational drivers of architectural expression, environmental performance and community impact. Alongside them, 3D printers whir, producing forms from thin air in just the same way the team creates the awe-inspiring scale buildings using plant-based PLA filament.

As a practice, Make balances imaginative design with a commitment to resilient placemaking — delivering buildings and public spaces that prioritise longevity, social value and environmental responsibility. With studios in London, Hong Kong and Shanghai, Make operates across a diverse range of typologies, including workplace, residential, cultural and urban design projects, always with an eye to material integrity and contextual sensitivity.

Through CO-CREATE, visitors are be able to trace how these principles translate into built reality. 

The exhibition runs at the Building Centre from 17 November to 8 December 2025, with entry free to the public.