About
We are a practice of architects, researchers and strategists who work in public to create spatial, environmental and social change.
We make buildings, public spaces, masterplans, visions, strategies, research and design guidance.
Our civic interventions in Barkingside were awarded a Special Mention in the 2016 European Prize for Urban Public Space and our work has been exhibited at the 13th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, the Shenzhen & Hong-Kong Biennale, the Berlage Institute (Rotterdam), Barbican Art Gallery (London). We are interested in and advocate for publicness, it is a preoccupation that weaves in and out of our projects.
We are also known for producing critical and provocative research that questions the limits of architectural production and explores new forms of agency and communication. Notably, the book SUB-PLAN: A Guide to Permitted Development (2009) and Building Rights (2010-), an online platform to democratise and evolve the current statutory planning system.
DK-CM is based in East London.
![The full DK-CM team gathered for a group photograph in the courtyard of our Durham Yard office.](https://dk-cm.com/app/uploads/2024/07/240506-Office_LQ-1024x795.jpg)
3 Durham Yard
Teesdale Street
London E2 6QF
United Kingdom
+44 (0) 20 7729 4140
DK-CM currently have no vacancies but are always interested in receiving good CVs.
Please send to studio@dk-cm.com.
Please note that we can’t always respond to unsolicited applications.
![](https://dk-cm.com/app/themes/dk-cm/dist/images/morris-bitmap2_87621102.png)
You will see our dog Morris appearing throughout this site. Please follow him to go behind-the-scenes on our projects and understand more about our process and inspirations.
Team
![](https://dk-cm.com/app/uploads/2024/07/DK-CM_Cristina-Monteiro_LQ-300x300.jpg)
Cristina is an architect and author, and a Founding Co-director of DK-CM. In 2021 she was shortlisted for the Moira Gemmill Prize in recognition of excellence in design for women designers under 45. Cristina’s work explores the complex history and ecology of places and she is a champion of equitable access to nature. She is currently developing a campaign to make cities wilder, more biodiverse places, writes a column for The Architects’ Journal and is working on a TV script exploring spatial equality and representation. Cristina is an RIBA Conservation Registrant, and studied at London Metropolitan University, where she won the School Prize for Social Entrepreneurship, and at the Architectural Association, where she gained her Part III in 2011. She has taught at Kingston University and Central Saint Martins, and has been a visiting lecturer and critic at the Architectural Association, Cambridge University, Syracuse University, and the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.
![](https://dk-cm.com/app/uploads/2024/07/DK-CM_David-Knight-1-300x300.jpg)
David is a designer, strategist and author, and a Founding Co-director of DK-CM. He has worked on ambitious strategic, urban design, placemaking and policy projects since 2004. In 2018 David completed a PhD at the Royal College of Art School of Architecture titled ‘Making Planning Popular’ concerned with the politics of planning knowledge. Prior to founding DK-CM David worked for General Public Agency and on various research projects including the book ‘SUB-PLAN: A Guide to Permitted Development’ (2009). David is a Module Leader at the London School of Architecture, and previously taught at the University of Brighton, the Royal College of Art and Kingston School of Art. David teaches, lectures and writes internationally, has served as a trustee of The Architecture Foundation and is a volunteer member of the Woodcraft Folk. David is an external examiner at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.
![](https://dk-cm.com/app/uploads/2023/10/DK-CM_Gilbert-300x300.jpg)
Gilbert (Kiu Paak) is a designer, artist and illustrator, and an Associate at DK-CM. He began working with DK-CM in 2015 and has particular responsibility for and expertise in image-making and visualisation. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Bath in 2013 and his Masters at London Metropolitan University in 2015. Gilbert’s Masters thesis explored the design of standard modular catalogue housing in Ebbsfleet to provide sustainable organic growth in communal hubs and public shared spaces. His recent art practice explores the use of Chinese aesthetics in the Western world through studying historic objects, shapes, motifs and conflations of them.
![](https://dk-cm.com/app/uploads/2024/07/DK-CM_Tom-Bacon-300x300.jpg)
Tom joined DK-CM in 2019 and became an Associate in 2024. He has participated in a range of projects at DK-CM, ranging from studies and research through to detail design, as well as facilitating engagement workshops, most recently working with the Westway Trust, Rother District Council and the Royal Docks Enterprise Zone team. He studied architecture at the University of Cambridge and completed his Masters at London Metropolitan University. Prior to DK-CM, Tom worked with Ash Sakula architects.
![](https://dk-cm.com/app/uploads/2024/07/Dk-CM_Emily-300x300.jpg)
Emily joined DK-CM as a Senior Architect in 2024, having previously worked for Gort Scott, RCKa and We Made That. At Gort Scott, Emily was a Project Architect as well as the Placemaking and Engagement Lead, heading up the practice’s Social Value and EDI Working Group. She has a strong track record in shaping project processes with local communities, as well as forming engagement strategies. Emily enjoys the human scale aspects of architecture; making an impact through a proactive approach to designing, making, hosting and helping shape places.
![](https://dk-cm.com/app/uploads/2024/07/DK-CM_Kate-300x300.jpg)
Kate is an architect and a certified Passivhaus designer. Her current work at DK-CM includes working with Transport for London and local stakeholders to develop a strategy for the use of railway arches in North-west London. Kate completed her masters in Architecture with collaborative practice research at the University of Nottingham, graduating with a distinction and a nomination for the RIBA East Midlands Inclusivity Award. Her masters project explored how public engagement outcomes could create alternative mapping to define the identity of Derby and inform future design proposals. Prior to working at DK-CM Kate worked on a number of heritage and public sector projects at Guy Taylor Associates and Jeanne Dekkers Architectuur.
![](https://dk-cm.com/app/uploads/2024/07/DK-CM_Ameeka_LQ-300x300.jpg)
Ameeka is a Senior Architectural Assistant. She has a keen interest in working with young people within architecture having gained experience teaching in a secondary school in Ealing, and is currently working with the public in Harrow to develop appropriate public realm proposals for two town centres. Ameeka gained her BA at Kingston University School of Art and has recently completed her Masters in Architecture at Central St Martins where she focused on design led by public engagement.
![](https://dk-cm.com/app/uploads/2024/07/DK-CM_Amandine-300x300.jpg)
Amandine is a graphic designer and is responsible for the communication of the studio’s work and projects. She studied graphic design in Gobelins, Paris and graduated with a BA and subsequently an MA in Graphic Communication Design from Central Saint Martins, where she was also nominated for the MullenLowe Nova Award. Prior to DK-CM, Amandine worked with l’Echangeur-CDCN, a national contemporary dance development centre in France.
![portrait of Molly Hughes in a white shirt](https://dk-cm.com/app/uploads/2024/07/DK-CM_Molly-Hughes-300x300.jpg)
Molly is a Senior Architectural Assistant at DK-CM, where she is currently working with the Royal Docks team, a joint initiative from the Mayor of London and the Mayor of Newham, to develop spatial proposals to increase waterborne activity in Royal Albert and Royal Victoria Docks. Molly obtained her BSc at the Welsh School of Architecture and Masters at the Royal College of Art, where her thesis project, ‘Taboo in the Loo’, explored her interest in gender politics and the built environment through reshaping the public bathroom.
![](https://dk-cm.com/app/uploads/2024/07/DK-CM_Anu_LQ-300x300.jpg)
Anu is a Junior Architectural Assistant at DK-CM, currently working with Bristol City Council to create a place-shaping strategy for Bristol Harbour. Anu studied Architecture at the University of Cambridge, where she developed an interest in social action and participatory practice. Her dissertation explored diasporic building and living practices in North-East London’s suburbia across domestic and urban scales. Anu is a keen advocate for outreach and has volunteered for Open City Festivals, worked in educational access mentorship with InsideUni and Angloville and gained leadership experience on collective design in collaboration with Cambridge Association of Architects.
![](https://dk-cm.com/app/uploads/2024/07/DK-CM_Emma-Twine_LQ-300x300.jpg)
Emma, currently on sabbatical from DK-CM, is an Associate Director at the studio. She is an architect and researcher and joined the studio in 2017. She has delivery experience across a wide range of projects, including heritage and education. At DK-CM she was responsible for the construction phase of a new education building at Wroughton Academies, Norfolk, and is currently leading on major adaptive reuse projects for the City of Westminster, London Borough of Haringey and Transport for London. She completed her undergraduate studies in Architecture and Spatial Design at Central St Martins, and undertook her Masters and Part III at the University of Cambridge. She has served as a tutor and visiting critic at both universities. Her MPhil thesis explored the writing of policy to support delivering diverse and multi-generational communities, enabling the sustainable expansion of a growing south Essex town. Emma is currently on sabbatical.
Past Team Members
Catarina de Almeida Brito
Tom Atkinson
Rob Berry
Susie Cox
Max Descheemaecker
Esma Düzgün
Teófilo Furtado
James Hills
Eleanor Hedley
Elise Limon
Abigail McGrahan
Alice Meyer
Bushra Mohamed
Ishbel Mull
Edward Powe
Amrit Sandhu
Ana Schefer
Hannah Sheerin
Kristin Trommler
Lina Viluma
Matt Volsen
Emily Wickham
Selected Clients
Collaborators
Publications about DK–CM
Publications by DK–CM
'Pioneering Suburbia', David Knight and Cristina Monteiro, in Between edges and hedges, Harrow Council Design Unit, 2018.
'Church of Santo António da Polana, Maputo' (Building of the Month), David Knight, in The Twentieth Century Society, May 2018.
'Dachaland', DK-CM, in The Architectural Review, October 2017.
'Extraits de SUB-PLAN: A Guide to Permitted Development', David Knight and Finn Williams in Criticat revue semestrielle de critique d’architecture, #17, 2016.
'Review of the London Metropolitan Summer Show', David Knight, in The Architects’ Journal, 25.07.2014.
'On Barkingside' in PEAR Issue 6: Landscape/Ecology, 2014.
King’s Cross Urban Actions Field Guide, Architecture Foundation, 2012.
Mapping the Invisible, edited by Lucy Orta, Black Dog, 2010.