Martyn Winney is instrumental in the smooth running of our projects, bringing years of experience at the centre of super prime residential projects, guiding clients through what should be an enjoyable, exciting journey on the path to a breathtaking building. In every moment and every decision, Martyn is there.

Providing clients with design options, collating and checking construction drawings or rigorously inspecting work on-site. Martyn is usually involved from the first meeting to completion of the FTA works.

Martyn also plays an important role in the relationships between Francis, the client, and the web of consultants, engineers and contractors involved in bringing a building to life.

“I find that every client is different. You need to gauge that quite quickly to understand what they need, not just from their home but from the way we work with them. Gradually, you grow that relationship because I think it’s all about enjoyment. If somebody doesn’t enjoy the process, they won’t end up with the house they’re really looking for. So I suppose a big part of my job is making sure it’s enjoyable.”

He’ll organise days out with clients, which could be anything from looking at room sizes in comparable buildings to selecting fittings, for inspiration, helping to make choices that much easier. Also, he’ll manage and check the detailing of drawings, prepare a complete package that will be used by structural engineers, services engineers, and subcontractors.

“If there’s bad coordination or problems on the drawings, there’s a knock-on effect and suddenly you start costing the client money. Imagine you have a hole for some work to be done in a certain place. If it’s wrong, you have to fill that hole, find somewhere else it can go, make a new hole, and so on. It all costs time and money. Having done so many of these, my eye gets drawn to mistakes in drawings pretty quickly. Then we can work out why it’s wrong and minimise it before it gets to site.”

Once projects are underway, one aspect of Martyn’s role is managing the relationships between clients, Francis and the wider team, both internal and external. Since buildings sit at the cross-section between artistry and practicality, this helps to foster an open, honest dialogue where creative egos and decisions don’t affect decision-making. As Martyn puts it, you simply deal with the matter at hand and move on.

“Decisions are quite delicate – if you apply pressure, or hurry them everything can wrong. A regrettable choice is something a client might have to look at every day of the week. I hold people’s hands through the entire process, asking the right questions at the right time, offering options and reassurance, and knowing where we can compromise and where we can’t. That’s a big part of what I do.”

About Martyn Winney

Senior Associate, Francis Terry and Associates

A designer with a wealth of experience in architecture, Martyn has worked closely with Francis for more than two decades. Martyn ran many projects including buildings at Poundbury for the Duchy of Cornwall, 264-267 Tottenham Court Road in London, Ferne Park in Dorset, and many more.

At Francis Terry and Associates, Martyn uses his innate talent, expertise, and diligence to ensure the highest quality in every stage of a project and make the process an enjoyable experience for all involved.