INTERVIEW
In the Samaritans call centre generally they’re in a very stressful situation – they’re taking a call from someone who’s distressed… so, the acoustics of that space is really important, and the calmness of that space is really important, and you need to be able to bring that out in the design.
Murphy Philipps designed and remodelled the Samaritans London head office.
we had a fun thing in the summer where we got all the staff to bring in a meal and somebody in the office made a very simple app that was able to calculate the carbon footprint of everybody’s lunch.
What is the atmosphere like in your practice? PM: I think we have a really nice atmosphere, and I know it’s a cliche to say that it’s all about the people, but it is so much all about the people. And I think we do foster a really good culture and a really good environment where, if we provide the training, the mentorship, and a knowledgeable environment, that translates into what we’re then delivering into the buildings. The culture is very high on our agenda.
What’s the plan for the next, say, five years? PM: I think the plan is always to try and deliver the best healthcare buildings we can, the best possible health spaces that we can, and whatever size and scale they are, as long as they’re making something better for people in a moment of their need, then that’s the important thing. It’s not about scale. It could be the biggest, it could be the smallest. We’ve completed our biggest project ever this year, but we’ve also done one of our smallest projects this year.
How do you measure success on a project personally? PM: Well, awards are good! But actually, the biggest satisfaction is when you get testimonials from building users and from the people that, sometimes many years before, gave you the brief, and when the building is done and they’re using it, they’re happy with it and it’s exceeded all their expectations – that’s a real measure of success. And I think, as architects, that’s kind of what we live for.
With new technologies and innovation, how are they are changing the way you work? PM: Well, you’re probably expecting me to talk about AI. We are sort of dipping our toes in the water. There’s a couple of areas that I can see it’s going to start to come into our workflows. Obviously, the written side of things – we’re exploring how it can assist. And then the other side is what I call crude ideation, where we’re using [AI] to create images a little bit quicker just to imagine a space. And then there are some of those mundane processes as well – things like minute writing. To get to a process where that works better and takes some time out of the system is, I think, inevitably going to be the way it’s going to go, certainly in the medium term.
What’s next for Murphy Philipps? PM: Well, what’s interesting about being an architect is that you never know what’s around the corner. You’re only as good as your last project! At the end of the day, we primarily just want to continue to deliver excellent buildings and to push innovation on the health sector side.
Lovely to talk to you. Thank you.
Reference 1 The 2025 IHEEM Healthcare Estates New Build Project of the Year award was won by the project team behind the Hellesdon Rivers Centre, with the entry having been submitted by Murphy Philipps Architects on behalf of Castons, Ingleton Wood, Integrated Health Projects (IHP) – the joint venture between VINCI Building and Sir Robert McAlpine, Hospital Rooms, JP Chick and Partners, Murphy Philipps, Relabond and Sheils Flynn. The client was Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust.
40 Health Estate Journal May 2026
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