John Lees, Chairman

Having founded Lees Associates in 1981, John has continued to build their global reputation. He has directed the majority of the practice’s key projects, always bringing personal and intuitive solutions to them. He directs the team in a decisive and yet encouraging manner, allowing all to contribute creatively within the office whilst developing the company’s cohesive nature.

His understanding and sympathetic approach to building and sustainability is combined with an elegance and style that makes his design work so effective, sitting sensitively within its environmental framework. John is always pushing to use the most advanced technology to improve sustainability and the global integrity of his design work. This allows him to develop systems which effectively reduce the harmful effects of construction, as illustrated through projects such as Dixton Manor in which John produced a scheme to make the whole estate carbon neutral.

His over 30 years of experience in the industry attracts a wealth of work from residential, commercial and corporate sectors, and he continues to develop the breadth of projects within the company. His designs are expressive yet familiar, honouring the relationship between old and new. His restoration and refurbishment work shows his respect for history, recognised through his four Civic Awards for work on listed buildings and new street scenes in Harrogate, Guildford, Bath and Manchester.

His public profile is modest and understated; despite working for some the largest names in the retail, property and the hotel sectors, his name is rarely known to those who have not worked with him personally.

He has conceived a number of private residences for the ‘billionaire class’, the most recent being a Dacha and a modern palace in Russia. He has also worked on projects for Harrods, Selfridges, LVMH and Viscount Linley, including the award winning restoration of the listed facades of Selfridges, and the more recent restoration of the renowned Harrods Brompton Road Façade. He directed the first major extension to the Savoy Hotel in 100 years, refurbishment of the Dorchester hotel, new works for the Forte Group (including formation of 15 new and refurbished hotels across the UK), J P Morgan’s and Salomon Bros new headquarters (at the time forming some of the largest trading rooms in Europe).

Never one to stand still, outside of Lees Associates he has also developed a company which provides a programme for sustainable development, The Rural Green Village, endorsed by HRH The Prince of Wales. He also has a close relationship with The Serpentine Gallery and has contributed in the commission of various art installations. His time at home allows him to embark on his love of bee-keeping, fishing and sailing and creating genuinely unusual but fantastic creations in the kitchen.