Who we are
Dobson Owen is an RIBA chartered architects’s practice based in Pwllheli and working all over the Llŷn Peninsula and Gwynedd.
Established since 1984, we are a small but experienced and versatile practice who are both creative but also technically minded and pragmatic. Working in a rural area, we are well versed with the planning and regulatory challenges of developing sites and buildings that are often in very sensitive and protected landscapes.
The distinctive coastal landscape that we work in is our main inspiration along with its unique Welsh speaking culture and community. An understanding of its rugged nature and climate, and a respect towards its traditional building forms and materials, informs the approach to how we produce contemporary designs but with a simplicity and clarity that always tries to complement the setting.
We are a fully bilingual practice that can provide a service in both Welsh and English, and we work closely and intensively with local building contractors and suppliers in order to deliver well detailed and executed buildings with a high level of sustainability and energy efficiency.
As skilled and experienced architects, Dobson Owen have a long established presence in the area. We aim to build on this legacy and expand our influence, making a positive and important contribution to our local area and community by continuing to design and deliver buildings and projects of a high quality within this distinctive landscape.
What we do
The work that we do is diverse but mainly concentrated across three sectors - residential, workplace and community.
In recent years we have developed a specialism in high quality private residential work - newbuild, extension, refurbishment and conversions - often on challenging sites in rural and protected coastal landscapes on the Llŷn Peninsula, within the Eryri National Park and beyond.
Our expertise also extends to the conversion and re-purposing of many historic listed buildings and an understanding of the conservation techniques that are often needed when renovating them.
We also have a great deal of experience and knowledge in the field of community architecture and have helped several high profile community ventures across Gwynedd to get their projects off the ground,funded, designed and built. This is part of our philosophy of using our influence and local knowledge to give back to our local community, and to help add social value and create revenue streams from repurposing empty buildings.
How we do it
The process starts with carefully listening to the client, but also understanding the need to lead and advise a client on the best course of action based on the nature of the site, building and the brief, the available budget, and our experience of what is possible given the constraints.
We can provide a full service through all the RIBA work stages, and are able to lead our clients right through the entire process starting with developing the brief, assessing viability and exploring design options, planning and building regulations consent, right through to getting the project costed and built. We also have access to other consultants and specialists in the area that can benefit or are essential to delivering a project.
Our expertise also extends to the sensitive conversion and re-purposing of many historic and listed buildings, and an understanding of the conservation techniques that are often needed when renovating and repairing them.
Almost all our projects use renewable heating or at least one form of renewable energy, and have energy efficiency and sustainability considerations at the heart of how they are designed and built.
Good buildings are achieved through a combination of imagination and realism, keeping a handle on the budget, technical accuracy but also a lot of determination and perseverance.
The Team
Gruffudd Rhodri Evans
Director
Having studied at Manchester Metropolitan School of Architecture along with a year-out working in Germany, Rhodri started his professional experience specialising in school buildings, before working at a Community Technical Aid Centre on developing and delivering community buildings and projects in and around Greater Manchester. Later he returned to private practice to gain experience in the high-end conversion and refurbishment of several existing and listed buildings into commercial use in the city centre.
After moving back to his native Gwynedd in 2015 and taking over the running of Dobson Owen in 2021, he has designed and built many high-end private residential projects, as well as delivering large and small publicly funded community buildings across Gwynedd.
Rhodri was a part-time tutor at the (MSA) Manchester School of Architecture for 10 years, and continues to do occasional design reviews at various universities.
Derec Jones
Project Architect
Derec has worked at Dobson Owen for almost 30 years and is a highly experienced technical architect who has delivered several residential projects for the practice, as well as large community projects such as Canolfan Y Cywain, Bala. He has a great deal of experience working on projects within the Eryri National Park and has a keen interest and knowledge of historic building techniques, and conservation architecture.
Ffion Gruffydd
Associate Project Architect
Ffion is a talented designer who has years of experience designing and delivering several major higher education, school, and healthcare projects for AHR practice in Bristol. In recent years Ffion has worked with us highly successfully on the design and visualisation of several high-end residential and community projects.
Gareth Dobson
Founding Partner
Gareth was a founding member of Dobson Owen and a practice director for almost 40 years, and still works part-time in the office. He has vast experience of delivering community-led, publicly funded projects, and more recently was heavily involved in the development of the Canolfan Y Fron multi use community building from the inception through to the feasibility. He has a keen interest in the environmental design, sustainability and energy efficiency of buildings.
Arfon Jones
Office Manager
With a background in computing and experience of running a family construction business, Arfon is well qualified to look after all the financial and administrative aspects of the practice, as well as crucially keep on top of the IT and systems.
Work with us
Associate Architect
We are currently recruiting for an Associate Architect to work with us on various upcoming community and residential projects. Please email post@dobsonowen.com for more information.