At the end of the year, Patrick Bellew will be stepping back from Atelier Ten, the award-winning environmental design, building services and lighting design consultancy he founded in 1990.

During his time leading Atelier Ten, Patrick has established the firm’s reputation as an international leader in its field, bringing engineering, architecture and sustainability closer together and pioneering numerous design innovations across the built environment. Last month Patrick was awarded the CIBSE Gold Medal recognising his exceptional service to building services engineering.

Over the past three decades, Patrick has grown Atelier Ten to more than 350 staff across eleven offices worldwide and has collaborated with some of the world’s most renowned architects and designers including Google’s new headquarters in London with Heatherwick Studio and BIG, the National Theatre in London with Haworth Tompkins, WWF’s UK Headquarters with Hopkins Architects, Zaha Hadid’s Bee’ah HQ in Sharjah, Gardens by the Bay with WilkinsonEyre and Grant Associates, Jewel Changi Airport with Safdie Architects and the new Tower Hamlets Town Hall with AHMM.

Patrick’s fellow director Nico Kienzl, whom he has worked with over the last 21 years, took over as Senior Executive Director of Atelier Ten internationally in 2023 while Duncan Campbell, who has been a statutory Director of London since early 2023, will become Executive Director, taking on the responsibilities of leading Atelier Ten’s UK offices. 

Nico and Duncan will be working closely to bring forward a new generation of leadership to take on the environmental challenges of the next decade while ensuring Atelier Ten continues to work on the most exciting, interesting and cutting-edge construction projects in the UK. As an international market leader in building services design and environmental design, the UK team will also be developing its specialist services in lighting, acoustics and fire engineering to provide a more holistic service to clients.  

Atelier Ten joined SJ Group (SJ) in 2020, enabling SJ to build upon and strengthen its existing sustainability expertise on a global scale. During this time, Patrick has played a key role in shaping the Group’s sustainability endeavours across its global operations. Patrick will move into a new role at SJ, as Senior Advisor, Sustainability, effective January 2025, where he will continue to provide mentorship and ambassadorship of SJ’s sustainability charter to catalyse the transition to a regenerative future. 

Looking ahead Patrick intends to spend more time in academia and will be reprising his position as visiting Professor at the School of Architecture at Yale University to run a design studio in 2025 as well as becoming more involved in supporting design education as part of his role as a Royal Designer for Industry at the RSA. Patrick will also be providing strategic consultancy to Atelier Ten as they continue driving impact in the field of sustainable design.  
Patrick Bellew, founder of Atelier Ten“After 34 years leading Atelier Ten, four years of which have been within SJ, it is the right time to hand over the baton so I can take on a strategic advisory role and pursue other interests including teaching and writing. I have had the immense privilege of working with some incredible people – from colleagues to clients, collaborators, and peers – who have each played a vital role in our ambition for a greener future. I am confident that both Atelier Ten and SJ will continue to drive forward innovation in the built environment to create a more sustainable world.”