Ben qualified as an architect in the early 1970s. He worked in the UK and in Oman prior to setting up the practice in the late 1980s. He has always been interested in the historic context of buildings and how architecture is the product of the people who made the built environment. This has lead him to have a particular interest in historic landscape and rural buildings. He has also involved himself in seeking the retention and economic use for such buildings as the Selwood Printing Works in Frome and the Union Poor House in Shepton Mallet. Both these projects bring together social context and a new economic use. He lives in rural south Somerset in a barn that he converted for his family.