The late Richard Paxton studied architecture at Kingston University,
and went on to work in the offices of Ahrends, Burton & Koralek,
where he was involved in the design of the Cummins Diesel Factory in
Scotland and the Sainsbury’s supermarket in Canterbury. In 1985 he
established his own practice with his future wife, Heidi Locher, who
had formerly worked for Terence Conran.

Paxton
Locher have been responsible for the design of the Soho Theatre and the
Jerwood Space in Southwark, but perhaps their most significant
contribution to architecture has been the imaginative domestic projects
they have undertaken both for themselves and for distinguished clients
(including Douglas Adams and Griff Rhys Jones). Notable among these is ahouse on Clerkenwell Green(currently for sale with The Modern House) and others in Primrose Hill and Hampstead.

In
an article in Grand Designs, Kevin McCloud wrote of Paxton’s work
“…above all else, what impresses me is how Richard understood the idea
of enclosure. For him walls didn’t exist to support the roof but to
provide shelter and comfort. He knew how to articulate the shapes in a
building to make you feel relaxed, nurtured and protected. He
understood that great Corbusian truth, that the business of
architecture is to create relationships: with a building, with people
and with the world at large.”