Why have we founded Folia Architects?

Since moving to Mid-Devon, we’ve been asked a few times, why did you leave your comfortable self-built home and the successful business you co-founded? It’s a good question…

For years, Arbor Architects was our world alongside our beautiful Victorian coach house in Herefordshire. We co-founded Arbor, nurtured it, and watched it grow into an award-winning practice we are incredibly proud of. Like any small business owner knows, your business is part of you, and leaving it wasn't easy. In 2025 we set up a succession plan to sell our shares and enable the remaining Arbor team to thrive in Hereford.  

So why?

We wanted to be closer to nature (well immersed actually!). We wanted to stretch our eyes over the long views across moors, hills and the sea. We wanted our young family to have space to be messy, and see that a couple of acres of land can produce an abundance of field to fork food. We wanted to get back to our roots of hands-on architecture that responds to its location in a way that embraces natural and local materials in a crisp low-energy way.

Moving to devon starts the next chapter in our sustainable led, design focussed architecture and introduces Folia Architects.

From our woodland studio, we’re ready to take everything we’ve learned from years award-winning projects and apply it across the South West. Working from Dartmoor to Exmoor and Somerset to the edges of Cornwall, we aim to create beautiful, healthy, low-energy homes and community spaces.