Creative Architecture Practice – Frank Shaw

Inclusive, short-break care centres that place wellbeing first.


The Northstowe Community Centre has now completed, becoming one of the first civic anchors in the town’s emerging local centre. Sitting along The Green, it brings people together in a building that feels welcoming, bright and easy to navigate. Its Lshaped layout opens into a sheltered courtyard garden, creating a calm outdoor space for play, events and everyday connections.

The project had strong sustainability ambitions from the start, and we worked to make sure those aims were realised in the final building. We focused on lowering lifecycle carbon through thoughtful material choices and a form that reduces energy demand. Clerestory glazing boosts natural light and ventilation, while pitched roofs create warm, open spaces.

At the centre of this project is community. Flexible rooms, a doubleheight foyer and a café mean the building can adapt as Northstowe grows.

Learning at the heart of a growing community.

Neurodiversity isn’t a single brief. It covers autism, SEMH, PMLD, sensory needs and a huge range of lived experiences. At Frank Shaw, we start by listening. Because understanding how people experience their environment shapes every design decision we make.

You can see this approach at Joseph Norton Academy, where small clusters create calmer movement and predictable routines. Nature runs through the whole site, with classroom gardens and an onsite farm helping young people regulate how they feel. It’s a reminder that the landscape is just as important as the building.

These ideas continue into projects like Woodley School and College, where flexible teaching clusters replace traditional classrooms. Here, students have spaces to learn, pause and reconnect. Choice is built in from the beginning — and it reduces stress rather than adding to it.

Planning for growth in a new community.

At Frank Shaw, social value is woven into the way we work—a continuous cycle of designing, supporting and learning alongside the communities around us. Impact is felt in quiet moments: a student gaining confidence, a garden restored, or a space reshaped to offer comfort. Our pro bono projects, from Denby Dale’s Outdoor Learning Library to Brighter Grays’ sensory garden, show how small interventions can create meaningful change.

We also invest in future talent, welcoming work experience students, apprentices and graduates while supporting schools through workshops, mentoring and careers guidance. Beyond education, our teams contribute to environmental and charitable initiatives—planting trees, restoring landscapes and fundraising for organisations close to home.

Social value begins within our studio, where flexible working, wellbeing support and learning opportunities help our people thrive. As we grow, our focus remains the same: to strengthen this ongoing cycle and help build more resilient, connected communities.

Delivering an award-winning education campus for a new town.