Being a small practice allows us to quickly adapt to the needs of each project.

Born in three different countries, each with a different design background, we all have an experience shared between practice and university teaching. Our skills complement and enrich each other, allowing us to responsively explore creative solutions with you. With a strong background in research and education, we make sure that the design process remains transparent to yourself, your collaborators and your community, helping all the actors of the project to get involved and participate in the creative thinking process.


Alina Hughes

Alina Hughes

Alina hails from Bucharest, Romania, where she completed two years of her architectural training at the famous Ion Mincu school, before transferring her studies (and life) to the UK in 1991. She has experience in a wide range of architectural practice, from small scale conservation work to multi-million commercial projects. She brings a focus (based on her MA research) on getting the design ideas right and being true to them throughout the process. Recently, Alina has focussed on architectural education and research, having designed and run a new architecture degree at Nottingham Trent University. She is also president of the Nottingham and Derby Society of Architects.

At 2hD, Alina is the networking lynchpin and design director, often bringing in new work, keeping a weather eye on project development and conducting design reviews for the team.

Contact details

Phone: 0115 941 9766
Email: alina@2hd.co.uk

Tom Hughes

Tom Hughes

Tom is an all rounder, as likely to be found with his nose in a book as pounding on his house with a sledgehammer. His formative architectural experiences came during a work placement in Chile, where he discovered a deep appreciation of both the poetics and materiality of building. After finishing his architectural studies with a specialism in the reuse of existing buildings, Tom joined the in-house architectural practice at English Heritage, gaining valuable experience of design in historic environments. A PhD followed, investigating the practice and theory of designing, building, and buying houses made of steel.

At 2hD, Tom is the office Daddy, dealing with everyday practice management, job running and community engagement.

Contact details

Phone: 0115 941 9766
Email: tom@2hd.co.uk

Thibaut Devulder

Thibaut Devulder

Thibaut studied construction engineering in France before coming to Nottingham in 1999 to work on his PhD research on the bioclimatic design of lightweight textile architecture. When not travelling between England, Serbia, Norway and France, he’s excited by things like self-build construction, making igloos, growing peppers and taking photos of funny shadows. He’s also a regular visiting tutor in various architecture schools, including the University of Lincoln, Nottingham Trent University and University of Nottingham.

At 2hD, Thibaut is chief of all things technical, from computer modelling wizardry to sheep’s wool insulation. He makes classy, user-friendly web sites and is our graphics maestro.

Oh, and his name is pronounced Teebo

Contact details

Phone: 0115 714 8426
Email: thibaut@2hd.co.uk


Who are our clients?

We work with a wide variety of clients, ranging from grass root community groups and domestic clients to public arts organisations and international universities. Some of our recent clients include:

… as well as many private clients in the United Kingdom, France and Norway.