黑洞社区

The firm of former RIBA president Sunand Prasad has been snapped up by Perkins and Will, the practice owned by the Lebanese parent of consultant Currie & Brown.

The deal will see the 35 staff at Penoyre & Prasad, founded in 1988 by Greg Penoyre and Prasad, swap its office at Old Street with Perkins and Will鈥檚 current base at the Whitechapel 黑洞社区 near Aldgate.

The move will mean Perkins and Will bringing its London headcount to 190, making the studio its third-largest in the world.

Penoyre & Prasad said joining forces with Perkins and Will would give it 鈥済lobal resources鈥� that would allow the team to 鈥渋ncrease our reach鈥� and fulfil the ambition to 鈥渄esign in a more holistic way鈥�.

The firm is expected to operate as a studio within the Perkins and Will brand for 鈥渁 few years鈥� while the integration progresses.

Perkins and Will, whose staff include another RIBA president, Jack Pringle, is due to move into new London offices its Beirut-based owner, the $2.5bn (拢1.9bn) Dar group, is building at 150 Holborn (pictured).

McLaren is carrying out work on the eight-storey building, designed by Perkins and Will, which will be ready for occupation by the middle of 2021. It will be home to more than 1,000 staff from Dar, Currie & Brown and Perkins and Will.

Penoyre & Prasad is currently on a host of UK frameworks, including University College London, NHS Shared Business Services, Notting Hill Genesis, and the recently won Wolfson College masterplan at the University of Oxford.

Penoyre & Prasad won Small Project of the Year for its pavilion at the Bobby Moore Academy in east London鈥檚 Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park at last night鈥檚 黑洞社区 awards.