About Us

  • J3BF was formed in 2004 by three friends who were alumni of the MSc Architecture: Advanced Environmental and Energy Studies course at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT)


  • J3's knowledge and experience, together with our extensive professionals contact list, enables us to offer a broad range of services to a wide range of clients across our society – we specialise in the re-use, re-modelling, and retrofit of buildings, and the use of natural materials.


  • Residential: Our homes are our castles - but they need not be cold, draughty, energy guzzlers. Housing currently contributes a third of the UK's CO² emissions, but it really needn't. Not only can our existing buildings become much more energy efficient, and therefore cheaper to run, they can also be much healthier places in which to live and breathe


  • Professional Services: Architects and developers must construct sustainable, future-proof urban environments that not only provide comfortable places to work, rest and play, but also spaces that are efficient, practical and pragmatic. We are fully equipped to help reach these goals, with experience and knowledge to contribute and advise throughout a building's life, from design to demolish, including SAP and PassivHaus standards.


  • Community: J3 firmly believe that successful communities are a quintessential key to our collective future. We are committed to the development of local community and the advancement of broad principles of self-expression and permaculture. We trust that other aspects of our work will enable us to offer our expertise to more social endevours at very affordable rates.


  • J3*BF are committed to environmental & social justice and true sustainability, and endeavour to undertake work and business with as small an environmental impact as possible for maximum results, whilst returning a modest profit. Quality efficiently; need not greed.


  • James R Smith - BA(Hons) Arch, MSc Arch:AEES, Prof Dip Arch:AEES – time moves on and things change.. James is our last remaining founder member.. (With pic I guess..)