Storah Architecture - Chartered Architect • Conservation Architect • Historic Building Consultant
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About Us

Storah Architecture is an RIBA Chartered Practice providing Architectural Services and Historic Building Consultancy. We are based in Todmorden, in the South Pennines. With easy access to Leeds and Manchester, we work in Lancashire, Yorkshire, throughout Britain and abroad.

Our aim is to provide a cost effective service, which combines experience and imagination, allowing our clients to create or rejuvenate buildings to suit their own individual needs.

We carry out a wide variety of new build and conversion projects.  Our strengths are in the conservation, conversion, restoration and renovation of historic and existing buildings and new development on sensitive sites.

We are widely experienced in the preparation of Conservation Statements and Conservation Management Plans for heritage assets.

We regularly work as a multi-disciplinary team with other consultants, including Engineers, Quantity Surveyors, Landscape Architects, Archaeologists, Museum Specialists, Ecologists and Traffic Consultants. Whilst we have close relationships with a core group of consultants, we are also ready and willing to work with others as part of a client’s established framework.

The Team

David Storah

Arch. Tech. Cert.
Director

Read more about David...

David Storah entered into the partnership with John S Taylor in 1972. They carried out a wide variety of architectural projects in the South Pennines and elsewhere until Mr. Taylor’s retirement in 1996.

David is an architectural technologist who has built up a practice with a reputation for sensitive domestic architecture and for the conversion and creative reuse of buildings for a wide variety of uses.

David has wide experience in the commercial, industrial and education sectors. Projects have included the development of new hotels and commercial buildings, regeneration of large industrial sites and works to corporate offices and schools.

Richard Storah

Dip. Arch. MA Cons (York) RIBA AABC SCA IHBC
Director, Architect

Read more about Richard...

Richard Storah began his architectural career with the practice. He then worked in Manchester, Skipton and Kendal, gaining experience in building conservation and ecclesiastical architecture.  Much of his experience is of traditional building repair and of modern additions to historic buildings including private homes, country houses, large civic buildings and churches.  Many projects involve the reuse and regeneration of buildings or sites and development in sensitive locations.

Richard is an AABC accredited conservation architect and RIBA accredited Specialist Conservation Architect, with an MA in the Conservation of Historic Buildings. He is on the approved list of architects for the Church of England in the Blackburn, Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield Dioceses and for The Yorkshire Baptist Association.  He is a member of the RIBA and the IHBC.

As a member of the British Standards Institute’s Committee for the Conservation of tangible cultural heritage, Richard was UK expert for the BS EN 16096:2012 Condition survey of historic buildings and a member of the drafting panel for BS 7913:2013 A Guide to the principles of the conservation of historic buildings.

Mathew Benson

Dip.Const. B. Arch. Dip. Arch, ADPPA, RIBA, ARB
Senior Architect

Read more about Mathew...

Following his graduation from the Mackintosh School of Architecture at the Glasgow School of Art, Mathew began his Architectural career in Scotland working on projects for the M.O.D, before returning home to Yorkshire.

He completed the Post Graduate Diploma in Architecture course at Leeds Becket University, after which he continued to gain knowledge of the vernacular building styles and techniques found in the North of England.

Mathew has continued to develop a contemporary style of Architecture, one sympathetic to the historical context of a building, but adaptive to modern expectations and requirements.

As part of his practice experience, he has worked on three Civic Trust Award winning projects and collected two Regional Building Control Awards.  Mathew’s work has also been published in the Architect’s Journal and one project was a finalist in the Grand Designs Awards.

Mathew is an adaptable and responsible Architect with experience of working on projects of varying sizes and complexity.  He has taken the lead in steering many challenging sites and projects through to successful completion whilst developing a clear design approach to his work and maintaining his personable approach to site and contract management.

Laura Aspinall

BA (Hons) Architecture, MArch, ADPPA, RIBA, ARB

Architect

Read more about Laura...

Laura joined Storah Architecture in 2018, initially working part-time during her undergraduate degree at Northumbria University. After graduating with first-class honours, she returned to the practice for her year of professional experience, continuing part-time while completing her Master’s degree at the Manchester School of Architecture, where she graduated with a Distinction.

Following her studies, Laura rejoined Storah Architecture full-time, working towards her Part 3 professional qualifications. During this time, she gained valuable experience in contract administration and on-site processes, expanding her knowledge of construction technologies and the local

vernacular.

Now a fully qualified architect, having completed her Advanced Diploma in Professional Practice in Architecture (ADPPA), Laura is committed to innovative and creative approaches to conserving and adapting the built environment. With sustainability at the forefront of modern practice, she recognises the growing importance of retrofitting and repurposing existing buildings to minimise the carbon footprint of new construction. Laura is particularly passionate about the adaptive reuse of local vernacular architecture to meet the needs of contemporary society and its users.

During her time at Storah Architecture, Laura has worked on a diverse range of projects, varying in size and complexity. She has successfully overseen several recent projects to completion on-site and continues to merge her commitment to human-centred design with her enthusiasm for adapting and reimagining historic buildings.

Alicia Booth

BA (Hons) Architecture

Architectural Assistant (Part 1)

Read more about Alicia...

Alicia started working for Storah Architecture in 2025 after graduating from Manchester School of Architecture with a first-class honours Bachelor’s degree. As a Part 1 Architectural Assistant, Alicia contributes to the practice by conducting site surveys as well as developing detail and design drawings. She is committed to exploring strategies that encourage connections between communities and the environment. With a passion for supporting both human and non-human cohabitation through ecologically sensitive spaces. Alicia aims to create user-centred designs that are responsible and thoughtful towards their surroundings and communities, striving to create sustainable designs with meaningful dialogue between past and future.

 

Barney

Best Boy.

Read more about Barney...

Barney is the newest addition to the Storah Architecture team, bringing a calm, grounding presence to the office. Inquisitive yet quiet, he offers a welcome pause in our busy day- especially at lunchtime, when he performs a thorough “menu inspection”. Barney keeps a watchful eye on the office, never failing to remind us when it’s time to restock the biscuits.