Darling Associates was set up by architect Chris Darling following an offer from his client Alistair Watson to commission the new practice with three initial projects. Chris’s colleague at Hamilton Associates – Lood Welgemoed -agreed to join him and on the 10th March 2003 the practice opened for business. The early days were spent with Chris decorating the walls in an empty office loaned by Alistair at 99 New Cavendish Street, meanwhile Lood unpacked and set up the computers and printers.

Initial projects were a business park in Guildford and private houses for friends of Chris in Wimbledon and Notting Hill. Larger schemes arrived in the form of a residential scheme in Loudoun Road, a flats scheme at Croydon Park Hotel and a mixed use scheme in Brighton. Soon after Chris and Lood found themselves too busy at meetings to keep the drawings flowing and Juan Pinol joined them, closely followed that Autumn by Pnina Boonzaier. Pnina detailed a new residential scheme in Clapham. As the Brighton scheme took off the team was joined by new girls Avril and Kerry. That Christmas all six headed off to Paris for a well deserved party.

In January 2004, two more friends from Hamiltons joined: Ralph Nicholls brought with him the Harrods Depositary project and worked hard to secure Candy and Candy as a client. Warren Rosing came back from South Africa to rejoin his old colleagues and oversaw the completion of the Brighton project. Several more walls were knocked down at 99 New Cavendish Street to enlarge the office and trips to Ikea took place, although the team proved worryingly inept at assembling the new desks and storage units. At the same time both Lood and Juan celebrated becoming fathers.