Chris studied architecture at Edinburgh University where he was awarded a Carnegie Scholarship for design, graduating with honours in 1982. He initially joined Frederick Gibberd where he was appointed Principal Associate - working on the award winning Charter Place, Uxbridge and Raffles Hotel Singapore projects. His major achievement was Crown Gate, Worcester - a 30,000-m² retail centre including a new bus station and extensive urban improvements.

After ten years at Gibberd’s, he joined Terry Farrell and Partners where he was responsible for the practice’s Crossrail team before joining Hamilton Associates in 1994. At Hamilton’s his team successfully completed some 19 separate office buildings, four major residential projects at Richmond, Artilleries Victoria, Harrods and Eaton Square and retail projects at Woodgreen and Epsom. He was appointed an equity director in 1997.

In February 2003 he set up Darling Associates Architecture, drawing on both his wide-ranging experience of diverse building types and interest in the craft of architecture to quickly establish daa as a leading mixed use and design led practice.