Marks Barfield
British architecture and design practice known for civic, educational, cultural and public-realm projects, including the London Eye.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
Marks Barfield is a London-based architecture and design practice founded by the husband-and-wife architects David Marks and Julia Barfield. The practice is associated with projects that combine architecture, engineering, public infrastructure and visitor experience, often placing distinctive structures in prominent urban or landscape settings. Its best-known work is the London Eye, the large observation wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames, which became a major London landmark after opening around the turn of the millennium. The firm's portfolio extends beyond landmark attractions. It has designed watersports facilities, piers, schools, cultural buildings, public pavilions, bridges and landscape-access projects. The Liverpool Watersports Centre and Stoke Newington Watersports Centre illustrate its work on recreational and community infrastructure, while Waterloo Millennium Pier and Millbank Millennium Pier demonstrate an interest in transport-related structures and the public realm along the Thames. Other listed projects include the Spiral Café in Birmingham, The Lightbox in Woking, the Michael Tippett School, Think Tank in Lincoln and the Wembley White Horse Bridge and associated public realm. Marks Barfield has also developed projects in which architecture is closely integrated with landscape and environmental interpretation. The Treetop Walkway at Kew Gardens provides an elevated route through the tree canopy, making the structure itself part of a visitor and ecological experience. The Greenwich Gateway Pavilions and the University of Cambridge Primary School further represent the practice's work on civic, educational and institutional settings. The practice's observation and visitor-attraction work includes Brighton i360, a vertical observation tower with a moving viewing pod, completed in 2016. Internationally, its listed portfolio includes the International Trade and Convention Centre in Riyadh. The Cambridge Central Mosque, completed in 2019, is another significant project, combining religious, community and environmental considerations in a contemporary Islamic architectural setting. The Lantern, listed as a 2023 work, indicates the continuation of the practice's project activity into the 2020s. Marks Barfield's identity is therefore tied less to a single building type than to an approach spanning architecture, urban design, engineering-led structures and public experience. Its work frequently addresses how buildings and infrastructure can become destinations, connect people to landscapes, or improve access to civic and cultural places. The available reference material does not establish a separate parent company, public listing, ownership structure, official website, or detailed current leadership roster.
History
Marks Barfield was established in London by architects David Marks and Julia Barfield. The available reference material does not give a precise founding year, but identifies the practice as a husband-and-wife partnership and records a portfolio developing from the 1990s onward. Its early listed work includes the Liverpool Watersports Centre, completed in 1994, followed by the Waterloo Millennium Pier in 1999. The practice achieved broad public recognition through the London Eye, completed in 2000. The observation wheel became one of London's most recognizable contemporary landmarks and established Marks Barfield's reputation for combining architectural design with large-scale structural and visitor-experience requirements. The firm's subsequent work continued to include public infrastructure and civic projects, including the Stoke Newington Watersports Centre in 2002 and the Millbank Millennium Pier in 2004. During the 2000s, Marks Barfield's portfolio broadened across cultural, educational and public-realm commissions. The Spiral Café in Birmingham, The Lightbox in Woking, the Michael Tippett School, the Treetop Walkway at Kew Gardens, the Wembley White Horse Bridge and public realm, and Think Tank in Lincoln are all listed as works completed in 2004 or 2007–2008. These projects show the practice working at different scales, from small visitor and hospitality structures to schools, museums, bridges and elevated landscape routes. The firm subsequently undertook projects outside the United Kingdom as well as new domestic civic commissions. The International Trade and Convention Centre in Riyadh is listed as a 2012 work. A proposed Amazon Science Centre, including a six-mile rainforest canopy walkway, is also listed from 2012, although the reference material does not establish that the proposal was built. Later completed projects include the Greenwich Gateway Pavilions and the University of Cambridge Primary School in 2015. In 2016, Brighton i360 added another major visitor-attraction project to the practice's portfolio. The tower uses a moving observation pod to provide elevated views over Brighton and the surrounding coast. In 2019, Marks Barfield completed Cambridge Central Mosque, a prominent religious and community building. The mosque expanded the practice's body of work into a major contemporary place of worship while retaining its broader interest in public accessibility, environmental design and civic presence. The Lantern is listed as a 2023 project. The source material also identifies the West Somerset Tidal Lagoon power station as a proposed project associated with 2025, but does not provide evidence of construction or operation. Across its recorded history, Marks Barfield has remained associated with architecture that combines strong visual identity with public use, movement through space and connections to urban or natural settings. Detailed information about its internal organization, current directors, revenue, ownership and present-day operational structure is not established by the supplied references.
- 2023
The Lantern
[1]The Lantern is listed among the practice's later works.
- 2019
Cambridge Central Mosque
[1]Completion of Cambridge Central Mosque, a major contemporary religious and community building.
- 2016
Brighton i360
[1]Completion of the i360 observation tower in Brighton, featuring a vertically moving viewing pod.
- 2015
Greenwich Gateway Pavilions and University of Cambridge Primary School
[1]Completion of two projects representing the practice's continuing work in public-realm and educational architecture.
- 2012
Riyadh project and proposed Amazon Science Centre
[1]The International Trade and Convention Centre in Riyadh is listed as a completed work, while an Amazon Science Centre with a proposed six-mile rainforest canopy walkway is also recorded.
- 2008
Major civic, educational and landscape projects
[1]The Treetop Walkway at Kew Gardens, the Michael Tippett School, the Wembley White Horse Bridge and public realm, and Think Tank in Lincoln are listed among the practice's 2008 works.
- 2004
Millbank Millennium Pier and Spiral Café
[1]The practice completed the Millbank Millennium Pier and the Spiral Café in Birmingham, illustrating its range across infrastructure and visitor-oriented architecture.
- 2002
Stoke Newington Watersports Centre
[1]Completion of a second listed watersports facility, extending the practice's work in community recreation.
- 2000
London Eye
[1]Completion of the London Eye, the practice's best-known project and a major observation attraction on London's South Bank.
- 1999
Waterloo Millennium Pier
[1]Completion of the Waterloo Millennium Pier as part of the practice's work on Thames-side transport and public-realm structures.
Products and positioning
A design-led British architecture practice focused on distinctive public buildings, visitor attractions, civic infrastructure, educational environments and landscape-connected structures.
Observation attraction · 2000
London Eye
The London Eye is a large observation wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames. Completed in 2000, it is Marks Barfield's most internationally recognizable project and demonstrates the practice's ability to integrate architectural form, structural requirements, visitor circulation and landmark-scale urban presence.
Landscape-access structure · 2008
Treetop Walkway at Kew Gardens
The Treetop Walkway at Kew Gardens is an elevated visitor route that brings people into the tree canopy. The project connects landscape interpretation and public access with a carefully engineered structure, making movement through the site a central part of the visitor experience.
Observation tower · 2016
Brighton i360
Brighton i360 is a tall observation tower completed in 2016. Its principal visitor element is a viewing pod that moves vertically along the tower, creating an elevated viewing experience and a new landmark on Brighton's seafront.
Religious and community architecture · 2019
Cambridge Central Mosque
Cambridge Central Mosque is a contemporary mosque and community building completed in 2019. It represents Marks Barfield's work on religious architecture and extends the firm's public-oriented practice into a significant place of worship.
Transport and public-realm infrastructure · 1999
Waterloo Millennium Pier
Waterloo Millennium Pier is a Thames-side pier completed in 1999. It is part of Marks Barfield's body of work on river transport, public access and infrastructure integrated into London's urban waterfront.
Cultural building · 2007
The Lightbox
The Lightbox in Woking is a cultural project listed among Marks Barfield's 2007 works. It illustrates the practice's involvement in public-facing cultural architecture alongside its better-known infrastructure and visitor-attraction projects.
Brand decisions
2025
Proposed West Somerset Tidal Lagoon power stationStrategyBackground
The West Somerset Tidal Lagoon power station is identified in the reference material as a proposed project associated with Marks Barfield.
Action taken
The practice was associated with a proposal for a tidal-lagoon power station in West Somerset.
Aftermath
The available material does not confirm construction, operation, approval or cancellation.
2012
Development of international and environmentally themed proposalsStrategyBackground
The practice's listed 2012 work included the International Trade and Convention Centre in Riyadh and a proposed Amazon Science Centre incorporating a six-mile rainforest canopy walkway.
Action taken
Marks Barfield pursued work beyond its established United Kingdom portfolio while applying its interest in public visitor routes, large-scale structures and landscape interpretation to an international and environmentally themed proposal.
Aftermath
The Riyadh project is listed as a work, while the supplied material does not establish that the proposed Amazon Science Centre was built.
Sources1 sources
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