Our People
Chris Baillon-Saunders
Director
Chris Baillon-Saunders
Director
Chris founded Indigo in 2016 after previously working in Architectural and Project Management roles with previous employers including Franklin Ellis Architects, Gleeds and the University of Derby.
He has designed and project managed projects across most sectors and has a particularly strong passion in designing places and spaces for children and young people, including family homes, schools, universities, student accommodation and recreational facilities. This passion derives from his own experience as a father of three young children (family is the main focus of his life away from the office) and through coaching children of all ages in swimming, rowing and mountain-boarding in clubs, groups and summer camps.
Chris is responsible for overseeing the management and development of the practice and he works with a highly talented team of Architects and Assistants who share his passion and are granted creative freedom to deliver high-quality buildings.
Kevin Cahill
Senior Architect
Kevin Cahill
Senior Architect
Kevin joined Indigo as a highly experienced Senior Architect in February 2022 with notable previous roles at Lewis & Hickey, Church Lukas, Purcell, Marchini Curran and Benoy.
Qualifying in 1992, Kevin’s experience spans a career in its 4th decade, leading a diverse range of projects across most sectors with values up to £60m under traditional and design & build contracts, including significant residential, education & healthcare, hospitality & leisure and commercial projects with several BIM Level 2 schemes.
He is passionate about the quality of architecture produced and has an infectious enthusiasm for the creative process. Like Chris, he too is a strong family man and has a similar passion for designing places for children and young people.
Alex Faulkner
Architect
Alex Faulkner
Architect
Alex joined Indigo as an Architectural Assistant in June 2019 following completion of his Part II qualification.
He has developed impeccably since that time, consistently ahead of his peers and showing a fervent appetite to explore and learn all aspects of the profession.
We supported Alex with his Part III qualification at the University of Nottingham and were delighted to see him successfully complete and qualify as an Architect in 2023.
He has progressed from small domestic schemes to larger projects in the residential, education & healthcare, hospitality & leisure and commercial sectors, working successfully through all design phases and showing maturity far beyond his years in all of his work.
Like most of the Indigo team, Alex is highly passionate and focused on the quality of the creative process and architecture produced.
Khaled Haj Hussein
Architect
Khaled Haj Hussein
Architect
Khaled joined Indigo as an Architect in 2022 after 6yrs at Pollard Thomas Edwards Architects in London as part of relocation to Derbyshire for family reasons.
Qualifying in 2012, Khaled’s experience covers prior roles with practices in France and the UK, working mostly on large scale housing developments and other mixed-use and commercial projects.
He was motivated to join Indigo to become part of a smaller, collaborative team with richer diversity in project types and settled in quickly and efficiently. He applies a studious and elegant approach to architecture and, like Kevin and Chris, is a family man with passion for designing buildings and places that are used by children and young people.
Emily Giles
Architect
Emily Giles
Architect
Emily joined Indigo as an Architectural Assistant in November 2021 following 6yrs working on residential projects at a small midlands-based practice and a further year working inlocal authority on housing association schemes.
Emily was keen to challenge her creativity by expanding her work into wider sectors and larger projects and we were excited to welcome her to the team and subsequently support her through her Part III qualification at the University of Nottingham, seeing her successfully complete and qualify as an Architect in 2023.
Emily has a strong person-centred approach and a character and work ethic that has seen her develop into a strong Architect, delivering schemes through all work stages across the residential, education & healthcare, hospitality & leisure and commercial sectors in her time with us.
Alex Masters
Senior Designer
Alex Masters
Senior Designer
Alex joined Indigo in February 2021 after 8yrs at Matthew Montague Architects and several other similar roles spanning a career dating back to the 1990s.
Alex possesses an encyclopaedic architectural knowledge and his approach to design is on a forensic level rarely seen. He is a focal point for the office in terms of his experience, regularly assisting others in finding efficient design solutions to highly complex challenges.
He is highly experienced in all sectors, with a strong background in heritage projects and a passion for traditional architectural detailing whilst flexible in embracing contemporary styles.
His passion and focus for the quality of architecture produced, both in concept and technical detailing, is of the highest standard without exception.
Andrew Elliott
Senior Architectural Technician
Andrew Elliott
Senior Architectural Technician
Andrew joined Indigo as an Architectural Technician in June 2022.
Originally qualifying as a Building Surveyor, Andrew spent 8yrs at a multi-disciplinary practice where his role gradually evolved from a Building Surveyor into an Architectural Technician, providing design drawings and managing the design process on new build and refurbishment projects in the residential and education & healthcare sectors.
On joining Indigo, his technical knowledge was immediately apparent, and he quickly developed into wider sectors, running technical design packages on mixed-use, commercial, residential, education & healthcare and hospitality & leisure projects with values up to £65m, working directly for clients and contractors on D&B schemes, often operating as Design Manager in the case of the latter.
Andrew’s calm demeanour combines with an exceptional work ethic and time-management skills to allow him to deliver work successfully under extreme time pressures.
Melissa Bancroft
Architectural Technician
Melissa Bancroft
Architectural Technician
Melissa joined Indigo in March 2024 as a highly experienced Architectural Technician with notable previous roles at Stephen George & Partners, Brooker Flynn and Lungfish Architects.
Melissa’s career extends back to 2008 and covers project work in the residential, retail and education & healthcare sectors across the public and private sector and experience in Principal Designer (CDM) and Project administration roles.
Since joining Indigo, she has continued to develop with projects extending into wider commercial and industrial sectors.
Melissa also provides essential technical administrative support to the wider team on an array of projects and other day-to-day office and project administration tasks.