Ben is a Senior Lecturer within the Department of Architecture & the Built Environment at Northumbria University, Newcastle.
He is an active designer, maker, and researcher – specialising in furniture, interior & exhibition projects and modular design.
In 2006 Ben founded Jardine Couture Ltd, which operated for 15 years providing design and production for furniture and spatial projects. The company undertook work with national museums and blue chip organisations, as well as a wide range of private commissions.
Ben has ongoing involvement as a Director of 3rdSpace (Sawhorse Ltd), set up in 2010 with architect Paul Grindley, providing modular buildings and studios throughout the UK, based on the innovative 3rdSpace Modular system.
More on Jardine Couture Ltd
Jardine Couture operated from 2006 - 2019, with a broad range of output including exhibition design, production management, furniture design and strategic consultancy.
The company started life in 2006 as a LLP, founded by Ben Couture and Daniel Jardine, providing interior fit-out and site-installations for fashion brands and large department stores. Owing to interests in both project management and designing/making, work began a shift towards production and delivery of bespoke furniture and brand environments. This was highlighted by a series of projects over 5 years for major blue chip clients across multiple EMEA sites for strategic design consultancy, Pope + Wainwright.
From 2011-14 the company worked with for a small number of international design agencies including Pentagram Design, delivering retail and exhibition projects such as World Chess Grand Prix, Truth or Dare by Madonna and ‘Time Machines: Daniel Weil & the Art of Design’ at the Design Museum.
In 2012, Jardine Couture switched from LLP to Limited company under sole directorship of Ben Couture. As a studio and workshop, furniture was created for private commissions and spatial design undertaken for a range of brands. New products such as the CV Shelving System and North Collection were shown at a number of exhibitions including Design Event and North Modern in Copenhagen.
The final phase from 2016 - 2019 saw the company focus almost entirely on exhibition making, specialising in contemporary design for both temporary and permanent narrative exhibitions. In addition, a strand of strategic consultancy was developed for assisting cultural organisations with future planning and funding applications. In this time the company worked with clients such as WWF, National Trust, RIBA/NBS, Seven Stories (National Centre for Children’s Books) and National Museum of The Royal Navy.
Jardine Couture Ltd ceased trading in 2019. Ben remains active as a designer, maker and researcher alongside his role as Senior Lecturer at Northumbria University.