TORQUIL MCINTOSH

Torquil studied architecture at Beaux-Arts in Paris and the University of Edinburgh. On graduating he joined Denis Laming Architectes, where he worked on Parc du Futuroscope; a French theme park based upon multimedia, cinematic and audio-visual technologies.

He then joined Future Systems, guiding their competition for President Jacques Chirac’s grand projet, Musée du quai Branly, Paris, France as well as working on Selfridges, Birmingham.

It was at Future Systems that Torquil met Simon Mitchell, where they both honed their craft and went on to co-found Sybarite in 2002. Their steely focus was retail with an eye for the experiential.

Since 2012, Torquil has overseen Sybarite’s relationship with SKP retail operators in China. Sybarite is the architectural partner for SKP and SKP-S – working across retail, hospitality and several brand extensions.

Sybarite took their typical holistic approach working from the micro to the macro to the transformation of SKP, choosing to focus on SKP’s branding before developing signature architecture and interiors. Stores in Beijing and Xi’an are testament to this and the award of Keys to the City of Xi’an.

In 2019, Sybarite created the store of the future. SKP-S, Beijing – a benchmark in experiential retail which led to SKP-S Xi’an in 2022 and SKP-S Chengdu in 2022. The mixed-use masterplan of SKP Chengdu unveiled in 2022 demonstrates the exponential growth of the SKP experience and a new direction for the hybrid retail experience.

In 2016 and in 2022 Sybarite were honoured with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise and International Trade relating to their work in relation to retail in Asia for SKP and other reputable property developers.

Whatever the project scale, Torquil’s approach to architecture and design purposefully blurs boundaries between the arts. His designs create the cohesive experience between the brand, and the customer.