Andy Francis, a partner at RH Partnership Architects, has lived in Brighton and Hove for the past 15 years and reckons the city has finally turned a corner.

Town planners, no longer desperate to pay homage to the city's Regency heyday, have identified quality contemporary design as the way forward.

Andy says: "When we first moved to Brighton it was quite frustrating because the town was suffering from the classic pastiche syndrome.

"Everyone was concerned about preserving the historic character of Brighton, and rightly so, but there was a feeling every new building ought to somehow 'fit in'.

"I guess that was understandable because there have been some truly dreadful pieces of architecture, such as the Brighton Centre, which is just awful. But for a firm like ours, which was primarily concerned with promoting contemporary ideas, it was a difficult place to do business.

"Thankfully things are changing. The library, for example, promises to be wonderful and the developments in Connaught Road look exciting."

With a staff of 13, RH Partnership's Bond Street office is the little sister to the company's head office in Cambridge, where Andy previously worked for six years.

Since moving to North Laine he has built up an impressive list of clients from all sectors - residential, sport, culture, education and science and health.

The firm is working on a huge business innovation centre in Hastings for the South-East England Development Agency (Seeda).

It is along the same lines as the Sussex Innovation Centre at Falmer and is part of Seeda's plan to create a string of business hubs along the South Coast.

As head of the firm delivering the project, you might expect Andy to doff his cap to this wider vision but architects are opinionated creatures and he is no exception.

He says: "They seem to be pumping a lot of money into Hastings and telling everyone it is the place to live but you have got to improve the infrastructure as well.

"Brighton has got great transport links. It's an hour away from London, you've got Gatwick, the M27 and the M23. Will people want to live in Hastings? That's the question."

So what else has been rocking his boat recently?

Andy is a director of the Low Carbon Network, a not-for-profit organisation that aims to raise awareness of the links between buildings and global warming.

He explains: "We have been involved in the Earthship project in Stanmer Park which has been an incredibly creative and learning experience. It's a completely self-sustainable house which isn't plugged into the grid. It's incredible and the first of its type to be built in the UK.

"It runs on a mixture of wind and solar power, uses old tyres, bottles and cans for the walls and harvests its own water from rain.

"Of course, whoever moves in will have to buy into the ethos and the lifestyle. You won't be able to have the CD player, washing machine and hairdryer going at the same time."

Darn. But doesn't all this green living come at another, more mundane price?

"There is normally a knock-on cost in terms of the initial capital outlay but that is offset by a reduction in running costs which, over the years, will make it cost-effective.

"But buildings use so much energy and I think sustainability has to be the way forward. In fact I don't think the Government is doing nearly enough to promote it."

As with all architects you get the impression this is a hobby, an all-consuming passion which Andy is paid to indulge. And you wonder whether there is any hinterland.

He says: "You tend to be an architect 24 hours a day. It impacts on so many different things.

"I think people think architects just draw a few lines on paper and out pops a building.

"But there is so much to it. We have to think about every new piece of legislation, from employment to building regulations to health and safety to disability.

"That is the great art of being an architect - pulling all those things together to create something unique and interesting to present to the client."

Fortunately Andy has built a life for himself in Brighton as well as successful business.

He shares his terraced house in Queen's Park with his Czech wife and two energetic dogs.

They go to the theatre and cinema a lot and go for long walks at the weekend. And they love Kemp Town, primarily because it hasn't changed much.

Andy says: "There's still a really good sense of community. We know all our neighbours and everyone says hello to one another, which in this day and age is quite remarkable.

"And there are corner shops. You can actually pop out and go to the local shop because it hasn't been over-commercialised like some parts of Brighton."

Brighton and Hove faces a brave new future with plans to redevelop the marina and any number of adventurous building projects pencilled in for the seafront.

But Andy, like everyone else, clearly appreciates the simple things as well.