An incongruous 1950s house, extended up and out; wrapped in a brick skin. The design balances the needs of a large family with conservation area requirements. Its asymmetrical form draws reference from the terrace which it nestles into. A contemporary addition; sympathetic to its historic setting.

A Royal Mail building, becomes a retrofit of 43 homes. An external circulation strategy provides further accommodation with a south/southwest facing living space and balcony. An animated façade of angled balustrades provides privacy while maximizing views.

Airports tend to be well connected to urban hubs with very large amounts of land. They also have significant building stock which, with a bit of imagination, can be repurposed to provide housing. We’ve selected Robin Hood Airport which closed in 2022 as our case study to show how the airport terminal can be reimagined as a co-living space and seed a larger self-build community across its grounds.

The design development of a new residential building on a leafy infill site in London. The considered form responds to a sensitive urban and planning context, whilst providing seven high quality homes maximising the secluded setting of the existing site.

This slim corner extension to a Victorian terrace in a conservation area in Hampstead accommodates an entire rebuild of the property. Retaining only the 3 storey façade, the resulting warm, open and highly efficient family home includes a bespoke alternative medicine space.

A new four bedroom house book-ending an existing Victorian terrace. The scheme elevates a lightweight cube over a recessed, robust core that extends underground to form a basement. A generous rooftop balcony is contained for privacy, with its lightweight veil dropped to allow views over the neighbouring park.

Drawing reference from Russian Dacha, the timber house sits nestled among trees. Building with SIPS ensured quick construction without compromising on quality or thermal efficiency. The building is carefully positioned to create a relationship with the trees; framing views and controlling privacy.

Using an interlocking, staggered maisonette design, this tight urban garage site in Plaistow was unlocked for redevelopment, providing two three-storey houses, each with private entrances set back from the pavement. The contemporary design draws cues from the surrounding industrial architecture.

This 7 storey development of 39 homes was adopted after the Fraser Brown Mackenna designed scheme had successfully gained planning, alma-nac led a fast paced coordinated Stage 3+ package. Designed to exacting standards, the design provides a thermal envelope in line with typical Passivhaus standards.

A newbuild terrace of 8 social rent homes designed to achieve PassivHaus certification and to meet the RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge targets for embodied carbon.

Orientated according to the varied surrounding views afforded by its hilltop site, the differing outlooks achieved at ground and at first floor result in a naturally fragmented form. Designed as a 'through-life' home, the interior is future-proofed to accommodate a caregiver's apartment if required.

The slim house measures just 2.3m wide internally across its 16m depth. Multiple architectural techniques create the sense of space within tight confines of the plan, with a focus on ensuring natural light penetrates deep within the plan, views out of the home are maximised, while a simple roof form reduces cost.

The 300sqm home is divided into three components: a larch-clad block sandwiched between two rendered volumes. The monolithic forms are kept closed to the street and are opened up to the sculptured private garden.

A period property retrofitted into a hotel, with apartments in the style of four infamous record labels. The apartments provide accommodation for musicians visiting Basing Street Studios, whilst re-thinking the traditional architecture in the spirit of the neighbouring studio’s rich musical history.

The sensitive refurbishment of a grade II listed 1850s townhouse preserves the 5-storey building’s historic charm while modernizing it into a spacious, light-filled family home. The result balances the reinstatement of original architectural features with contemporary design approaches.

The transformation of this former office block into 25 micro-apartments employs custom joinery to blend, yet visually separate two key functions within studio apartments: the sleeping and living areas. This approach effectively doubles the perceived spaciousness of the apartments relative to their small size.

Inserted into a 3.1m wide gap in a traditional Victorian terrace in South East London, the uniquely narrow ‘Wedge House’ comprises a simple wedge-shaped plan that fully maximises the site footprint, tapering from 2.8m internally at the front of the site to 1.9m at the rear.

L8 Matters Community Land Trust is seeking to develop the site of a former public swimming baths into a vibrant, sustainable community. The project aims to provide new, affordable housing, alongside a mix of community and commercial spaces, and a public garden. Targeting Passivhaus certification, the development will set a new standard for truly affordable, low-energy housing, prioritising both environmental sustainability and community well-being. L8 Matters CLT were the inaugural recipients of the Design for all programme.