North Several is a development of 7 townhouses arranged over 2 terraces, designed by Royston Summers and built in 1968.

An outstanding example of modern architecture in London, the buildings are of exposed concrete and brickwork with full height glazed panels to the facades, overlooking the open spaces of Blackheath at one end and communal private gardens at the other.

Summers used a rigorous spatial grid to organise the 3 storeys modulated by repetitive wall panelling of 600x2400 birch ply sheets. This utilitarian solution also serves to bring warmth to the interior. Other important original feature is the freestanding wooden staircase.

Following from our refurbishment project on the adjacent property in 2017, the brief was for the complete refurbishment and upgrade of another mid-terrace house.

This property had lost many of the original features and character, with all brickwork and wood painted a cold white. Our intervention focused on bringing back the original warmer finishes: the birch ply wall panels & doors and dark rich brickwork.

The house was fully rewired and the trench radiators system upgraded and extended.

The plan was reorganized on the top floor, whilst maintaining a clear reading of the spacial grids and zones: a large sliding door opens the landing to the master bedroom; a new en-suite is accessed through a plywood bespoke panel-door, part of a new re-purposed wardrobe.

The 3 bathroom design, materials and colour palette are consistent with the original design, with bespoke birch ply joinery and the use of panelled mirrors to reflect the exterior and maximize the light. Marble worktops were reused to create new bathroom shelves.

The kitchen was also upgraded with light white units and bespoke oak doors at high level. This warmer timber complements the birch in the living space walls.

On the ground floor, the utility and bathroom layout was reinstated and a door salvaged from the top floor is now a sliding partition.

The original quarry flooring on the ground floor was reused following installation of under floor heating and a polished concrete finish was applied to the first floor, unifying living spaces and kitchen.

Client: Private

Value: Private

Team:

Main contractor: Builders A2Z

Structural Engineer: Hurry Limited

Joiners: M W Robinson Furniture and Bertram Whitford

Approved Inspectors: Salus

Key Suppliers:

Radiators: Bisque

Gas Fire: Cocoon Aeris

Bespoke oak kitchen doors: Naked Doors

Kitchen: Howdens

Kitchen worktop: Silestone by Keystone

Polished concrete floor: The Micro Cement Company

Tiles: Marazzi and Design Works

Lighting: Tom Rafield, John Lewis, Made.com, SLV

Bathroom fittings: Crosswater, Just Taps Plus, Matki

Curtains: Silent Gliss Wave by Shading Specialists

Status: completed September 2018

Photography by Anton Rodriguez

Bunyan Court (completed in 1972) is one of the blocks which forms the Barbican Estate (grade II listed), an outstanding example of brutalist architecture in London.

This particular flat is a M3a type - a triplex at 5th, 6th and 7th floor with the top floor comprising a double height space with a barrel vaulted ceiling.

The brief was for the design of a carefully crafted piece of oak furniture, slotted into the top floor room forming a mezzanine platform, shower room and wardrobes to serve the master bedroom.

The design of the bathroom was carefully coordinated with the existing communal services. The shower enclosure is lined with white panelling and has a bespoke shower tray.

The timber for the intervention was chosen to contrast with the hardwood used for the existing staircase. Storage and shutters were carefully integrated into the design of the upper platform and follow the curve of the ceiling.

The design was based on the idea of a room within a room as well as a lived in piece of furniture: a multifunctional object occupying a larger space.

Client: private

Cost: private

Team:

Structural Engineer: Barton Engineers

Main contractor/ Joiner/ Master-craftsman: Dubel Joinery

Key suppliers:

Basin: Not Only White

Oak paneling: TinTab Multiply

Taps: Vola

Status:

Completed, July 2017

Completed project photography:

Anton Rodriguez

Featured in:

- Dezeen

- AJ Buildings Library

- Architizer

- Divisare

- Grand Designs Magazine, Feb 2018 issue

- Evening Standard, Homes & Property, 14.11.2018

Awards:

Shortlisted - Wood Awards 2018, Interiors

Longlisted - Dezeen Awards 2018, Interiors

Finalist - Surface Design Awards 2018

This house is part of a pair built in 2007, in Blackheath, south east London.

The brief was to re-plan the ground floor, improving the sense of arrival, flow between the kitchen & living spaces and to convert a WC and bathroom into a more efficient shower room and cloakroom.

The new layout is achieved with the help of 3 large sliding doors, continuous connecting flooring, a bespoke joinery seat & storage unit and a new kitchen - all parts contributing to a new unified sense of space.

Colour and textures are also explored, with a strong blue accent on the bespoke seat continuing into the adjacent room, whilst the white walls background enhance the vibrant art collections of the homeowners.

The kitchen was designed by Bulthaup in close collaboration, so a fully coordinated layout was developed.

Phase 2, later in 2019, will focus on the installation of a new large steelwork and glass balcony improving the connection with the garden.

Status: Completed, April to June 2019

Phase 2, late 2019

Client: Private

Contractor: Balham Builders

Structural Engineer: Hurry Limited

Building Control: Salus Approved Inspectors

Key suppliers

Kitchen: Bulthaup

Flooring: Oak, Ecohardwood

Tiles: Cerdisa

Bronze handles: Glutz

Shelving: Vitsoe

Photography: Anton Rodriguez

North Several is a development of 7 townhouses arranged over 2 terraces, designed by Royston Summers and built in 1968.

An outstanding example of modern architecture in London, the buildings are of exposed concrete and brickwork with full height glazed panels to the facades, overlooking the open spaces of Blackheath at one end and communal private gardens at the other.

Summers used a rigorous spatial grid to organise the 3 storeys modulated by repetitive wall panelling of 600x2400 birch ply sheets. This utilitarian solution also serves to bring warmth to the interior. Other important original features are the freestanding wooden staircase and the unique modular shelving system, all integral to the original design.

The brief was for the complete refurbishment and upgrade of one of the mid-terrace houses which had also belonged to Summers himself.

The analysis of the plan grids, design principles, key materials and details, together with the architectural qualities of the existing house, led to the intervention concept: preservation of, and respect for the existing fabric; conservation of materials wherever possible and make only minimal interventions so as not to confuse the original plan.

The original underfloor heating was temperamental and reaching the end of its life, and was replaced by a more energy efficient hot water system. Bespoke radiators were installed in place of a birch ply panel next to the windows of each room. A gas fire, installed in the living room, was incorporated within a new bespoke joinery shelving unit.

The house was fully rewired, new wall lights and energy efficient LED strip lighting incorporated into the staircase and a new track lighting system installed in the living spaces.

To facilitate the unobtrusive incorporation of these technical interventions, the existing ply wall panels were removed, labelled and reinstated and the ceilings were re-plastered.

The plan was reorganized on the top floor: the water tank closet was removed from the landing to enlarge and create a more balanced space; the bathroom door relocated to create an en suite shower room and the smaller room transformed into the new main bathroom, with views over the gardens beyond.

The bathroom detailing, materials and colour palette are consistent with the original design, with bespoke birch ply joinery and the use of panelled mirrors to reflect the exterior and maximize the light.

Client: Private

Value: Private

Team:

Main contractor: J W Page & Son

Heating Engineers: TMP Banham

Project Manager: Taylor & Co

Key Suppliers:

Radiators: Hudevad

Gas Fire: Dru

Status:

Phase 1: completed November 2016

Phase 2: March 2017

Photography by Anton Rodriguez

The brief called for a ground floor re-planning, in order to accommodate a guest room, shower and utility room, larger open plan kitchen and three distinct living and dining zones.  

By extending six meters into the extensive rear garden, aligning the new building line with the neighbouring extensions and garages, the quality of this home and its row of 1930s detached houses is enhanced.

The extension added 44 sq m to the property.

The existing garage block was demolished and a new garden room with the same footprint (19 sq m) was built at the end of the garden.

Both the extension and the garden room are clad in charred larch and the roofs are green (sedum blanket covering).

They form two identical forms placed in dialogue, within the garden.

The black charred wood is a reference to the existing black wood frame on the projected bay of the front elevation. The green roof enhances the aspect of the first-floor master bedroom, connects the two forms and improves biodiversity.

Two large rooflights bring light into the center of the plan. The high ceiling is chamfered, or vaulted, towards the rooflights, creating a distinctive and lofty interior to the new core of the home.  

Status: Planning granted, August 2017

Completed, May 2019

Client: Private

Main contractor: Artisan Design and Build

Charred timber cladding: M W Robinson

Photography: Anton Rodriguez

This project was for the design of gardens and small studios to two adjacent Span terraced houses in Blackheath.

Key to the project, a new cedar pergola bridges across both gardens providing a formal structure for the design, making sense of a shared passageway and framing the new studio rooms.

Supported on pairs of cedar legs the pergola is constructed as a series a simple overlapping beams topped by a repetitive pattern of cedar battens. The pergola evolves into a T-shape on plan to create the fence between the gardens with access gates to a shared passageway. The fence is built from vertical cedar slats allowing light and air to pass through whilst maintaining privacy.

Within this structure each families’ garden was allowed to develop individually according to their needs: one for a retired couple has four stepped levels and a complex arrangement exploring ideas of scale and pattern. Alternating and contrasting materials create the steps and the paving, whilst box hedges provide pockets of space for the plants. Cedar posts with wires form a framework for climbing plants to the side wall. Towards the house a more open area next to a small pool creates a place to enjoy the tranquility of the garden.

The other garden is for a young family: the area is divided into 3 distinct parts each separated by a single step; the lower and upper levels are paved with dark grey Belgium bricks and create places to sit and enjoy the sun. In the centre a small lawn edged in brick lies between two borders, with espalier fruit trees planted along one side and more informal planting to the other. An area of gravel creates a place to dry clothes and a further gravel path links the house to the studio.

The studios - one for an artist printmaker and the other to be used as a multipurpose family garden room - are lined in lacquered birch ply panels placed on battens with insulation. The ceilings were painted white with their beams over clad in plywood. The floor was finished in resin. New windows open onto the gardens, connecting the studios to the gardens and the houses beyond.

Client: private & architect own

Cost: private

Status: Completed February 2018

Clay pavers supplier: Vande Moortel

Cedar supplier: Morgan Timber

Main Contractor: Mansell and Woodland Ltd

Landscape Contractor: Season’s Landscapes

Joinery: Dubel Joinery

Working together with the club members of Blackheath & Greenwich Bowling Club we developed a proposal for on-site redevelopment, including the clubhouse rebuild.

Occupying the footprint of the existing building and respecting the current massing, the new sustainable facility would provide, over 2 floors: appropriate changing rooms, enlarged kitchen and bar. The clubroom could be used as a community venue.

This clubhouse design was developed as part of a proposal for the relocation of Blackheath & Greenwich Bowling Club. Extensive consultation meetings were held with club members and directors to develop the ideal facility, including changing rooms, kitchen, bar clubroom and technical areas.

Relocating to a new, accessible and level site with the benefit of off street parking were the main reasons for the Club to consider this move. The new building was designed as an ideal clubhouse, providing the club with a sustainable facility and an asset for the community.

Status: Planning granted - June 2018

Client: Blackheath and Greenwich Bowling Club in partnership with Greenwich Property Ltd

This project is for five new homes in Blackheath's Cator Estate, on the site currently occupied by the local Bowling Club. 

The proposal is for four homes aligned to the street and adjacent properties and a fifth house which sits on the site of the current clubhouse. 

This project is an enabling development in order to relocate the Club to a new facility in Blackheath Park.

Client: Blackheath and Greenwich Bowling Club in partnership with Greenwich Property

Status: Planning stage

This detached house design was developed as part of a proposal for Blackheath & Greenwich Bowling Club to remain on their current site. 

The current club site has an extensive street frontage and underused garden space, so a compact yet carefully designed detached house was proposed, in order to enable and fund the new clubhouse.

This proposal was later revised as part of the current plans for the club relocation.

This house belongs to a group of 19 which forms Parkend (completed in 1968), a Span estate in Blackheath, London.

Since 2006 there's been a refurbishment plan in place including new hardwood windows, entrance door and external cladding, upgrading the building performance whilst respecting the original Span design.

Internally, some parts were redesigned always with the Span spirit in mind: bathrooms, kitchen units, staircase balustrade, loft floor and landing; all including bespoke joinery, carefully crafted. 

Photography by Angela Donnelly

This property is part of Sewyn Place, a 60s development of flats, terrace and detached houses. It was sucessufuly extended in the 80s creating an exciting and generous interior. A refurbishment program started in 2014 in order to update some of the interior features, including a new bathroom, enhanced rooflights and a new balustrade and bespoke handrail.

Photography by Angela Donnelly

Holm Walk is a Span Estate in Blackheath, South London.

The project is for a single storey side extension to an end of terrace house, which respects, and is in keeping with, the language, materials and details of Span housing in general and the Holm Walk design ethos.

Part pitched roof and part flat roof; the addition will provide the current owners with a larger kitchen, larger living room, ground floor WC room, utility, and storage.

Externally, this addition will enhance the streetscape by adding a low-level element breaking down the bulk of the current flank wall.

Status: On hold

This house is part of a recently built semidetached house in Sevenoaks.

The brief is for the integration of the garage within the main house and the reconfiguration of the floor plan in order to change the elongated spactial arrangement into a wider, more lateral layout.

With a carefully positioned minor extension, to the front of the property and the conversion of the garage, a series of improvements could be achieved:

- larger, more welcoming entrance hall,

- addition of a TV room,

- interconnection of living, dining and TV rooms,

- addition of a large utility & storage room.

The external cladding of the addition is wall hung tiles, a reference to the traditional Kentish material, as well as render - both treatments are also present in the existing house gables.

Client: Private

Value: Private

Team:

Executive Architect:

A2 Architecture & Design Ltd.

Status: Planning granted, January 2017

This home benefits from a substantial front garden, designed and planted in a natural way and featuring an outstanding tree. The back garden is a smaller and enclosed space and the brief was to create an outdoor room, a continuation of the dining and living rooms contrasting, but connecting with the front garden. The main material used is Portland stone for the paving and the main bespoke features are the water fountain and new brise soleil columns.

Photography by Anna Mawer

The brief for this holiday home in Castelo de Vide, Portugal was to create a building with two distinct levels. the ground floor works as a  self contained 1 bed accommodation with generous social areas whilst the top floor contains four en-suite rooms (one for each of the family children). The 90 degrees rotation of the upper floor relates to the optimal solar aspect but also with the sloping site. The lower floor forms a step within the site, built using traditional skills and stone from the existing farmhouse ruins. Within the estate, in a landscape of outstanding beauty of mainly olive trees, there is also a detached multi purpose studio, a vegetable garden and an eco pool.

Executive architect:

Miguel Cordeiro http://arch05.com/

Rental link:

http://quintavelhadoperoboi.com/en

Whilst at Allies and Morrison, Ana created an exhibition series or "Showcase" where staff were invited to show their creative work: drawing, painting, textiles, pottery, woodwork, etc. There were 10 exhibitions from 2005 to 2015, with the most recent one, on Making or the joy of craft. Ana designed the exhibition layouts as well as the display units and worked together with different curating teams over the years.

Photography by Steve Walker

Working on a listed building calls for a careful reading of the structure's fabric.

We work closely with clients and the conservation officers of the relevant local authority in order to develop the best intervention, achieving the clients brief without compromising the reading of the history of the building.

In 2017 we worked on a building in Grotes Place, grade II listed dating from about 1830. An elegant stuccoed double bay Regency house, facing the heath, in Blackheath.

This interiors project focused on the bathroom refurbishment. The concept was for a 2 part room, in order to address the asymmetry of the space: one part wet zone and one part decorative paneling.

The paneling is lined with a patterned wall paper, from the V&A'  chinoiserie collection. Part of the initial brief called for the introduction of patterned wallpaper, to complement the plainer painted rooms in the house and as a reference to the chinoiserie papers used in the Regency period.

Another listed building we are currently working on (April 2018) is a Georgian grade II listed property, which was part of a larger house dated from about 1750 and divided in the 1920’s.

A more structural alteration will allow for the re-planing of  most of the first floor. This alteration will see the reinstatement of the formal front room served by two windows. These have important tri-fold integrated shutters, which are to be refurbished.

Completed project photography

by Anton Rodriguez

Featured in:

Houzz ,December 2018 - Picture Perfect: 26 Bathrooms With Colourful Accents