fiftyfour

A new single storey 2 bedroom ‘urban cabin’ on a tight corner of Elfort Road: The irregular shaped site slots in-between the end of two terraces: 3 post-war ex council houses on one side and a typical Victorian terrace on the other. The site had previously been used as a car workshop and more recently for car parking. 

The house has been deliberately and robustly crafted; the walls are handmade brick, doors and windows are bespoke cedar with cedar cladding internally and externally. Internal joinery helps to maximise the usable space. Exposed sawn timber joists over main areas are painted grey and the ceilings to circulation and service areas are smooth and white. Main light fittings are vintage Danish but the building is naturally lit via a series of large roof lights. The roof is a bio-diverse green roof planted with wild flowers. 

The house has been designed to achieve high passive standards of heating, insulation and ventilation and achieves CfSH level 4.

Photographed by Sarah Blee.

The conversion and extension of a 19th Century detached house in Clapton. The house is not listed, but was deemed to be of sufficient historic interest that a proposed upwards extension to match neighbouring houses was ruled out by the Planning Authority.

The Clients wanted to upgrade the house, to rationalise and open up the existing ground floor plan (which had a previously built extension), to create another bedroom and bathroom on the first floor, and to build a new garden studio. The first floor extension at the rear of the existing house for the new bedroom was negotiated as a Planning Application. The garden studio was partly set into the ground to limit the disturbance to the garden boundary and was carried out as a Permitted Development.

The construction of the studio at the end of the garden provided the opportunity to create a courtyard, partially screened from overlooking. Green roofs provide visual interest and add to the local biodiversity. To reinforce the enclosure and coherence of the outdoor space the perimeter of the courtyard has been clad in black stained timber with a paved surface, perimeter planting and two new trees. The new bedroom overlooks the courtyard across a planted roof from the first floor. The ground floor has been opened up to bring views and light into the kitchen and dining room in the middle of the house.

The project was completed in late 2016

Photographed by Sarah Blee

Studio 54 was chosen for the Peabody Small Projects Panel in February 2014 following a competition which attracted more than 300 entries. This is the proposal for one of 4 brown field sites in Islington.

The backland site is currently used for car parking with garages and hard standing and is within the Conservation Area. The proposal is for 2 two bed courtyard houses sitting at the back of the site and accessed from the south. All the main living accommodation is at ground floor level with south facing courtyard gardens.

The scheme was submitted for Pre Application comments and has been subject to Public Consultation. A start on site is anticipated in June 2016.

Panavia Court is the latest completed building in the phased regeneration of Grahame Park in Barnet. Studio 54 Architecture, working in collaboration with Jestico and Whiles and Peter Barber Architects won an RIBA managed International competition promoted by Genesis to masterplan the southern area of Grahame Park in 2008. The Competition Brief was to provide 500 new homes together with a new Square, Parks, a library, shops and a community centre, integrating and improving the retained urban fabric.

Panavia Court has been designed to provide a formal street frontage onto the roads with street access to ground floor units and to the apartment cores. All ground floor units have gardens and the upper floor units have generous balconies or terraces. The building is 4 stories rising to 6 stories at each street corner where the facade is articulated with inset and projecting balconies. To avoid overlooking and overshadowing the building is set back from the gardens of Beaumont Court, an existing terrace of two storey houses to the west of the building.

S54A were asked to design the upgrading of the ground floor of a large family house in Aberdeen Park in Islington. The existing kitchen was dark and badly planned with an inadequate dining area and no Utility room. The Living room was disconnected from the dining area and the cloakroom was small and badly located. All the main living areas face north and were elevated above a large garden, but took little advantage of the space or the views.

As well as providing extra space, the proposed extension gave the opportunity to get more daylight into the back of the house: a wide picture window facing north, a west facing window, east facing sliding doors and a roof light. The extension also naturally encloses a new patio which has been built at the level of the ground floor of the house, paved in brick and stepped down into the garden.

 The extended ground floor includes a new kitchen and a generous dining area overlooking both the garden and the new patio. A new entrance has been formed to improve the link into the dining area and an enlarged entrance from the Living Room onto the patio facing the garden. A new Study, Cloakroom and Utility Room at the front of the house complete the reorganisation of the ground floor plan.

The extension has been designed as two linked volumes which step up from the entrance to the living room. The larger volume is brick and extends the kitchen. The smaller is clad in grey stained timber and sits below the landing window on the axis of the front door (with a tall window providing a long view through the house into the garden). This is a transition space between the courtyard and the dining room.

The project was completed in the early summer of 2017

The proposal reflects the existing topology of the town which grows up from the river, with taller buildings higher up the hill. We are attracted to the idea of creating familiar and legible street based neighbourhoods with clear routes and entrances and well used open spaces which help to encourage communal and social activity.

The row of houses facing the River Walk are 2 and 3 storey with a stepped elevation, the buildings behind are mainly 3 to 5 storey with views through to the river. The courtyard plan form avoids
overlooking from the buildings behind. Almost all units are dual aspect and all living spaces face west. The road dropping down from St Andrew’s Street and the new passageway provide a valuable gap in the building line and views from the west bank of the River towards St George’s Church and the Town Hall.

Studio 54 have been shortlisted for two sites in the competition being run by the RIBA with Brighton & Hove City Council. The competition produced 146 entries by 70 different practices. The competition sought designs for affordable housing across pilot sites that are considered potentially challenging by virtue of their size, context or restricted access. Among the sites due to be redeveloped are garages and car parks. 

Studio 54 submitted an entry for the Letchworth Housing Competition with Studio Shaw (Architects), J and L Gibbons (Landscape Architects) and XCO2 (Environmental Engineers).

The competition asked for proposals for the northward expansion of Letchworth to create a new settlement of 900 homes. There were 95 submissions from 11 countries. The proposal received an A grade in all the selection criteria (overall quality, response to the brief, clear communication of approach) and were in the final long list of 14.

Another urban intervention for the owners of the Coexistence business in Islington, the Canonbury Lane building had an old and deteriorating roof, but the possibility of creating a new floor, hidden behind the existing parapet. 

Within the Conservation Area it was deemed important that the new studio should be invisible from the nearby Canonbury Square, but the long views south over Islington towards the City could be enjoyed to the full. A wide terrace sits behind the lowered south facing parapet, the window wall and roof is raked to follow the sight lines from the Square to create a bold asymmetrical dimension to the simple rectangular plan.

Photographed by Sarah Blee.

The project for 21 residential units redevelops the old Electricity Sub Station site at 142-150 Arlington Rd on the corner of Stanmore Place, empty for many years. The scheme in the Camden Town Conservation Area retains and adapts the front and side facades of the building with an entirely new building within; 5 floors inc. a new basement with a new stepped elevation at the rear

The Arlington frontage is the principle elevation with the existing window openings lowered. These openings set the floor to ceiling heights for the new apartments which range from 2.7m to 3.4m. The previously blank facade onto Underhill St. is punctured with deep revealed openings unveiling the layout of the residential units behind. At the rear of the building the existing corner bay has been retained, but the rest of the façade was demolished, replaced by a new stepped plan and section which creates amenity space for the units and provides an active frontage onto what was an underused and neglected area. The setbacks which bring light into the deep plan are expressed in a white wire cut brick which are mitred to the rear facade with rough London Stock bricks. Floor to ceiling glazing forms glass to glass corners on the 2nd floor with varied windows types

The complex whole is celebrated through an attention to the design from the details joining the old and new and through the array of materials used.

Photography by Sarah blee

Highbury Terrace Mews is an eclectic mix of houses of all types and styles. The house is part of a terrace of 6 built in 1988 in a confusion of styles with some ill considered detailing. 

The design brief evolved from a modest exercise to add a shower room and upgrade insulation into a project to completely re-design, simplify and rationalise the front elevation and to fit out a number of key internal spaces. The Planning process was difficult and time consuming, but the scheme was accepted without any compromise. 

The elevation was modified by altering the roof line, replacing the windows and cladding the front above the ground floor: the Douglas fir cladding is of variable width and is stained charcoal black. The exposed brickwork at the ground floor level has been paint washed grey. Existing window openings have been reused and two new windows formed. Fixed windows are set flush with the cladding; opening windows are set back with deep set oiled cedar clad reveals internally. 

Key internal spaces: the study and bedrooms are fitted out in cedar.

Photographed by Sarah Blee.

S54 were shortlisted for an architectural competition for a new development of a large site in the centre of the town of Houghton Regis in Bedfordshire. The brief was to create a high quality, mixed use, independent living scheme which would challenge people’s perception of how housing for older people is designed and the way it is procured and managed. Given its location the scheme was also intended to reinvigorate the town centre and positively contribute to the local economy, community and the wider environment.

The site is partly within a conservation area with a single listed building to be retained, it is bounded on the north side by a very busy road, to the east by a historic village green and to the north by remnants of the high street and the ancient village church.

We saw the development as an opportunity to create a new village street linking the church and the green. We planned the northern side of the site as a transitional area between the green and the town centre, having a traditional ‘open character’ with buildings set back from the street.

The new village street provides access to all the new accommodation which has been arranged in a series of ‘mansion blocks’ which in turn define the character of the open spaces. Each elevation is ‘active’ and all the external areas of the site contribute positively to a varied and exciting landscape.

Studio 54 was chosen for the Peabody Small Projects Panel in February 2014 following a competition which attracted more than 300 entries. This is the proposal for one of 4 brown field sites in Islington.

The backland site currently contains garages, an access road and hard standing and is surrounded by mature trees in a residential area. The proposal is for 5 two bed courtyard houses which respond to the characteristics of the backland site with a landscaped mews and inward facing courtyards, avoiding problems of overlooking into neighbouring properties. The project won the NLA Award for the best unbuilt housing scheme in 2015

The scheme was submitted for Pre Application comments and has been subject to Public Consultation. A start on site is anticipated in June 2016.

Following on from our work in renovating their house, our Client asked us to look at reconfiguring the rear of the building at the upper and lower ground floor levels: The garden was detached from the house with a very convoluted access from the house and a recently built conservatory simply added to the sense of dislocation from the outdoors. We demolished the conservatory, excavated at the rear and built a wide and generous access from the lower ground floor up to the garden, linked to the lower ground floor by new glazed doors. We built a new balcony at the Upper Ground floor level, linking the kitchen to the garden and a new entrance from the stair landing. The pallet of materials we used was deliberately simple: for the walls and paving the Petersen Kolumbia long brick with a horizontal raked joint in the vertical plane and for the balcony and doors: western red cedar.

Photographed by Sarah Blee.

A new build, modern family house in Highbury. The architecture responds to the local context (adjacent to the Arsenal tube station and opposite the entrance to the original Arsenal stadium) while re-interpreting the traditional elements of the terrace. The large spaces have an intimate relationship at ground level with an external deck and a formal garden. It was a finalist in the Blueprint 'Residential Building of the Year 2001' and featured in the RIBA Journal, Blueprint magazine ,Evening Standard and Independent newspaper. It was also published in ‘New London Architecture, London Apartments’.

Photographed by Sarah Blee.

The building reinterprets the classic 30’s mansion block in a modern context: large apartments with generous balconies, terraces, gardens and a westerly aspect over a new garden ‘court’. The surrounding estate is a 30’s development of apartments in 4 blocks set in spacious landscaped gardens. This new apartment building was commissioned by Dorrington Investment and has Planning Approval.

Demolition of an existing single storey garage and construction of an attached two-level (including basement level), two-bedroom dwelling to the east of the existing dwelling, with a separate entrance at ground floor level. The building has been designed in the character of a coach house/stables with a simple white washed timber screen facing the street frontage containing all the functional elements of the façade. The aim of the project was to provide better access from the adjacent house into the garden and new accommodation.

Photographed by Sarah Blee.

Studio 54 was chosen for the Peabody Small Projects Panel in February 2014 following a competition which attracted more than 300 entries. This is the proposal for one of 4 brown field sites in Islington.

The site is a landscaped gap in a terrace of 3 storey houses which also serves as a walkway into the estate from the bus stop on Junction Road. The site has been the location of regular anti-social activity. It is proposed to extend the terrace with a building which responds to the corner, overlooking the walkway. The walkway will be retained and re-landscaped. The new building will contain 3 three bed apartments.

The scheme was submitted for Pre Application comments and has been subject to Public Consultation. A start on site is anticipated in June 2016.

Working with architects Jestico + Whiles and Peter Barber Architects, Studio 54 Architecture has developed the national RIBA competition winning scheme for the first major phase of the redevelopment of the 1970s Grahame Park Estate in Colindale, North London. 

The project included the review of the existing masterplan and will provide 500 additional homes, a library, a park, shops and a community centre. It is the start of a 15 year program to create 3000 extra homes in Grahame Park.

Photographer, Sarah Blee

Funded through the Government’s ‘Places of Change’ programme for Christian Action Housing Association, Branches is a new rough sleeper’s hostel on tight site on a busy road in Waltham Forest. Accommodation includes twenty seven study/bedrooms, a Day Centre with social training, medical administration and ancillary facilities. The project aims to provide high quality well designed accommodation to help rough sleepers integrate into main stream society. 

Construction started in late 2009 with Completion at the end of 2010.

Photographed by Sarah Blee.

In November 2010 Studio 54 Architecture won the international competition to design the masterplan and final phases of the Greenwich Millennium Village, working in collaboration with Jestico + Whiles and Peter Barber Architects. 

The design process has provided an exciting opportunity to review the nature of the urban community in the 21st Century and to reflect on a appropriate design response for this site. The particular site context is unique: the industrial complex to the east, the Thames to the north, the main roads to the south, the existing Village to the west, the legacy of Erskine and the existing Village, the problems of noise pollution, the ground pollution and the local micro climate. 

Planning Approval was granted in February 2012.

The conversion and extension of a large Victorian house in Hampstead (which had been sub divided into a warren of bedsits) to provide a spacious family house and self contained flat. The work included completely redesigning the internal and external spaces to create a light, elegant and flexible home.

Photographed by Sarah Blee.

The conversion of a grand Victorian Terrace to provide a beautiful family home for a longstanding client. The work included a new kitchen, bathrooms, redecoration, built-in furniture, new furniture and fittings and the extensive remodeling of the garden.

Studio 54 was chosen for the Peabody Small Projects Panel in February 2014 following a competition which attracted more than 300 entries. This is the proposal for one of 4 brown field sites in Islington.

The site, in a principally residential area, was occupied by underused garages and is next to a Public House and a 4 storey apartment building.  The proposal is for 6 apartments (4 twobed and 2 one bed) in a three storey building accessed from Brookside Road on the north side of the site and a 2 storey three bedroom house accessed from St John’s Grove on the south side.

The scheme was submitted for Pre Application comments and has been subject to Public Consultation. A start on site is anticipated in June 2016.

An ambitious proposal to link the development of the London Metropolitan University site, opposite the Whitechapel Gallery, to the wider redevelopment of the Aldgate area providing more teaching accommodation for the University and a village of student accommodation.

The design provides 9,600 sq ft of accommodation on 4 floors and was commissioned by Business Environment Group. The proposed new building is clad in white precast concrete on the northern boundary wrapping around part of the east and west elevations. The other elevations are clad in timber with screening to the upper floors opening windows designed to provide flexibility in the control of daylight and sunlight. Generous balconies look west over the new park. Planning Approval 2006.

A commission to develop a strategy for the development of several important linked sites in Tower Hamlets. A variety of options were considered and tested through discussions with the planners, CABE, the GLA and with prospective users. A mixed use scheme incorporating retail, commercial, private, residential and social housing apartments linked to a new public open space was granted Planning Approval in 2004. The design received the enthusiastic support of the consultees and was described by CABE as ‘exemplary architecture of the highest standard’. The project established new standards for height and density in the area. The Site was sold on and project has been completed by a Design and Build Contractor.

Planning and Conservation Approval was obtained for the refurbishment of a traditional mid-terrace house in the Jesus Hospital Conservation area, just off Columbia Road. 

The house required renovation to preserve the existing property features along with modest remodelling of the interior. The work included careful restoration of the existing timber windows and shutters alongside the installation of a new kitchen, bathroom, WC and enlarged kitchen window openings. 

Outside, the garden walls were carefully re-pointed with lime mortar and a quirky pergola inserted. 

The work was completed May 2012.

CBHA and Peabody Trust have commissioned ten new houses on a brownfield site in Leyton. They meet Code for Sustainable Homes Level 3, Lifetime Home Standards within the framework of Buildings for Life and take account of the requirements of the consultative housing standards proposals from the Mayor of London.

An RIBA competition winning scheme for Peabody Trust which involved the redevelopment of an important brownfield site on the edge of a Conservation Area at a prominent and busy road junction overlooking Newington Green. 44 flats and a restaurant are located within a seven storey tower which forms a strong landmark and a three storey terrace which relates to the existing Victorian terraces on Albion Road. A new Medical Centre forms a two storey transition to the lower terraces on Green Lanes. The project has been used as an exemplar by Peabody and the GLA and has been widely published. It won the Brick Development Award and a Civic Trust Award in 2002. 

"At best 'higher density' means developments such as the new Peabody Trust Development in Stoke Newington. It fits flats into its site at a density nearly twice Hackney's planning guidelines without imposing on its surroundings or making its residents feel cramped. The Tower adds to the dignity of Newington Green. More important, the residents describe it as 'really spacious' with a 'good spirit'". Rowan Moore, Evening Standard February 29th 2000.

Working with four other architect teams on the master plan and design of the redevelopment of the Stonegrove Estate in North London for Barrett, Family Mosaic and the London Borough of Barnet. The scheme delivers a balanced community of around 1000 mixed tenure housing. It aims to achieve a high density while providing well planned modern apartments with access to good quality usable amenity space, maximum daylight and views within an efficiently engineered, passive design envelope.