December Studio Update

In this months roundup, we’re pleased to share highlights from Darren’s recent talk at the RIBA conference, the opening of our Winchester art installation, and the exciting news of our award win for Brockenhurst House.

To keep in touch with our news, you can sign up to the practice updates here. 

Photography by Karla Gowlett

RIBA Conference, Guerrilla Tactics

Darren was invited to present at this years RIBA Guerrilla Tactics conference themed “The DNA of Practice: Shaping Identity Beyond the Portfolio,” explored what defines a practice’s true identity beyond its built work.

His talk was titled, “Making Meaning: Communicating Practice Values with Clarity and Confidence”, reflecting on his own experiences as founder of Studio BAD nearly seven years ago, and the importance of establishing and staying true to a set of guiding principles that underpin every aspect of our work. You can read more about the event here. 

Architecture Award Win

We are absolutely thrilled to have won the ‘Best Architect for an Extension Project’ at this year’s Build It Awards for our Brockenhurst House project. The design has taken a tired 1970’s chalet home set within the New Forest National Park, and transformed it into a stunning, contemporary home to perfectly suit the clients’ needs.

The brief had been to extend and reimagine the property, to deliver a low energy home that could support the owners evolving needs, while remaining true to principles of beauty, sustainability, and architectural integrity, elevating everyday living while responding to change. You can read more details about the project here.

Art Installation Opens

We were delighted to attend the official opening of Allegra Ambition Installation this month, a project that delivers a free-to-use outdoor fitness space and sculptural seating area beside the Winchester Sports Centre at Garrison Ground, Hampshire. Our design was selected as the winner of the public art competition for the charity, Allegra’s Ambition.

Lucy Whittome, Trustee of Allegra’s Ambition, stated about the design:

“We have tried to create something truly special here. It is a place that welcomes people and children of all ages to gather, sit, play, and exercise, with a focus on calisthenics.”

Best Architect Award

We are absolutely thrilled to have won the ‘Best Architect for an Extension Project’ at this year’s Build It Awards for our Brockenhurst House project.

The design has taken the tired 1970’s chalet home, and transformed it into a stunning, contemporary home to perfectly suit our clients’ needs. Their ambition was to extend and reimagine the property to deliver a home that could support their evolving needs, while remaining true to principles of beauty, sustainability, and architectural integrity.

The result is a refined, low energy home that champions passive solar design, natural materials, and renewable technologies, demonstrating how thoughtful architecture can elevate everyday living while responding to environmental challenges.

Our client stated;

‘From our very first meeting with Darren and Studio BAD team, it was clear that we had found someone who was listening and importantly hearing our ideas, priorities, and intentions. As we are of a mature age and this is to be our forever home. A warm and comfortable, accessible, and environmentally responsible property was our goal and with Studio BAD’s design and assistance we have been able to score it.
‘We are delighted with our completed home and are able to enjoy life without worrying about changing situations regarding aging, mobility and access etc.’

 

You can find full project details here. 

Art Installation Opens in Winchester

We were delighted to attend the official opening of Allegra Ambition Installation this week, a project that delivers a free-to-use outdoor fitness space and sculptural seating area beside the Winchester Sports Centre at Garrison Ground, Hampshire.

Our design was selected as the winner of the public art competition run by SPUD, seamlessly integrating the charity’s ‘finish line’ logo into a series of organic sculptural forms. These pieces combine art, sculpture, gym equipment, and seating into one cohesive and beautiful installation. Constructed from timber of varying heights, the design creates a tactile and inviting space that encourages visitors to sit, climb, or work out.

Lucy Whittome, Trustee of Allegra’s Ambition, said:

“We have tried to create something truly special here. It is a place that welcomes people and children of all ages to gather, sit, play, and exercise, with a focus on calisthenics.”

Cllr Sudhakar Achwal, Mayor of Winchester, added:

“The gym is a wonderful tribute to Allegra, who spent much of her childhood playing and training on the fields at Bar End… Allegra’s Gym stands as a living legacy, a joyful place for the community to meet, gather, exercise, and play together, just as she once enjoyed doing.

“I would like to warmly congratulate you and your team for bringing this project from conception to reality, the result is exceptional.”

Allegra’s Ambition, a charity established in memory of Allegra Whittome, works to enable, engage, and empower young people to reach their potential through participation in sport.

Reflecting on RIBA Guerrilla Tactics 2025

This week, I had the pleasure of spending an inspiring day at the RIBA in London, taking part in this year’s Guerrilla Tactics event,  their annual conference dedicated to supporting small and medium-sized architectural practices. The theme for this year, “The DNA of Practice: Shaping Identity Beyond the Portfolio,” explored what defines a practice’s true identity beyond its built work.

I was delighted to be invited to present my talk, “Making Meaning: Communicating Practice Values with Clarity and Confidence.” In this talk, I reflected on my own experiences of founding Studio BAD nearly seven years ago, and the importance of establishing and staying true to a set of guiding principles that underpin every aspect of our work.

When Studio BAD was first founded, I identified a handful of key principles that continue to shape our approach today, including:

Social and community engagement, Reimagining buildings, Creating change-makers, 21st-century practice, and Being ‘light’ responsive and fleet of foot. 

Last year, as we celebrated six years in practice, we took the opportunity to pause and reflect on how we’ve evolved. This period of introspection helped us analyse our ethos and distil it into six essential strands that remain true to our original DNA: To Listen; To Reflect; To Understand; To Imagine; To Act; To Realise. (You can read more about our design commitment here.)

My talk centred on the power of establishing an authentic identity, that is built on belief, the importance of  narrative, encouraging diversity, and above all, not following the crowd.

Professional photo credit: Karla Gowlett Photography

November Practice News

In this month’s update we have put together some frequently asked questions to help explain the SIPs build system following the onsite success at our Courtyard House project, we are celebrating our shortlist in the Build It Awards, and have an update from The Granary.

To keep in touch with our news, you can sign up to the practice updates here. 

FAQs about SIPs

We often get asked questions from our clients about SIP’s as a potential method for building. To help you get a better idea about the benefits of this system, we have answered a few of the most frequently asked questions; including what are the benefits, what are the disadvantages, and is the system cheaper to build with.

Read the full article here. 

Award Success

Our Brockenhurst House has been shortlisted in this year’s Build It Awards, in the ‘Best Architect or Designer for a Conservation or Renovation Project’. The annual industry awards that celebrate the most inspiring architectural projects and inventive products in the self-build sector, judged by industry leaders.

Brockenhurst House exemplifies how thoughtful, design-led architecture can elevate everyday living. What began as a tired 1970s chalet-style property has been transformed into a refined, low-carbon contemporary home, designed to support its owners’ evolving needs while treading lightly on the planet.

Full project details can be found here. 

The Granary update

It was great to see such positive progress on site at The Granary, our heritage project in the New Forest National Park set within the curtilage of a listed building.

The project has thoughtfully designed a scheme which converts and infills an existing open carport space on the ground floor aspect of the building, providing an additional bedroom on the first floor and extending the living accommodation on the ground floor.

The project is so close to completion, we cannot wait to share some professional photos with you soon. You can find full project details here. 

Progress at The Granary

It was great to see such positive progress at The Granary, our heritage project in the New Forest National Park. The project is so close to completion, we cannot wait to share some professional photos with you soon.

The project has thoughtfully designed a scheme which converts and infills an existing open carport space on the ground floor aspect of the building, providing an additional bedroom on the first floor and extending the living accommodation on the ground floor.

Although The Granary is not a listed building independently, it sits within a curtilage of a listed building, and is of heritage interest due to it being well-preserved example of common agricultural architecture from the period. Due to this this unique heritage of the building, we approached the design sensitively, in order to retain the character of the ancillary buildings, both in terms of individual value and the setting of the listed building.