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. 

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. 

Build It Award Shortlist

Our Brockenhurst House has been shortlisted in this years Build It Awards, in the ‘Best Architect or Designer for an Extension Project’. The annual industry awards that celebrates 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.

 

We look forward to the winners being revealed later this year.

South Coast Property Roundtable

Following on from our win of Architectural Practice of the Year at this years South Coast Property Awards, Darren was invited to participate in a round table discussion last week, with the other winners from this year’s awards.

The open discussion looked at opportunities and challenges we all face within the vibrant property sector across the south coast, including changes to the planning process, opportunities within the commercial sector to encourage staff back into the office, and how to make full use of technology to increase efficiency.

The organisers are looking to write a full report on the discussions, which we hope to share soon.

Judging Homebuilding & Renovating Awards

Darren was once again invited to be on the judging panel of the prestigious Homebuilding & Renovating Awards, in partnership with The Times and The Sunday Times. The panel of eight expert judges had the enjoyable task of reviewing all the award entries, whittling them down to a shortlist of just 25 properties.

From this list they will now need to agree on the winners for each of the categories. You can also have your say, by voting for your favorite project for the Readers’ Choice Award – click here to vote.

 

Congratulations to all the shortlisted projects, the winners will be announced in the January edition of Homebuilding & Renovating magazine, on sale on 4th December.