January 2026 studio update

In this roundup, we’re pleased to start the year with news about our new Sheffield church project, update from the Brick Pavilion in Chichester, and details of Darren’s recent RIBA Hampshire lecture.

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Sheffield Church Development

We are thrilled to have started to expand our reach, and are currently working on a comprehensive feasibility study for the existing buildings at St Thomas’s Church in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.

The study has reviewed the condition, layout, and long-term potential of the church’s built assets, with the aim of ensuring the property continues to support both the congregation and the wider community in a sustainable and meaningful way. We look forward to sharing more updates from the scheme as the design develops, to see more details about the project click here. 

Brick Pavillion Planning Submitted

We have submitted our designs that reimagine the Brick Pavillion located in Priory Park, Chichester, West Sussex.

Working with Chichester Community Development Trust (CDT) we have explored the potential and redevelopment of this locally significant building which has been vacant, and neglected for years. Our designs look to transform the building into a vibrant community facility, integrating the pavilion with the existing park amenities. For more details of the scheme, click here.

RIBA Hampshire

Darren was invited to take part in the RIBA Hampshire Lecture series, as part of their ‘Lightning Talks’ session alongside five other Hampshire based practices.

During the event, each speaker was giving a short time to deliver a concise talk explaining how small moves have generated big impact in their projects. Darren discussed the work Studio BAD delivered at St Margaret’s Church in Portsmouth, reinterpreting the church building to drawing people to reengage with this incredible building – read more about the project here.

Planning secured on second phase at St Margarets

Full planning has been secured for the second phase at St Margarets Church, adding a new entrance to the church in Southsea, Portsmouth.

We had previously worked on the church, helping to transform the almost derelict building into a vibrant community hub, this second phase focuses on installing a new entrance porch to help to further reinvigorate the building with the community. Our design adds a contemporary copper clad porch, creating a striking, visual statement that will activate the front of the church with the public realm.

Having worked closely with the church, planners and community over the last few years, we are so pleased to have finally got planning in place for this addition. We look forward to sharing updates of the work as it starts on site later this year.

Get in touch to discover how we can help tranform your community project.

Host Café opens at St Luke’s, Portsmouth

We were delighted to see the first phase of our St Luke’s Church redevelopment completed, with the opening of the new Host Café last week. The redevelopment is inline with the Church’s vision ‘To become a church with visible connection and meaning to those who live, work, or study, in this community: one that is open throughout the week for everyone, whether you express a faith or not.’

The church had approached Studio BAD following the success of our St Margaret’s Church redevelopment, to help enhance the church building with the aim of transforming it into a vibrant hub for the community. As part of the wider project, we looked at major repair work to the church roof, gutters and windows and also looked at improving the engagement between the church and the community at all levels, make the physical space more welcoming and restful.

In this first phase the courtyard space, between the street and the front entrance, has been upgraded with a cost effective overhaul to deliver a vibrant and inviting space to encourage the community into, during the warmer months this space will also be used for alfresco dining for the café.

The new café is located in the church hall, offering great coffee, comfortable chairs and a warm welcome to all. The vicar, the Rev Annie McCabe, said: “Our customers include those who work in the church, students living in the blocks of flats around us, congregation members, and people from the local community. Various groups, such as the police and city council want to use the café as a base to discuss issues with local residents.” All profits raised from the café will be re-invested into the local community.

We are delighted to have helped breath new life into the building, creating a space for the whole community to enjoy and engage with. You can find out more details about Host Cafe here. 

Celebrating design success

It is wonderful to see our designs for St Luke’s Church celebrated by the Diocese of Portsmouth, featuring on their website and social platforms. We are thrilled the scheme was recently given planning permission, and we are looking forward to seeing the project start onsite later this year.

This design concentrates on the courtyard area, creating an inviting space between the church and the main road that breaks down the threshold resistance to attract the whole community in from the street. A second phase, which looks at the interior space of the church, will be looked at once this project has been completed.

The vicar, the Rev Annie McCabe, commented: “We’ve already done a lot of work to create The Host as a welcoming space for workers during the day, to repair the church roof and make the building sound, and to open up these spaces to the local community.

“We hope the work to create the courtyard, revamp the church hall and create the garden space will take place over the next three years, and give our buildings a sense of being a ‘campus’ where all sorts of groups meet.”

St Luke’s is the second church renovation and re-imagination project that we have gained planning permission for with the Diocese of Portsmouth, following on from St Margaret’s Church which had phase one completed in 2021 and we have some of their others properties on the drawing board

St Luke’s submitted for planning

We have recently submitted our plans for St Luke’s Church in for planning. The reimagination plans of the church, is designed to help continue the community support work that the church already undertakes, will add a café and garden.

The Reverend Annie McCabe commented that they plans will ‘improve the visual appeal of the building to be inviting and accessible’. The plans will convert the existing church hall into a café, with a new porch structure added. The existing car park will be redeveloped as a flexible, community garden space.

The designs for the church will help to expand the community outreach projects the church is already involved in. Three years ago, the church launched a shared working space, coffee bar, meeting space with high-speed wifi, this redevelopment scheme looks to continue the positive progression of the work already started.

It was fabulous to see these redevelopment plans featuring in The News, the local newspaper for Portsmouth, with such positive community comments about the scheme. We hope to have a positive response from the council by the end of February 2023.