We’re delighted to see Brockenhurst House featured in Build It’s Best of Self Build & Renovation supplement, which showcases the award-winning projects from the 2025 Build It Awards.
Brockenhurst House was the winner of the Extensions & Renovation category. The judges praised the project for its beautifully detailed, fabric-first approach, highlighting how thoughtful design can be truly transformative, even within an average budget.
The scheme reimagines a tired 1970s property as a contemporary, low-energy home. Carefully tailored to support the owners’ needs, the design incorporates a high degree of flexibility, ensuring the house is resilient, adaptable and future-proofed for years to come.
We visited the Courtyard House site last week, located in the New Forest near the village of Burley, and were delighted to see that the building is now ‘watertight’; an important milestone in the construction process.
With the glazing fully installed and the roof now tiled, the project is now completely enclosed and protected from the elements. This marks a key transition on site, allowing the construction team to move their focus to the internal works, including plumbing, electrics, and finishes. From this stage on, the scheme will begins to feel more like a home and less like a building site.
Internally, the house feels spacious and filled with natural light, something we have worked incredibly hard to achieve on this narrow site. The internal courtyards, carefully cut into the building form, respond to the constraints of the elongated plot by drawing daylight deep into the plan and strengthening the connection between inside and out.
We look forward to sharing further updates as this New Forest residential project continues to take shape.
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.
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.
Darren has been invited to take part in the RIBA Hampshire 2026 Lecture ‘Lightning Talks’ alongside five other Hampshire based practices. During the event, each speaker will be giving a short and concise talk explaining how small moves have generated big impact in their projects.
Alongside Darren will be architects from;
Anthony Munden Architects
Hamilton Architects
Keith Evans Architects
Deniz Beck Architects
Giles Architects
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
