Recency Villa Site Update

This month has seen the construction start in earnest on our Regency Villa project, located in central Southampton, Hampshire. At this early stage, the focus is on carefully stripping back the modern alterations; carefully removing incongruous additions, taking internal stud partitions out, and clearing out the poorly built extension, to reveal the bones of the original period property.

This four-storey listed townhouse, originally built circa 1835, has lost much of its former grandeur over the years, something we are aiming to restore through this deep renovation and reimagining. Most recently, the property had been converted into a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO), which obscured much of the original character and has compromised the proportions of its rooms.

We’re thoroughly enjoying site visits at this point in the project. It’s exciting to see what the talented team at Tuakana is uncovering, such as original floorboards that had been covered over, and concealed, fireplaces. With the modern partitions removed, we can now fully appreciate the true dimensions of each room. Standing in these newly opened spaces and witnessing the natural light interact with the architecture is genuinely inspiring.

Our design vision is to return the house to a single-family dwelling, one that celebrates its period features while introducing a contemporary glass extension to the rear. The result will be a comfortable, elegant home that brings together the history of the home with the comforts of modern living.

Get in touch if you have a project you would like to discuss with the design team.

Solent University Collaboration

We are really excited to have teamed up with Solent University and Mettricks, collaborating on a project for the second year graphics students at the University which looks at ways to help reposition the city.

Background:
Southampton is a city rich in culture from both the past and present. There is so much to love from the architecture to the music, to the food – there’s nowhere quite like it. Although not everyone thinks this way, and we want to show them Southampton is a place to be proud of!

Challenge:
Looking at ways to help reposition Southampton away from its current perceived image; to make it relevant to its current residents and visitors. The project is to create a poster campaign that showcases the cities creativity and culture, to make it somewhere we can all be proud to belong to.

The work will focuse on key areas of the city, including: Arrival/Departure (the docks, train station, airport), Nature, Heritage, Literature, Sport, Music, Theatre, Art.

We cannot wait to see the results from this inspiring work later this year.

Planning success

We are pleased to have secured planning for a new Girl Guides Hall for the Portswood area of Southampton, Hampshire. Our sensitive design will create a new hub for the local Guides Association, to enable them to promote outdoor based actives for young people in the city, on the site of a previously demolished hall.

We now look forward to working with the client to secure funding and deliver this wonderful building in the heart of the City, you can read full details about the project here.

Celebrating Six Years

In celebration of our six years in business, and as a reflection of how the business has evolved, we have written and published a new practice profile which we launched last week at an evening with clients, collaborators and friends.

We set up Studio BAD to deliver architecture without ego, to use our design skills as a vehicle of positive change. The idea of re-use has always been central to our ethos, in an era where climate change defines our lives it is important to us to reduce unnecessary waste and promote low energy solutions as much as possible.

Whilst these points are still core to the business, the business has evolved since it was originally established. Recently we took some time out to reflect on how the business has developed over these last six years to review what we, as a design collective stands,  now stand for. This work uncovered what we see as six essential aspects, which we think of as our Design Commitment:

  • To Listen
  • To Reflect
  • To Understand
  • To Imagine
  • To Act
  • To Realise

You can read more about our Design Commitment here, or get in touch to request a practice profile.

Listed building planning success

We are delighted to announce we have secured planning permission to sympathetically refurbish and extend a Grade II listed Regency villa in central Southampton.

The design will extensively renovate the existing building, to deliver a scheme that enhances the rich, historic personality of the original dwelling and upgrade the energy efficiency of the property. A contemporary extension, replacing the current, poorly constructed extension, will create a largely glazed structure to transform the rear of the property with a spacious kitchen running across the whole elevation of the home. The work will breathe new life into the property, to create a functional, joyful home for the owners and their young family.

You can read more details about the project here; we have also written an article about working on listed and heritage building which you might find interesting which you can find here.

Southampton Guides Hall submitted for planning

We have submitted our designs for a new Girl Guide Meeting Hall in the Portswood area of central Southampton, in for planning approval. The scheme will create a new hub for the local Guides Association to promote outdoor based actives for the young people in the city, on the site of a previously demolished hall.

The hall will be built primarily in timber with glazed sliding doors, the simple structure is divided into two key elements – roof and deck. The main hall is placed under an asymmetric butterfly style roof, designed to maximise the feeling of space within whilst sensitively tucking under the existing tree canopy. A floating roof will extend out over a decked area, offering an outdoor space with protection from the elements, you can find more details on the project page here. 

We look forward to a positive outcome from the planning department.