We have been working on a new studio for our friend, Anna Dickerson. Anna has painted a series of beautiful jewel-like paintings of birds in her garden and these form the new window display in our office. Anna lives in an Oast House in Kent surrounded by orchards. Her garden is a riot of bold pinks, reds, yellows and greens and these colours are vibrantly reflected in her paintings. Anna trained at the Glasgow School of Art and Rhode Island School of Design. She has exhibited widely and has worked as Artist in Residence at London Zoo. Anna has work in the United Nations collection in Rome and in private collections worldwide. We invite you to come and view Anna's beautiful paintings in our studio. The display will continue until January 2018. Please also look at Anna's website: www.annadickerson.com

For an all too-brief-a-moment the basement of our new-build house burst to life with brightly coloured walls and floor. The material is a flexible, elastic layer which has been applied to the outer concrete basement walls and floors. Within two weeks the material will be sandwiched between by the internal concrete walls and floor slab and completely concealed. This specialist material, supplied by Total Vibration Solutions, is used to dampen vibration and noise within the house. Our scheme’s basement is within three metres of a London Underground tube line and vibration was identified as a risk for the project. The isolation material will reduce internal noise and vibrations dramatically making for a quieter, calmer home. The differing colours of the material reflect their different compressive strengths. Stiffer layers are positioned under heavier parts of the building so that the total deformation of the material is even and controlled. The project,…

Here are some images of our London Festival of Architecture event held earlier today. This year's theme is ‘Memory’ and we opened our studio with an exhibition celebrating the theme by launching our latest window-box exhibition, Memories of a Craftsman, featuring over 100 mid-century carpentry tools made and used by Ben's grandfather during his career as a cabinet maker.

RDA Open Studio: Memories of a Craftsman The London Festival of Architecture is Europe’s biggest annual architecture festival. This year’s theme is ‘Memory’ and Rodić Davidson Architects are delighted to be taking part for the second year running. On the morning of Saturday 10th of June, will be hosting an open studio morning celebrating architecture in relation to memory and craftsmanship. This event will mark the launch of Rodić Davidson’s latest window-box exhibition, Memories of a Craftsman, featuring over 100 mid-century carpentry tools made and used by Ben Davidson’s grandfather during his career as a cabinet maker. We will also have some of our latest work on display. Please come along to 1 Pied Bull Yard, Bloomsbury, this coming Saturday between 10.30am and 1.30pm, to see these wonderful hand tools and share some coffee and croissants in our studios. We look forward to seeing you! Click on the link below to find out…

Here are some of Natasha's photos of her recent trip to the Bluebell Open Day at the Architecture Association’s Hooke Park. Located in Dorset, Hooke Park is a 150-hectare working forest with several lodges and timber workshops. Previously the park was part of the Parnham Trust’s School for Woodland Industries, through which three architecture studies of round-wood construction were built - the Prototype House and Workshop (by Frei Otto and Richard Burton, 1987 and 1989) and Dormitory (by Edward Cullinan Architects 1996). The students of the Architecture Association can learn about forestry management, experimental timber construction and can use the workshops to create prototypes and models.

Planning Permission has been granted on appeal for our contemporary new-build apartment scheme in a Conservation Area in Kensington. The proposal will create five new apartments on a complex site within a dense historic context. The scheme takes the existing rhythm of the street elevation, providing a contemporary understanding of the found Arts and Crafts heritage. To protect sense of privacy, the proposed apartments are inward focused, arranged around generous interior courtyard gardens. We are using this seclusion to provide a soothing spatial experience to contrast the hectic and often visually excessive experience of the surrounding urban life. We are now commencing detail design with a view to start construction later this year. (Images by Rodić Davidson Architects & Hayes Davidson)

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea have approved RDA’s proposals for a substantial new upper addition to a prominent corner building in Ladbroke Square, Holland Park.  The planning consent was granted with the support of both the Case Officer and Conservation Officer and in spite of RBKC's current policy CL8 which typically resist roof extensions to buildings already extended. The Officer Report commented, “…an exception is made in this particular context as the adjacent property at 2/3 Ladbroke Square is two storeys higher than the application site. The proposal would partly obscure the uncharacteristic high level party wall which has resulted from this earlier extension. It would also retain the traditional subordinate relationship and detachment from the eastern terrace extending along the southern side of Ladbroke Square.” "The revised scheme is of a design and materials which would preserve the character and appearance of the conservation area and the appearance…

Planning Consent has been granted for the change of use of the first and second floors of a commercial building on George Street to create to two new self contained apartments. The proposals include the reconfiguration of the ground floor retail unit, and the extension of the upper floors at the rear in order to maximize the interior floor space and the natural light received at these levels. The site is listed locally as a Building of Townscape Merit and lies within the borough’s Central Richmond Conservation Area.  Richmond has extensive policies and guidelines applying to the creation of new residential units, and the design had to be developed carefully with the input of a number of specialist consultants in order to ensure the proposals satisfied the various statutory requirements.  Supporting specialist documents included Daylight/Sunlight Analysis, Sustainability Assessments, Construction Traffic Management Plan, and a Commercial Viability Assessment.

It is with delight and pride that we announce that William Adams has become an Associate. William joined Rodic Davidson Architects in 2012 and has worked on many of the practice's notable projects including North Vat, Dungeness and many new build and refurbishment schemes. William is a talented, diligent and committed architect and, above all, is a pleasure to work with.

Rodic Davidson Architects are delighted to present a selection of photos from a recent site visit to our residential project in Wimbledon. The property, which is nearing completion, has been extended by way of a roof conversion and generous rear extensions at ground and first floors. Large areas of south-facing glazing and clever use of rooflights throughout have given the house a wonderfully bright and contemporary feel – especially on a beautiful spring day!

Rodić Davidson Architects have won planning and listed building consent at appeal for a listed town house in Molyneux Street, London W1. The Planning Inspector asserted in reference to RDA’s proposed rear extension that ‘These forms, the differing materials and the lightweight and transparent nature of the glazed elements would avoid any sense of the extension as a whole introducing an unduly horizontal emphasis’.  The Inspector further contended – in direct response to Westminster’s reason for refusal - that ‘not only would the principle building’s rear wall remain largely unchanged, but it would remain visible through the glazed parts of the extension’, and that, ’Whilst glazing of the proposed scale and detailing proposed in this case is not a traditional feature of buildings of this age, glass is nonetheless a traditional, high quality and durable material.  Using it in the manner proposed here would still allow the dwelling’s original plan…

We are delighted to announce that our scheme to revitalise and restore the Queens Head in Chelsea received planning consent at RBKC Committee Hearing in February 2017. The project provides a newly restored public house which has been neglected for many years with a significant increase in ‘front of house’ public space while also providing three new apartments and a new terraced house. The public house will be fully repaired and refurbished and its layout improved to provide a superb, friendly pub. On the ground floor the space is extended into one bar area stretching the full depth of the building. The original, much-loved fireplace is retained. Windows to the street, previously hidden by WCs, will be revealed improving visibility and daylight into the pub. At basement level a new public space is created with booth seating in the vaults below the pavements and the traditional range cooker revealed as…

We are pleased to announce that our boathouse project in the Scottish Highlands has received planning consent. The boathouse scheme consists of two, timber-clad, pitched roof forms situated on the edge of Loch Affric. The larger of the two forms has been designed to house a custom-made boat to assist deer stalking on the Glen Affric Estate. Recreational boats will be housed under the smaller pitched roof structure. It was intended for the design to be referential to the local vernacular; composed of a simple expression of forms and materiality. Detailed design is well underway and completion is expected by late Summer 2017.

We are extremely excited to announce that our Glen Affric recreational spa pavilion has received planning consent last week. Located on what is often described as the most beautiful glen in Scotland, our proposal seeks to embed the new structures sensitively within this extraordinary landscape and the cluster of existing buildings. The V-shaped footprint and positioning on a southeast facing hill affords generous views over Loch Affric. The pavilion is divided into two parts with the sitting room area reaching eastwards on a lower level and spa area facing westwards on a higher level. The pavilion’s form was developed to address this division, but also to follow the natural terrain of the hill with reference to the mountains beyond. The building gently slopes down and thus nestles itself discretely into the landscape. As such, the proposed architecture seeks to become an integral part of the terrain as opposed to standing…