RDA has secured planning permission for a new-build residential scheme in the grounds of a prominent building in Chesterton, Cambridge. 25-27 High Street is a grade II listed building in the Chesterton Conservation Area. Part of the front property dates from the 18th Century. Alterations have been carried out over the years, including modifications to the roof and extensions to the rear of the property. Historic maps show that the building was once a public house named ‘Bowling Green Inn’. The building has been used as an office for many years with medical facilities in the rear extension. Our proposal creates eight new-build apartments to the rear of the large site and retains B1 office use within the existing listed building. Alterations and enhancement works are proposed to the listed building to increase the quality of the office space. The new-build elements of the scheme have been arranged to form…

Our Winter 2019 exhibition celebrates the work of Albany Wiseman, a local artist particularly known for his scenes of London. Albany has lived in Bloomsbury for many years and used to have a studio in Pied Bull Yard. Our Bury Place windows display some drawings of the streets of Bloomsbury from 1974 (The Case Against Destruction). In 1974 Albany affectionately produced a series of illustrations as an engaging protest that celebrated the diversity of shops and community that was earmarked for demolition to make way for the creation of the British Library. We have complimented Albany's 1974 sketches with contemporary photographs, produced at a similar scale, by Jon Spencer. Our courtyard windows display more recent works including some from Albany's exhibition, “Garden Squares of London”. Many of the squares painted are situated in Bloomsbury.  Albany's career has covered many aspects of art, from book illustration, poster design, limited edition lithographs, watercolour and…

Rodic Davidson Architects have obtained planning permission for the creation of a new café, play equipment and the extension of a shop and WCs for the Audley End Miniature Railway. This permission will provide the improvements associated with the railway’s future ambitions to consolidate as one of the leading attractions in the area. Audley End Miniature Railway conceived by the late Lord Braybrooke in the early 1960’s. Lord Braybrooke’s passion for engineering and railways led him to create this wonderful, eccentric minature railway within the original grounds of Audley End house. The track was laid in 1963 and the line was ready in 1964. Two steam locomotives were available for the opening; Western Thunder and Curwen Atlantic, both of which pulled four articulated carriages built by Audley End Estate’s carpenter. The original line was extended to its current form in 1979 and is now around 1 ½ miles long. Lord Braybrooke…

Listed Building Architects Rodic Davidson has secured planning and listed building consents for extension and refurbishment of a listed country house in Surrey. Our designs reference and reinterpret some of the dominant forms of the Domestic Revival style of the original house. Domestic Revival (sometimes known as ‘Arts and Crafts’) and Queen Anne styles were both influential in the development of middle-class suburban estates in the 1880s and 1890s. Domestic Revival houses moved away from historicist and ecclesiastical styles towards more accessible coziness and homeliness. The architecture incorporated steeply pitched tiled roofs, dormers, timber framing, tall, dominant chimneys and tile-hung walls. Watercolour by Jan Gordon, 1918

Spring is here! From left to right: Alison Courtot, William Adams, Sinisa Rodic, Caspian Watt, Pippa Griffiths, Laura Van Breuseghem, Ben Davidson, Andrew Watson, Ian David, Nik Ward, Charlotte Hornung.

We have a fascinating project project on the northern side of Soho Square. The property is a grade 2* listed town house built in 1768 and located within the Soho Conservation Area. The Soho Conservation Area, designated in 1969, was one of the first in the country. It was designated two years after the the Civic Amenities Act was passed in 1967. Soho Square was laid out in the 1680s on land known as Soho Fields, which was granted by King Charles II for development. Our own office, 400m to the north east at 67 Great Russell Street, was built by John Nash only 9 years after in 1777, illustrating the rapid development that took place at the time. In preparation for forthcoming Planning and Listed Building applications, we came across this wonderful section drawing that illustrates, spatially, the immense changes that have enveloped the property since 1768. Richard Seifert's Center Point, recently refurbished…

Our project, Sartor House, is featured in the Don't Move, Improve! 2019 showcase of London's best home renovations. The project, which was completed last year, involved the full refurbishment of a Chelsea townhouse including a double height glazed rear extension. To see further details and images of the project please click here. To find out more about the Don’t Move, Improve! Awards, visit the free public exhibition at New London Architecture on Store Street from 23 January 2019, or pick up a copy of the accompanying magazine that features Sartor House.  

Work is progressing at pace at our project in Suffolk. The fair-face concrete walls to the new kitchen pavilion have been poured and the formwork struck. The barn is being re-roofed and the original timbers cleaned by dry ice blasting.

RDA have successfully gained planning and listed building consent for the alteration and renovation of a Belgravia mews house. The proposals include the amalgamation of the ground floor of the mews into the main town house on Eaton Place (which, of course, it historically served) along with a new basement across the combined properties incorporating a spa. The project is on-site with completion due end of 2019.