The Rodić Davidson team recently visited the site of one of our recently commenced projects in Knightsbridge to view the buildings at strip out stage. The project involves the demolition of two existing five storey buildings whilst retaining some of the front façade, and rebuilding to provide seven new high-quality apartments arranged around a large central glazed lightwell. It has been carefully designed to enhance the Conservation Area in which the site sits. Planning permission was granted earlier this year and we were thrilled to visit site to see the start of work. The properties were originally designed and built speculatively by builders in the late 19th century in the Queen Anne Revival Style. One originally had a Gothic style frontage which was significantly damaged during WWII and re-built in the mid-twentieth century - this will be rebuilt in a more historically accurate manner. The rear of both buildings were…

Rodić Davidson Architects has secured planning consent for a contemporary extension to a mixed-use building in the historic centre of Cambridge. The form of the extension references the push and pull of corner properties, providing a modern interpretation of characteristics found in the vernacular architecture of central Cambridge. The bronze cladding rises from the ground floor upwards acting as a wrap, whilst a small overhang floats across the alleyway, referencing the overhangs created by the neighbouring Champion of The Thames public house. The simplicity of form is mediated by perforations in the cladding which will allow light to permeate delicately, as well as creating subtle texture variations. The Planning Officer found that the scheme would be a beneficial asset to the character and appearance of the local area, saying that the extension ‘will be a positive change to this building and will enhance this area of the Historic Core Conservation…

When Elizabeth II ascended the throne, the tallest building in Britain was St Paul’s cathedral. Her 70-year reign saw a post-war housing boom, stripped back modernism, post-modernism and the dawn of the high-tech and high-rise - much to the chagrin of her son, our new monarch, King Charles III. Known for being more opinionated than his mother, our new king has been vocal in his preference for traditional, vernacular architecture (as is evident in his urbanism project at Poundbury) together with his disdain for ‘carbuncle’ buildings; a term adopted by a now defunct award for the worst architecture in Britain. In 1989 he launched a scathing attack on contemporary architecture via a 75-minute BBC documentary, an exhibition at the V&A and a new book titled ‘A Vision of Britain’. This led to the New York Times adorning him with the title of ‘the most prominent architecture critic in the world.’…

Last week, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council announced its publication of a draft Local Listed Building Consent Order (LLBCOs) regarding the addition of double-glazed windows to Grade II Listed Buildings. LLBCOs are used to allow specific works on listed buildings without the owners needing to make individual applications, provided that they comply with any conditions outlined in the Order. The current policy requires individual applications for any window alterations of Grade II Listed Buildings within the borough. To gain consent involves extreme sensitivity to the existing historic fabric of the building. Rodić Davidson Architects have been successful in earning this consent in several of our projects such as Garden Square Apartment, Kensington, and Queen Anne Apartment, Knightsbridge. The draft order defines three types of work which would be allowed:   - internal secondary glazing to windows - replacement of existing windows with double-glazed windows in extensions to…

An athletic bunch of the Rodić Davidson Architects team took part in an Architects Netball Tournament organised by Fletcher Priest at our local Somerstown netball courts. We were very excited to get through to the final and enjoyed playing alongside some of the team at Hassell Studio. We look forward to getting through to finals in our future sporting events!

Groundwork, co-founded by John Davidson in 1982 celebrates its 40th birthday this month. Originally called Operation Groundwork, and formed as a series of Trusts, the charity grew out the social and economic crisis that gripped the UK in the late 1970’s. Founded as a grass-roots organization, its growth was driven, in large part, by the commitment and passion of the people in the communities where the Trusts operated. Groundwork was one of the first organisations to bring the issues of climate change into the public consciousness. Today, the organisation employs 1200 people across 15 trusts in the UK and also operates overseas with Groundwork USA and Groundwork Japan. You can view a publication celebrating forty years of the Groundwork movement here.

Last week, Rodić Davidson Architects held a private view for our latest exhibition ‘Displaced Domesticity’ by Farid Karim, in collaboration with dRMM Architects. The viewing saw friends and colleagues of both RDA and dRMM come together to discuss and observe the window display and celebrate Farid’s work. The conceptual crux of the exhibition surrounds the idea of memory and the relationship between digital and physical remembrance. The display looks specifically at how domestic space is remembered within the context of the Syrian civil war. There has been an influx of available data and documentation surrounding the ongoing civil war in Syria, making visible an archival process of physical spaces being destroyed, and their existence remaining as a digital memory. Natural memory is destroyed and destruction is remembered. The exhibition seeks to preserve domestic memories and objects from the artist’s grandparents who relocated from Aleppo to Sweden, revealed through a sensorial…

The Russo-Ukrainian War began in 2014, where the annexation of Crimea and the invasion of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions in Ukraine shortly followed. On the 24th February 2022, further hostilities commenced as Russian forces began to invade mainland Ukraine, triggering an escalation in violence and ruin.  During the Eurocities 2022 conference, the conversation surrounding the reconstruction of Ukrainian cities was touched upon, and the committee agreed to support the rebuilding of schools, hospitals, and critical infrastructure. From the period of the 24th February to 28th September 2022, over 68,500 buildings have been damaged or destroyed, with UNESCO verifying 196 of those to be sites of religious value, museums, historical buildings, cultural buildings, monuments, and libraries. There have been discussions surrounding the reconstruction of damaged Ukrainian cities and buildings, one of the most notable being a manifesto presented to the mayor of Kharkiv by UK based firm Foster + Partners.…

Last week, the Rodić Davidson team spent the weekend exploring the streets and architecture of Turin in Northern Italy. We took the time to appreciate the Baroque and Art Nouveau influences that were heavily woven throughout the city, and were struck by its impressive and varied architecture. We started our first day with a coffee in hand at the Piazza San Carlo, before seeking refuge in the rain in the Galleria San Federico. After some indulgent pastries, we headed off to the Royal Palace of Turin, and the Galleria Subalpina. We found the gallerias of Turin a haven of architectural styles and a visual marvel of stone and ironmongery. Our next stop was the Mole Antonelliana, a 167m Neoclassical monument now home to the Museo Nazionale del Cinema. A central lift brought us up to the viewing deck where we were able to view the entire city during sunset. We…

For over 400 years the xysta [ksaaistà] motifs and technique has been the symbol of a small village of Pyrgi in the southern part of Chios, North-eastern Aegean Islands, where one of our Architects, Dimitra originates from. A great amount of research surrounding xysta's origins has been made by Maria Xyda, a local architect and expert, who has also accomplished restoration projects and author of the book The Scraffiti in Pyrgi of Chios Island. Xysta (meaning scratched) is a traditional wall decoration technique based on the art of sgraffito. In Pyrgi [pirˈʝi], this engraving technique is applied on the external face of the wall. The grouting is applied with two layers of lime; the first layer is used to level the stone wall and the second is where xysta is formed.   Origin of Xysta Pyrgi was built in the middle of the 14th century during the domination of Serenissima Republica…

The Rodić Davidson team recently visited this year’s Serpentine Pavilion located at the Serpentine Galleries in Kensington Gardens. Designed by the Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates, with the architectural support of Adjaye Associates, the Black Chapel is the largest pavilion to ever be built on the site. Taking inspiration from the bottle kilns of Stoke-on Trent, traditional African structures and other architectural interventions, the pavilion pays homage to Hungarian and African sacred practices. The space has been conceived to merge architecture and live music, making it a place for contemplation and meditation.   Architecture of the Serpentine Pavilion The light-weight frame has been cleverly built using a combination of timber and steel, leaving the structure exposed and visible from the inside. Metal web joists act as columns which are then restrained by a horizontal timber frame and clad with plywood panels. Metal web or ‘Posi joist’ systems are typically used in…

Last week, Rodić Davidson Architects held a private view for our latest exhibition ‘A Constellation of Pipes’, produced in collaboration with Janie Lightfoot Textiles, Conservation and Restoration Studio featuring pieces from the David and Janie Lightfoot Tribal Art Collection. Friends, family members and colleagues gathered to discuss and learn about the artefacts on display in our studio’s window display. Janie Lightfoot provided attendees with an informative presentation, providing deeper insight into the collection and the history behind the pieces on display. The exhibition centres a collection of handcrafted smoking pipes originating from several locations across Africa, examining the differing techniques and materials used and how each object reflects its cultural heritage and the communities who made and used them. Each pipe holds its own history and cultural significance, with varying degrees of recorded documentation, with this exhibition being the most recent development in the items’ complicated and contested chronologies. It…

Rodić Davidson Architects have recently secured planning consent for a house located near Clapham Common. The proposal involves extending the basement to the full footprint of the house and introducing lightwells, providing both light and additional space for the client. The lightwells have been designed to be in alignment with the Wandsworth Housing SPD and the Adopted DMPD Policy DMH5. They will also be covered with a traditional grill to keep in accordance with the other properties on the road. The additional space provided by the enlarged basement will be used for storage, plant equipment, a utility room, a gym, a playroom, and a study/snug. Externally, the design changes to the front façade will be traditional and in keeping with the vernacular style of the area, with the bay window at ground floor level being replicated for the basement. To the rear, the design takes on a more contemporary look,…

Rodić Davidson are a design studio of architects in central London, who have a wealth of experience in refurbishing and extending period properties. Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian dwellings continue to make up large proportions of the housing stock in London’s most prestigious neighbourhoods, and there has been an increasing development of London mews houses into sought-after high-end homes.    What is a Mews house? During the 18th and 19th Century, a period of great residential expansion occurred which transformed London from a series of villages into the dense city we see today. Class disparity in London, accelerated by the dissolution of the monasteries and the creation of leasehold property ownership in prime central areas meant that many of London’s mansion houses needed to expand their footprint to accommodate extensive staff-forces and accommodation for horses. A mews is a street, cul-de-sac or yard which is often cobbled and are often situated in…

Garden Square Apartment, Kensington has been longlisted for the Apartment Interior category in the Dezeen Awards 2022! Rodic Davidson Interiors completed the project in 2021 transforming the Grade II listed apartment, which was in a poor state of repair, into a minimal, elegant and highly functioning flat. You can read our project profile on the Dezeen Awards website or the full project description on our website. Rodić Davidson Interiors are incredibly honored to be included in the longlist of international interiors projects, with the shortlist announced in September and the winners announced in November. You can also vote for our project in The Dezeen Awards 2022 Public Vote which opens in September, stay up to date with news to find out how!

The team have been looking back on our London Festival of Architecture courtyard installation ‘Performing the Plan’ which took place throughout the month of June and concluded with an open studio event. The installation consisted of a 1:1 floorplan, designed to work around the contours of our courtyard space, the plan presented visitors with a series of choices for how to navigate the space. This in turn invited visitors to evaluate the influence and authority of floorplans and how they are experienced within both private and public space.   Initial observations The initial reaction to the courtyard and particularly the moveable furniture was that it should not be engaged with- and was rather a stand-alone piece of art rather than part of the urban fabric. We observed that many people were compelled to avoid the white lines we had produced with a notable lack of interaction with our mobile furniture.…

In preparation for our London Festival of Architecture Studio Late held last Friday, the RDA team experimented with abstract floorplans of works undertaken by the practice. The exercise aimed to present floorplans in a contrasting manner to our courtyard installation, Performing the Plan where a 1:1 scale floorplan was appropriated by visitors through movement and behaviour, influenced by the placement of furniture, windows and thresholds. On the other hand, the abstracted floorplans remove a predetermination of fixed spatial use and instead create an unconventional canvas upon which to consider the relationship between dwellers and their dwellings, by only showing walls and structural divisions. Inspired by The Brick Country House drawn by Mies van der Rohe and Keith Coventry’s contemporary paintings the architectural works were stripped back to only highlight their partitions and boundaries. It is argued that The Brick Country house sketch is an architectural work in its own right…

The Rodic Davidson team visited Janie Lightfoot Textiles’ Conservation and Restoration Studio in Northwest London. “Janie Lightfoot Textiles conservation studio was established in 1977 and has a long history working closely with prominent institutions, national and international museums, churches, dealers, auction houses, private collectors, and members of the public. Project locations include America, Mongolia, South Africa, France, Denmark, Bhutan, Kuwait and India, including the setting up of museums in Gjirokaster Albania and East London, South Africa.  With a team of eight conservators and a broad skill base, the studio is capable of tackling diverse and complex objects, ranging from large three-dimensional textiles to fine intricate items.” Janie gave us a private tour of the studio including workshop, storage, and gallery spaces. Her wealth of knowledge in the field of textile conservation and restoration is impressive, giving us a unique insight into the heritage of historical garments and intricate processes required…

Rodić Davidson Architects are proud to announce that we will be taking part in this year’s London Festival of Architecture with a courtyard installation, Performing the Plan. Derived from this year’s theme, Act, by transposing a 1:1 scale floor plan onto the courtyard adjacent to our studio, Rodić Davidson Architects encourage members of the public to actively navigate and engage with the notional space created. The installation seeks to evaluate the influence that design has on both public and private realms; creating a stage upon which the graphic spatial intervention can be appropriated by visitors through movement and behaviour. Following two years of restrictions on in-person events and the return of the festivals’ Studio Lates initiative, the practice will be opening its doors on the 24th of June as part of the Fitzrovia and Bloomsbury evening. The evening will include an introduction from the Architects, with visitors prompted to consider…

Last week the RDA team visited The Post Building's rooftop one sunny lunchtime. Located on New Oxford Street just a short walk from our Bloomsbury Studio, a portion of the AHMM Scheme's rooftop is accessible to the public, not only the residents of the building. The entrance provided an insight to the history of the old post building, which before re-development remained derelict and uninhabited for over 20 years but now bought back into use as a mix of office, retail and residential units. From its vantage point, the public roof terrace on the 9th floor provides views to the City to the west, Bloomsbury and our offices to the north, and Canary Warf and beyond to the south. The hidden terrace is arguably one of the best views in London, placing you in the center of the skyline, where the team enjoyed spotting our favourite sites and orientating ourselves…

Two-years on from our initial observation and predictions of how Covid-19 could impact and influence trends in Residential Architecture, the Rodic Davidson Team undertook a team brainstorm on how these trends have materialized in 2022. The team discussed emerging design trends and situations where clients had expressed a change in motivations and requirements resulting from the pandemic, and drew from this five key themes; The importance of multi-functional spaces, The desire for self-sufficient living, The need to connect, The need for peace and Embracing technology at home. Upon reflection of the original post ‘The House in an Age of Coronavirus’, it became apparent that the changes follow similar paths to those previously predicted, manifesting themselves through a gradual change whose development continues to unfold and evolve. Please read the latest insight in full here.

Rodić Davidson Architects have recently achieved planning permission for the demolition of a dilapidated residential building in Southwark and redevelopment to provide 5 apartments. The proposal has been designed to sit comfortably within its surroundings; the front building line is maintained, falling in line with the neighbouring properties. The form from the street takes precedent from the neighbouring period terrace, echoing the ridge, eaves heights and street-facing roof pitch, whilst the rear of the main building extends to the line of the neighbouring occupational health building. The architecture is contemporary with high-quality detailing, yet referential of surrounding buildings and appropriate for the local area. The scheme provides a communal garden behind a retained brick wall (an important feature within the conservation architecture area), to ensure the impact of the new building on the public realm is minimised. Each apartment has a balcony, with the ground floor apartments benefitting from private…

Rodić Davidson Architects have recently secured planning permission for a mansard roof extension above an existing Hotel and Public House within RBKC. The proposal creates an additional 5 bedrooms and an internal lift provides access to the extension while also improving access to the existing rooms below. The stepped form of the mansard allows for the creation of a mezzanine level, increasing the overall floorspace yet retaining the view of a traditional mansard from street level. Informed by mansard extensions in the surrounding context, the design utilises traditional materials and dormer windows. The use of slate tiles is in-keeping with the surrounding style yet distinguishes the extension from the white painted brickwork of the existing building below and emphasises the extensions subservient nature in relation to the existing streetscape. The pattern and proportions of the proposed dormer windows are influenced by the existing hierarchy of windows below. As in the…

Yesterday evening Rodic Davidson Architects hosted the Private View of our latest Exhibition RESIDUE by Apolline Bökkerink and Sophia Charap. The event saw friends and family of the artists and RDA, as well as colleagues, peers and local residents gather over refreshments to celebrate the work displayed along Bury Place and in the windows of our studio in Pied Bull Yard. This introduction of the concept and methodology of the installation to the community was particularly rich due to the subject’s locality. The point of departure for the exhibition was Rodic Davidson studio; specifically looking at the fate of The Cochrane Theatre, which currently lies in a state of limbo, anticipating its demolition and redevelopment. Positioned in this state of existential liminality and material degradation, the building prompts the question; What remains once a building has fulfilled its purpose? How are its layers of memory and past existence made visible…

The Rodić Davidson team visited the Royal Academy after work to view the exhibition 'Light Lines: The Architectural Photographs of Hélène Binet'. It was inspiring to see the work of other architects such as Zaha Hadid, Daniel Libeskind and Peter Zumthor through Helene’s eyes. We recall Hélène's shoot of North Vat: it was a still, crisp day. Hélène spent time to understand the building in its environment. She stayed the night in the house. All her shots were taken on a large Swiss-made medium format camera using analogue film. The process was theatrical and undertaken at speed; Hélène, followed by an assistant, continually moving on the shingle, head in and out of a thick black cloth attached to the heavy apparatus. The image was projected, very faintly and up-side-down on the view finder glass. The film plates were large and only two shots could be taken on each one hence…

Last week the RDA team welcomed an Architectural Technology student from the University of Westminster for a week-long work placement of which contributed to their professional practice module, accredited by the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists, the Chartered Institute of Building, and the Chartered Association of Building Engineers. Nasma worked on a range of tasks alongside project Architects and received feedback on her CV and portfolio. "This one-week work experience was an opportunity to be in a professional environment and learn how a practice is navigated. It was interesting and really exciting to learn new skills and gain some insight into the design process and the evolution of projects. Being a third-year student at university, there were not many chances to apply all I’ve learnt to real world situations, so this was a great opportunity to utilize my skills.’ During this week, I had the opportunity to work on a…

Rodic Davidson Architects have recently achieved planning permission for a 350sqm new build home near Saffron Walden, Uttlesford. The site is located on the edge of the settlement area and is currently a garden to a converted mill house. The orientation of the new property utilises the existing mature trees on site to screen it from the approach road and surrounding properties while affording expansive views over the open fields to the north. The form and materiality of the proposal is strongly influenced by the local vernacular and agricultural structures in the area. The local barn typology predominantly consists of two-storey, rectilinear structures, extended in a piecemeal manner to form clusters and courtyards over time. The semi-agrarian form of the proposal draws on local crafts and materials whilst at the same time providing a contemporary, sustainable home suitable for modern family life. The proposal is arranged using two linear barn-like…

The desirability of ‘rus in urbe’ – literally the illusion of countryside within a city – has been recognised as early as the 17th century. The first initiative of planned green spaces, Lincoln’s Inn Fields was proposed during the 1630s and was soon followed by St James Square in 1726 to “clean, repair, adorn and beautify the same, in a becoming and graceful manner”. As described by Todd Longstaffe-Gowan, writer of ‘The London Square’; “These green enclaves are among the most distinctive and admired features of the metropolis and are England’s greatest contribution to the development of European town planning and urban form. “ This vision of a city that integrates nature within urban planning, has since been supported through many initiatives, including The Clean Air Act of 1956. Here, the development of parks, squares and green areas in London was pushed to improve air quality as a response to…