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05 Our Projects

Porter Robson was appointed to develop the conversion, refurbishment and vertical extension of an existing office building in Farnham to create 16 new apartments. The project makes extensive use of the existing building, retaining its primary steel frame, floors and elements of the external envelope while comprehensively reorganising the interior for residential use. A new upper storey increases the capacity of the site without requiring wholesale redevelopment, demonstrating how existing commercial buildings can be adapted to provide new homes while retaining much of their embodied structure. The architectural strategy brings together retained and new fabric to establish a coherent residential identity. New oriel and dormer-style elements, windows and an extended roof form are combined with a material palette of brick, brick-slip and metal rainscreen cladding, allowing the additions to be clearly expressed while integrating with the retained building. Internally, the building is reorganised around a central stair and retained lift, with four apartments arranged on each floor. The layouts provide a mixture of one- and two-bedroom homes, supported by new kitchens, bathrooms, services and upgraded common areas. The upper-floor plans also integrate the new vertical extension with the existing circulation and structural frame. A significant part of the design process has focused on the coordination required when working with an existing building. Retained structure, new steelwork, fire compartmentation, acoustic separation, thermal upgrades, airtightness and building services are developed together so that new interventions improve the performance of the building while respecting the constraints of the existing fabric. The result is a considered example of commercial-to-residential conversion, combining adaptive reuse with carefully targeted new construction to extend the useful life of an existing building and create additional homes within an established urban site.

Farnham

Farnham converts an existing office into 16 apartments, retaining its structure while adding a new storey, upgraded fabric and contemporary materials.

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Porter Robson was appointed to develop a new contemporary home on a constrained residential site in Gosport. The project required a careful response to an established suburban setting, existing neighbouring properties and the particular challenges of developing land positioned behind the existing Fareham Road frontage. The scheme evolved through a complex and extended planning process, with the architecture repeatedly tested and refined in response to planning, access and contextual considerations. Achieving permission required a patient design-led approach, balancing the opportunity to create a distinctive new home with the need to demonstrate that the proposal could sit comfortably within its surroundings. The final design is composed of simple pitched-roof volume that establishes the principal form of the house, while a lower flat-roofed wing reduces the scale of the building and allows the accommodation to spread naturally into the garden. This separation of mass gives the house a clear architectural identity while helping it respond sensitively to neighbouring development. The plans organise the principal living accommodation across the ground floor, with a generous kitchen and dining space, separate lounge and home office / snug, supported by utility and ancillary spaces. Two private bedroom suites occupy the upper floor, each with dedicated en-suite accommodation and storage. Materiality reinforces the distinction between the two volumes. The taller element is given a darker, more recessive character through vertical timber cladding and slate roof, while the lower element is expressed in white render. Dark aluminium windows and doors provide a consistent layer of detailing across the composition. Environmental measures have also been incorporated into the architectural language. An integrated photovoltaic array is set into the principal roof slope alongside flush-fitting rooflights, while a green roof is introduced over the lower part of the house. These elements are treated as part of the composition rather than applied technologies, helping the building retain the clarity of its overall form. The site strategy is equally important. The dwelling sits at the end of a long access route from Fareham Road, allowing it to occupy a more secluded garden setting while retaining sufficient space for parking, servicing and vehicle manoeuvring. Fareham Road demonstrates how careful architectural judgement and persistence through the planning process can unlock the potential of a difficult site. The result is a compact contemporary home whose scale, form and material palette have been deliberately controlled to create something distinctive without overwhelming its established residential context.

Fareham Road

Fareham Road House demonstrates how careful design and planning persistence can unlock a difficult site, creating a distinctive contemporary home sensitive to its context.

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Porter Robson was appointed to develop the refurbishment and retrofit of an existing residential building in Knightsbridge, combining improvements to the internal accommodation and building energy performance with a sensitive response to its historic significance and conservation area setting. The project began with a detailed understanding of the existing building. A comprehensive BIM model was produced to record its geometry, construction and architectural features, providing a coordinated basis for the proposed alterations. This helped the design team understand the relationship between the retained fabric, internal spaces and proposed improvements. The architectural approach centres on careful repair and considered enhancement. The existing elevations are characterised by strong vertical proportions, articulated brickwork, decorative banding, projecting bays, parapets and prominent chimney elements. These features define the character of the property, and their retention is central to the design. In response to the building’s historic significance and conservation area setting, external retrofit interventions are limited to the windows, with improvements carefully considered in relation to the existing openings, proportions and architectural detailing. The wider thermal upgrade is undertaken internally, preserving the appearance of the external walls and the established composition of the elevations. The retrofit strategy focuses on internal insulation and improvements to the performance of the retained building fabric. The aim is to improve comfort and reduce energy demand through a coordinated design that responds to the constraints of the existing construction. The detailing of insulation continuity, airtightness and junctions, alongside moisture management and ventilation, is central to developing this approach. The BIM model supports the coordination of these internal interventions, helping the design team assess how insulation and associated alterations relate to floor levels, internal partitions, window reveals and retained architectural features. This is particularly valuable where improvements to thermal performance must be accommodated within an existing building while respecting its character and maintaining usable internal space. Alongside the fabric improvements, the refurbishment enhances the accommodation for contemporary residential use. The proposals seek to extend the useful life of the building through a considered balance of conservation, internal adaptation and improved environmental performance. The project demonstrates how digital recording, BIM coordination and sensitive internal retrofit design can support the refurbishment of a historic London property, retaining its architectural character while improving comfort, performance and longevity.

Knightsbridge

Knightsbridge carefully refurbishes and retrofits a London residence, preserving its character while improving accommodation, and long-term building performance.

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Porter Robson was commissioned to extend and reorganise a locally listed home in Gosport, creating additional accommodation for contemporary family life while respecting the character and significance of the existing building. The property forms part of a much older house originally known as Ryde View, later renamed Alvara, which was subsequently subdivided into the three homes now known as 71–75 Western Way. Despite alterations to the building and its wider setting over time, its architectural and historic character remains an important part of the project. The design evolved through an extensive process of pre-application consultation, planning review and architectural refinement. Early proposals explored a more assertive contemporary addition, before the scheme was progressively reconsidered in response to heritage, massing and neighbouring amenity concerns. The final proposal reduces the scale of the extension and establishes a clearer relationship between retained and new architecture. A simple coach-house-inspired volume sits alongside the existing dwelling, connected by a recessed, predominantly glazed link. This creates a deliberate visual separation between the two buildings, allowing the historic house to remain legible while giving the extension its own contemporary identity. Its simple pitched form and carefully controlled scale ensure that the new addition remains subordinate to the original dwelling. The material palette reinforces this distinction. Vertical timber cladding, dark aluminium windows, slate roofing and timber doors give the new building a restrained and recessive character, contrasting with the brickwork and tile hanging of the existing house without competing with it. Internally, the extension expands the house to provide additional family living space, including a snug at ground floor and a new bedroom and en-suite above, while retaining the established dining and living spaces within the original house. Environmental performance is integrated into the design through improved fabric standards, natural daylight, ventilation and an integrated photovoltaic array within the new roof. Rooflights bring additional daylight into the plan, while the simple building form allows junctions to be detailed efficiently to reduce heat loss and thermal bridging. Western Way House demonstrates how a contemporary addition can respond confidently to a historic building, not through imitation, but through careful scale, material contrast and a clear distinction between old and new.

71 Western Way

71 Western Way is a vertically timber clad coach-house extension and recessed glazed link to a locally listed building, creating a respectful dialogue between old and new.

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Porter Robson was appointed to develop the transformation of Gerard House, an existing two-storey commercial building, into a 16-bedroom residential HMO, bringing a vacant building back into productive use while significantly improving its architectural contribution to the surrounding streetscape. The site occupies a distinctive position between two contrasting urban conditions: the industrial and commercial buildings around Dock Road and the established residential streets. Rather than responding exclusively to one or the other, the design was developed as a transition between these two characters, combining the robustness of the existing commercial building with the scale and roof forms of the surrounding residential context. The existing brick building is retained as the architectural base of the development, preserving much of its embodied structure and giving the project a clear sense of continuity. Above it, a new lightweight upper storey introduces a sequence of pitched and asymmetric roof forms derived from the geometry and rhythm of nearby industrial buildings and traditional housing. This articulated roofscape breaks down the scale of the additional accommodation and creates a more distinctive silhouette. A deliberately contrasting material strategy reinforces the relationship between old and new. The solid, textured brick base remains visually grounded, while the new upper level is expressed in light-coloured standing-seam metal cladding with dark-framed windows, creating a lighter contemporary addition above the retained structure. The intention is not to disguise the extension, but to allow the two architectural layers to remain clearly legible. The scheme also extends the existing building laterally with a two-storey side addition over the former service yard, allowing the site to accommodate new residential use efficiently while retaining the established building as the starting point for the design. Internally, the building is reorganised to provide 16 single-occupancy bedrooms with en-suite facilities, supported by shared kitchen, dining and lounge spaces, utility accommodation, cycle storage and external amenity space. The upper floor incorporates four bedrooms alongside a communal lounge and roof terrace, creating additional shared space within the new architectural layer. The environmental strategy is based on the efficient reuse of an existing building alongside a fabric-first approach to energy performance, water efficiency and the potential for integrated photovoltaic generation. Its location close to the town centre, local services, bus routes and the ferry also supports a development less dependent on private car use. Gerard House demonstrates how adaptive reuse can become an opportunity for architectural renewal rather than simply a change of use, extending the life of an existing building, increasing residential capacity on a previously developed site and creating a stronger transition between the industrial and domestic character of its surroundings.

Limburn Heights

Gerard House reuses a vacant commercial building, combining retained brickwork with contemporary extensions to create a distinctive residential development.

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Porter Robson was appointed to extend and refurbish Dower House in Hambledon, creating additional accommodation while preserving the established character of the existing home and its setting within the South Downs National Park. The house presents a classically composed, Georgian-style character, defined by balanced window proportions, an ashlar-effect rendered finish and clay tiled roofs. The design extends the existing southern wing at first-floor level while maintaining the scale, hierarchy and architectural language of the original building. The new accommodation is positioned above the existing single-storey element, completing the first-floor form without projecting beyond the established building line towards East Street. Its eaves, proportions and openings have been carefully aligned with the existing house, allowing the extension to remain subservient to the principal volume while appearing as an integral part of the composition. A small recessed terrace provides additional private amenity without disrupting the principal elevation. New walls use a rendered ashlar-effect finish to match the existing house, alongside painted timber windows, matching clay tiles and stone coping. Repair and maintenance works to existing render and balustrading form part of the wider project, ensuring that the project supports improving the condition of the host building as well as increasing its accommodation. Internally, the wider refurbishment reorganises part of the ground floor to create a new office, lounge and ancillary spaces, including bespoke joinery and interior designs. Dower House demonstrates how careful proportion, matching materials and targeted refurbishment can extend an established home without diminishing the character that makes it distinctive.

Dower House

Dower House sensitively extends a Georgian-style home, using careful proportions and matching materials to preserve its established architectural hierarchy.

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Porter Robson was appointed to unlock the potential of a small under-used site at the junction of Liverpool Street and Mordaunt Road in Southampton, creating four new studio apartments within an established residential neighbourhood. The project evolved through an extended planning process. An earlier five-unit proposal was refused, prompting a substantial reassessment of the site's capacity, scale and relationship with the surrounding streets. The scheme proposed the development to four apartments, using a simple building form and aligned its height and massing closely with the neighbouring two-storey terraces. The final design uses a simple two-storey brick volume to continue the established building line along Liverpool Street, completing a previously open corner within the streetscape. Its scale, proportions and pitched roof respond to the prevailing residential character of the area, while dark-framed windows, feature brickwork and carefully controlled detailing give the building a contemporary identity. Internally, the scheme provides four studio apartments, two at ground floor and two at first floor, each designed to meet national space standards. A shared entrance and stair provide a compact and efficient circulation arrangement, while a private landscaped amenity area, secure cycle storage and refuse provision are integrated into the site. The development was deliberately conceived as car-free housing. Its location close to Southampton city centre, local shops, bus routes, Southampton Common and wider public transport connections supported a zero-parking strategy, with secure cycle storage provided to encourage more sustainable patterns of travel. Environmental performance was also embedded in the design from the outset. A fabric-first approach reduces heat loss through improved insulation, compact form and careful junction detailing, while the orientation and placement of windows support natural daylight and cross ventilation. A substantial integrated photovoltaic array provides on-site renewable electricity and further reduces operational energy demand. The completed architecture retains the straightforward material language of its surroundings. Brickwork gives the building a robust urban character, while the slate-toned roof, dark glazing and photovoltaic panels create a restrained contemporary layer. The result is deliberately familiar in scale but clearly of its time. Liverpool Street demonstrates how careful design and sustained planning engagement can unlock small urban sites, creating new homes through an efficient use of land while strengthening the existing street and supporting lower-carbon city living.

Liverpool Street

Liverpool Street Studios completes an under-used corner with four brick apartments, balancing contextual scale, efficient planning and lower-energy city living.

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Porter Robson was appointed to design a new replacement dwelling on Winchester Street in Botley, creating a contemporary family home that responds to the scale, materials and architectural character of its established village setting. The design is conceived as a collection of simple pitched volumes connected by lower linking elements, breaking the house into a series of recognisable domestic forms rather than presenting a single large mass. The concept studies show how these elements are separated, shifted and connected to create a more informal composition that responds to the shape of the site and the character of neighbouring buildings. The material palette is drawn directly from the local context. Brick, white render, vertical timber cladding, slate and glass are used across the different elements of the house, allowing each volume to have its own character while remaining part of a coherent whole. The principal accommodation is arranged largely at ground-floor level around a generous central kitchen, dining and entrance space. More private bedroom accommodation occupies one part of the plan, while a drawing room, games room, gym and outdoor living space extend towards the garden. A separate garage, utility and supporting spaces are integrated into the wider composition rather than treated as secondary additions. The relationship with the garden is fundamental to the design. Large glazed openings connect the principal living spaces with terraces and landscaped areas, while the garden elevation becomes more open and expressive than the approach elevation. The glazed gable gives the principal living volume a strong visual connection with the landscape and allows light to extend deep into the interior. Internally, the pitched forms create opportunities for vaulted ceilings and increased volume, giving the main spaces a sense of luxury. Environmental performance is embedded within the architecture through a Passivhaus-led, fabric-first approach. High levels of insulation, exceptional airtightness and carefully detailed junctions minimise heat loss and thermal bridging, while high-performance glazing and controlled solar gain support year-round comfort. Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery provides a continuous supply of fresh air while retaining heat within the building. Integrated photovoltaic panels are incorporated discreetly within the principal pitched roofs, complementing the reduced energy demand of the house, while a planted green roof enhances biodiversity and contributes to the environmental performance of the lower volume. The site strategy also retains elements of the established boundary structure and landscape while reorganising the dwelling, approach, parking and garden as a more coherent whole. The new house occupies broadly the established developed part of the plot but creates a significantly more considered relationship between building and landscape. Fearh Cottage demonstrates how traditional forms can be reinterpreted rather than reproduced, using familiar pitched roofs, brick, render and timber to create a distinctly contemporary home rooted in the character of Botley.

Fearh Cottage

Fearh Cottage combines pitched village forms with contemporary links, natural materials and vaulted spaces to create a distinctive, low-energy replacement home.

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Porter Robson was appointed to design a new dwelling on land formerly forming part of 41 Sinah Lane on Hayling Island. Accessed from Park Road, the project unlocks an underused part of an established residential plot to create a compact two-bedroom home within the existing neighbourhood. The design responds to the varied architectural character of Park Road with a deliberately contemporary composition. A simple rendered principal volume is contrasted by a taller standing-seam metal-clad entrance and stair element, giving the house a clear identity while breaking down its scale within the street. The flat roof is concealed behind a parapet, allowing the building to retain a clean, horizontal profile against the neighbouring properties. Internally, the house is organised around light, openness and efficient use of space. The ground floor combines the kitchen and principal living accommodation into a generous open-plan room, with extensive glazing strengthening the connection between the interior and the private external space. A ground-floor shower room adds flexibility to the arrangement. The entrance sequence is deliberately more vertical. The stair rises within the metal-clad side volume inside a double-height space, bringing daylight through the centre of the house and creating a stronger sense of space than the compact footprint might suggest. At first floor, two bedrooms are each provided with en-suite accommodation, alongside dedicated plant and storage space. The external spaces are treated as an extension of the home rather than residual areas around it. Existing boundary walls were retained and repaired to create a defined private enclosure, while new tree planting softens the setting and strengthens privacy. The amenity space wraps around the building, giving the relatively compact dwelling a surprisingly generous relationship with the outdoors. Materiality reinforces the clarity of the design. White render, grey aluminium windows and doors, vertical standing-seam metal cladding and areas of timber establish the contemporary palette, with the darker entrance volume providing contrast against the lighter rendered elevations. Sustainability was considered from the outset. The roof incorporates an integrated photovoltaic array, with the original energy strategy developed to generate more electricity over the course of a year than the dwelling was expected to consume, supported by energy storage technology. The compact form and redevelopment of previously developed residential land also allow additional housing to be provided without extending development into the surrounding countryside. The completed house demonstrates how small infill sites can support high-quality contemporary homes when space, daylight, materiality and environmental performance are considered together. Rather than simply filling a gap, the project creates a distinct new piece of architecture that responds confidently to its established residential setting.

Sinah Lane

Sinah Lane creates a compact contemporary home, combining simple forms, contrasting materials, generous glazing and integrated low-energy technologies.

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Porter Robson developed a single-storey home conceived around the relationship between architecture, landscape and environmental performance. The design responds directly to the orientation and character of its garden setting. A gently curved plan opens the principal living spaces towards the southern aspect, maximising natural light and creating a continuous relationship between the interior and landscaped gardens. The current arrangement brings the kitchen, dining and living spaces together along this sweeping garden frontage, with private accommodation and ancillary rooms arranged behind. A broad, low-profile roof reinforces the horizontal character of the house and provides generous overhangs to the glazed elevations. These overhangs form part of the passive environmental strategy: allowing beneficial solar gain at cooler times of year while providing shading during the summer months. The feasibility work establishes solar orientation and views as fundamental generators of the plan rather than additions to an already resolved building. The material palette of flint walling, timber cladding, dark aluminium glazing and zinc roofing combine robust local materials with precise contemporary detailing. Large areas of curtain walling are balanced by more solid masonry elements, creating a building that alternates between openness to the landscape and a sense of enclosure and permanence. Green roof areas further soften the building when seen within its garden setting. Environmental performance has been embedded within the design from the outset. The project is being developed around a fabric-first and passive solar approach, combining high levels of insulation and airtightness with thermal mass, natural ventilation, summer shading and carefully positioned glazing. The environmental strategy also explores MVHR, on-site renewable energy generation and Passivhaus Plus principles, with the ambition of achieving exceptionally low operational energy demand. The landscape is treated as part of the architecture rather than simply its setting. Existing hedgerows and mature vegetation are intended to be retained and reinforced, while new native planting, trees, green roofs and habitat features support biodiversity and help moderate the microclimate around the house. Solar House brings these ideas together in a home designed not only for the client's needs today, but for comfortable, accessible single-storey living over the long term. The result is intended to demonstrate how a contemporary home can be architecturally distinctive while remaining closely connected to its landscape and radically reducing its environmental impact.

Titchfield

Solar House combines passive solar design, natural materials and Passivhaus Plus principles to create a low-energy home connected to its landscape.

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Porter Robson was commissioned to transform the ground floor of an existing family home in Wickham, creating a contemporary living environment with a stronger relationship to its garden and surrounding landscape. The existing house had evolved through a series of previous additions, including a conservatory, carport and outbuildings that provided useful accommodation but were increasingly inefficient and disconnected from the main dwelling. The new proposal replaces these elements with a carefully considered single-storey extension that consolidates the accommodation while reducing the amount of built form along the neighbouring boundary. The architecture responds directly to the topography of the site. Rather than imposing a single level across the garden, subtle changes in floor level are used to organise the interior and follow the natural fall of the land. This allows the house to step gradually towards the garden, creating a more natural transition between inside and outside. At the heart of the new plan is a generous dining and entertaining space, conceived as the principal social room of the house. Alongside it, a dedicated snug / quiet space provides a more intimate environment for reading, relaxation and contemplation. A window seat, office, utility and practical bike and shower facilities are integrated into the wider arrangement, creating a home that balances everyday function with spaces designed simply to pause and enjoy. The client naturally gravitates towards the rear of the house, the new extension reinforces this, opening the principal living spaces towards the quieter garden while using large areas of glazing to bring daylight deep into the plan and strengthen the connection with the landscape. A low, predominantly flat-roofed form keeps the addition subservient to the existing house and reduces its impact on neighbouring properties. Brickwork, masonry detailing and aluminium glazing establish a restrained contemporary palette that complements the original dwelling while allowing the new addition to have its own architectural identity. Chesapeake House demonstrates how an existing home can be reorganised around landscape, light and the changing needs of its occupants, creating spaces for both shared family life and moments of quiet retreat.

Chesapeake House

Chesapeake House creates a landscape-led extension that follows the site contours, connecting generous contemporary living spaces with garden and quiet retreat.

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Porter Robson was appointed to redevelop an existing residential plot adjoining the Four Dells employment area near Otterbourne, creating three flexible commercial units within a mature landscape setting. The proposal replaces an under-used bungalow and garage with a compact terrace of contemporary workspace, extending the established commercial use of Four Dells in a proportionate way. Each unit provides practical space suited to smaller businesses while allowing the development to operate as a coherent architectural composition rather than a collection of individual buildings. The architecture is deliberately simple and robust. A restrained palette of dark profiled metal cladding establishes a recessive backdrop to the surrounding trees, while brightly coloured loading doors give each unit a clear identity and bring rhythm to the principal elevation. Large glazed entrance screens and high-level windows introduce daylight and provide a more refined frontage than a conventional small industrial building. The design has been strongly influenced by the site's position at the edge of the countryside. Existing mature trees and vegetation create a natural enclosure around the plot, and the proposal has been arranged to retain and reinforce this landscape framework wherever possible. The building and parking are concentrated within the previously developed part of the site, allowing the established boundary planting to continue screening the development from the wider rural setting. Landscape and ecology are therefore treated as integral parts of the development rather than residual spaces around the building. New tree planting and biodiversity measures are proposed alongside the retained vegetation, while no-dig construction techniques and permeable surfacing are intended where access and parking interact with retained root protection areas. Environmental performance is addressed through an efficient building fabric, natural daylight and roof-mounted photovoltaic panels. The roof and openings have been arranged to maximise useful daylight while limiting direct solar gain and the associated risk of overheating. Electric vehicle charging is also incorporated into the wider site strategy. The scheme builds on Porter Robson's experience of larger employment projects such as Daedalus, applying similar principles of flexibility, durability, operational efficiency and architectural identity at a smaller scale. Four Dells Yard demonstrates how modest commercial development can be both practical and carefully considered, creating adaptable workspace while respecting the landscape character that defines its setting.

Four Dells Farm

Four Dells creates three flexible commercial units within a mature landscape, combining robust architecture, biodiversity, photovoltaics and efficient servicing.

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Guildford is a 99-studio student residential development on in Guildford, overlooking the River Wey. The project was designed and delivered by Stelling Properties' in-house architectural team, led by Gary in his role as Head of Technical Architecture and Sustainability, with the team providing design and detailed technical development, and support through construction. The architecture responds to the scale and constraints of its riverside setting by dividing the accommodation into a series of clearly articulated volumes. Two principal brick elements step in height and are separated by a recessed glazed central section, breaking down the overall mass while creating a strong vertical focus within the composition. The recessed upper level further reduces the perceived height of the building and establishes a clear hierarchy between base, middle and top. Brick gives the building its principal architectural character. Deep window reveals, expressed vertical piers and a regular grid of openings establish a strong rhythm across the elevations, with darker inset panels adding depth and contrast. The masonry gives the building a permanence appropriate to its urban setting while the disciplined repetition of the façade is softened by subtle changes in height, depth and proportion. The relationship with the river was equally important. The building presents an ordered residential frontage towards the landscape, with the wider external works connecting the development to the riverside edge and adjoining public realm. The landscape and levels strategy carefully coordinates the building with the existing topography, pedestrian routes and the flood-sensitive land closest to the River Wey. Inside, the design was conceived as more than a collection of individual studios. The ground floor brings together a series of shared spaces including a lounge, games area, communal kitchen, study spaces, TV room, coffee station and laundry, while a gym occupies part of the first floor. These facilities are organised around the entrance and central circulation, giving communal life a visible presence within the building rather than treating amenity as residual space. The interiors reinforce this social character through double-height spaces, internal glazing, strong colour, integrated furniture and varied lighting. More intimate study and seating areas sit alongside larger communal rooms, creating a range of environments for studying, meeting and relaxing. Although modern methods of construction informed the technical development of the scheme, the completed building demonstrates how a disciplined construction system can support rather than determine the architecture. Repetition becomes rhythm, dimensional coordination becomes proportion, and a highly efficient residential plan is given identity through massing, material depth and carefully considered communal space. Guildford demonstrates the value of combining architectural design, technical understanding and delivery experience to create high-density student accommodation that contributes positively to its setting and to the experience of those who live there. The building provides 99 studios, with many orientated towards the River Wey, and achieved an EPC A rating and a commendation for design quality at the Guildford Design Awards.

Guildford

Guildford uses stepped massing, articulated brick façades and a recessed glazed core to create a distinctive riverside student residence.

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Porter Robson was appointed to deliver the conversion and extension of an existing office building in Portsmouth, to create three new residential apartments through the careful reuse of the existing structure and the transformation of its roof space. The project makes extensive use of the existing building, reorganising its accommodation for residential use rather than pursuing wholesale redevelopment. The ground and first floors are converted to form new apartments, while the roof is substantially reworked to create additional living space within a new upper level. The resulting mix comprises a one-bedroom apartment and two two-bedroom homes, allowing the existing building to be intensified while remaining appropriate to its established urban setting. The layouts incorporate open-plan kitchen and living spaces, private bedrooms and bathrooms, together with shared circulation, cycle storage and refuse provision. A key part of the architectural strategy is the treatment of the roof. The former roof space is reshaped through new pitched forms, dormers, rooflights and carefully controlled flat-roofed areas, allowing the upper apartment to gain useful floor area and natural light without simply adding a conventional full storey. The altered roofscape gives the building a stronger domestic character while helping the additional accommodation sit comfortably within the surrounding street. Externally, the proposals retain the proportions and rhythm of the existing elevations while refreshing the building through a restrained palette of render, dark-framed windows and tiled roofing. New dormers and roof openings are integrated into the roof form rather than treated as isolated additions, giving the enlarged building a more coherent residential identity. The refurbishment also provides the opportunity to improve the performance of the existing fabric. The technical design considers upgrades to insulation, airtightness, existing masonry cavities, window performance and thermal bridging, ensuring that the conversion improves comfort and energy efficiency alongside the spatial transformation. Portsmouth Apartments demonstrates how an existing commercial building can be adapted, intensified and given a new residential life, combining retained fabric with targeted architectural intervention to create three contemporary homes within an established Portsmouth streetscape.

Portsmouth

Portsmouth Apartments reuses an office building, introducing a reworked roofscape and refined material palette to create three contemporary homes.

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Porter Robson was appointed to design a new private home, the project responds to a varied rural streetscape of individual houses, mature hedgerows and generous gardens, creating a new dwelling that feels rooted in its setting while providing a distinctly contemporary environment for family life. Existing boundary hedges are retained to preserve the verdant character of the lane and provide privacy, while the natural fall of the site helps reduce the visual prominence of the building when viewed from the highway. New tree and landscape planting further integrates the house into its surroundings. Architecturally, the design establishes a dialogue between traditional form and contemporary living. The principal two-storey volume adopts a calm, classically proportioned brick elevation with vertically proportioned windows, a hipped clay-tiled roof and a clearly defined entrance. Its simple composition responds to the scale and material character of the surrounding village without attempting to reproduce a particular historic style. To the garden, the character changes deliberately. A low contemporary pavilion extends from the main house, opening the principal kitchen, dining and living spaces towards the landscape through generous areas of glazing. Knapped flint, aluminium glazing and a planted roof give this element a more tactile and lightweight character, allowing it to read as a distinct garden-facing layer to the house. The ground floor is organised around a series of complementary spaces for different patterns of family life. A generous kitchen, dining and entertaining area forms the social heart of the house, while a separate snug / cinema / music room, office and lounge / library provide quieter spaces for work, reading and retreat. Practical accommodation including a boot room, utility, pantry, workshop, garaging and plant space is integrated into the wider plan. At first floor, private accommodation is arranged around a central landing, with a principal suite and additional bedrooms overlooking the surrounding landscape. A large terrace connects the upper floor with the planted roof of the garden pavilion, extending the relationship between house and landscape vertically through the building. Environmental performance was considered from the outset. The proposals incorporate integrated photovoltaic generation, with the early sustainability strategy anticipating sufficient renewable generation to offset annual electrical demand. The design ambition is for the building to achieve at least carbon-neutral operation, with the potential for net-zero operational performance to be tested through detailed energy modelling. The wider landscape strategy also allows for ecological enhancement and a minimum 10% biodiversity net gain, reinforcing the idea that the house and landscape should be designed as a single environment rather than as separate elements. Worlds End House demonstrates how a new dwelling can combine traditional domestic form with contemporary space, materiality and environmental ambition, creating a home that belongs within its rural setting while responding to the way its occupants want to live today.

Worlds End

Worlds End House combines classical architecture with a contemporary pavilion, creating a landscape-led family home with strong environmental ambition.

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Porter Robson was commissioned to extend and refurbish an existing 1960s home in Lee-on-the-Solent, transforming an awkward internal arrangement into a more coherent contemporary family home with a clearer relationship between arrival, living spaces and garden. The existing house was originally orientated towards Broom Way, while pedestrian and vehicular access approached from Eastcliff Close at the side of the property. The design responds by redefining the entrance and approach, repositioning the front door and establishing a more intuitive sense of arrival. This also allows the garden spaces beyond to become more private and reduces the extent to which the driveway intrudes into the site. A combination of two-storey and single-storey extensions wrap around the existing building, allowing the internal arrangement to be comprehensively reconsidered while retaining the principal structure of the original house. At ground floor, the former arrangement of separate kitchen, lounge and dining spaces is reorganised around a generous new kitchen, dining and family room. Carefully positioned rooflights, larger openings and a vaulted ceiling introduce daylight deep into the plan, while new doors strengthen the relationship between the principal living spaces and the garden. The revised plan also introduces a ground-floor bedroom with en-suite accommodation, a dedicated home office, utility, cloakroom and practical storage. Together, these spaces give the house greater flexibility and allow it to respond to changing family requirements over time. At first floor, the accommodation is reorganised around two generous en-suite bedrooms, including a new principal bedroom suite with integrated wardrobes and access to a private balcony. The balcony is carefully positioned to retain the opportunity to enjoy the morning sun while maintaining an appropriate relationship with neighbouring properties. Externally, the extension is intentionally expressed as a contemporary addition. Pale facing brick, dark aluminium glazing and crisp stone parapet detailing establish a new architectural layer against the retained house, which is externally insulated and finished in white render. A planted roof softens the lower extension and helps integrate the enlarged building with its garden setting. Environmental improvements form part of the wider transformation. The proposals incorporate upgraded thermal performance to both new and existing fabric, careful junction detailing to reduce thermal bridging, natural cross ventilation, improved daylight and provision for integrated photovoltaic generation. Eastcliff demonstrates how an existing home can be reorientated, extended, refurbished and improved environmentally to establish flexible living and garden connection.

Eastcliff

Eastcliff reworks a 1960s home with contemporary extensions, improving arrival, internal planning, garden connection and overall environmental performance.

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Porter Robson was appointed to develop eleven new apartments within a carefully considered landscape-led residential scheme. The design begins with the idea that the quality of residential development should extend beyond the individual apartment. Building form, landscape, private and communal amenity, biodiversity and environmental performance have therefore been developed together, creating a scheme in which the spaces around and above the building form an important part of the architecture. The building is composed as a robust two-storey masonry volume with a set-back upper floor, reducing the apparent scale of the development when viewed from the surrounding streets. The recessed upper level also releases areas of roof for planted gardens and external amenity, allowing landscape to extend vertically through the scheme rather than remaining solely at ground level. At second floor, two apartments are arranged alongside a substantial roof terrace and enhanced planting designed to provide both amenity and privacy. At ground floor, the building is set within a series of private terraces, communal gardens and landscaped edges. New tree planting is positioned strategically to provide screening and reduce overlooking, while dedicated cycle and refuse stores are incorporated into the plan as part of the overall site arrangement rather than treated as residual elements. Careful consideration has also been given to neighbouring amenity. At first floor, obscure oriel windows are used where required to control overlooking, while planting at roof level provides further screening to the upper terraces. These measures allow the building to achieve an appropriate density while responding sensitively to the established residential context. Materiality is central to the architectural character. The main elevations use a combination of stretcher-bond, extruded and soldier-course brickwork, creating changes in texture, depth and shadow across the façades. Projecting and recessed brick elements articulate entrances and key parts of the composition, while dark aluminium windows provide a consistent contemporary layer. Above, the set-back upper floor is expressed in lightweight standing-seam metal cladding, clearly distinguishing it from the masonry base and reducing its visual weight. The environmental strategy is equally integrated with the architecture. The scheme considers solar orientation, seasonal shading, prevailing winds and natural shelter, using trees and planting to moderate summer solar gain and improve the microclimate around the building. Permeable landscape surfaces assist with surface water management, while green roofs provide additional insulation, reduce heat gain and support biodiversity. Renewable energy is incorporated directly into the roof design through an integrated photovoltaic system, allowing on-site energy generation to form part of the architectural composition rather than appearing as an afterthought. Turner Avenue Apartments demonstrates how higher-density residential development can be shaped as a complete environment rather than simply a building; bringing homes, landscape, external amenity, material character and environmental performance together within one coherent design.

Turner Ave

Turner Avenue Apartments combines layered brick architecture, planted terraces and integrated landscaping to create eleven homes with a strong environmental strategy.

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Porter Robson was appointed to extend and comprehensively refurbish an existing home on Marine Parade East in Lee-on-the-Solent, transforming the property around its exceptional relationship with the seafront. The design begins by reconsidering the internal organisation of the house. Rather than retaining a conventional arrangement with the principal living accommodation at ground floor, the proposals distribute spaces vertically according to privacy, daylight and views. Bedrooms and more private accommodation are concentrated at ground level, allowing the principal kitchen, dining and living spaces to occupy the first floor where they can benefit from uninterrupted views towards the Solent. At first floor, the kitchen, dining and lounge are brought together as a generous open-plan living environment. Full-height glazing opens this space towards a broad seafront terrace, creating a direct relationship between interior, horizon and changing coastal conditions. Additional utility, study and storage spaces are integrated into the plan without interrupting the clarity of the principal living area. The ground floor provides three bedrooms with en-suite accommodation, alongside a garden lounge and kitchenette, garage, workshop and a more generous entrance organised around a grand hallway. A central light well introduces daylight through the depth of the plan and creates a visual connection between the different levels of the house. The roof space is also transformed to create a further bedroom suite together with its own lounge, kitchenette and supporting storage. Large areas of glazing within the remodelled roof form extend the connection with the sea to the uppermost level of the house, creating a more private retreat with elevated coastal views. Externally, the architecture is conceived as a series of clearly defined layers. A more solid ground-floor base gives the house a sense of permanence, while the upper levels become progressively lighter and more open as they rise towards the view. Large-format aluminium glazing, standing-seam metal roofing, timber cladding, sand-toned render and areas of stone or pebble walling create a palette that is contemporary while drawing directly from the textures and colours of the coastal setting. The seafront elevation is dominated by generous glazing and a frameless terrace balustrade, allowing the principal living spaces to remain visually connected with the horizon. By contrast, timber-clad secondary elements and more controlled openings articulate the sides of the house, giving the enlarged property a clearer hierarchy and reducing the visual weight of the proposal. The design deliberately retains the familiar pitched-roof character of the existing building while substantially reworking it through standing-seam metal cladding and a large contemporary dormer. This allows valuable accommodation to be created within the roof without reading as an additional storey, giving the house a distinctive silhouette within the Marine Parade streetscape. Marine Parade House demonstrates how refurbishment can fundamentally change the experience of an existing home. By reorganising the plan around view, light and movement, the project transforms a conventional coastal property into a layered contemporary house in which each floor develops a different relationship with the sea.

Marine Parade

Marine Parade House reworks a seafront home around elevated living spaces, panoramic Solent views and a refined contemporary coastal material palette.

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Porter Robson is developing a new employment quarter within Daedalus Waterfront at Lee-on-the-Solent, providing a collection of flexible industrial and commercial units designed around the needs of modern businesses. The scheme forms part of the wider regeneration of the former Daedalus airfield and responds to a site with a distinctive history of aviation, engineering, maritime activity and employment. Rather than treating the development as a conventional industrial estate, the design establishes a coherent architectural identity that draws on this heritage while providing robust, practical buildings capable of adapting to changing occupier requirements. A series of smaller buildings are arranged around a clearly defined internal road and servicing structure, creating a finer grain than a single large-format industrial building. The individual units range from approximately 100m² to 230m², allowing accommodation for start-ups and SMEs while retaining the ability for adjoining spaces to be combined for larger occupiers. This flexibility was informed by our experience of earlier phases at Daedalus and by feedback on the operational requirements of businesses already working on the estate. The architecture uses simple pitched forms and a disciplined palette of profiled metal cladding, dark-framed glazing and carefully controlled colour. The historic references are deliberately subtle: earlier ideas derived from naval dazzle patterns and the visual identity of the former airfield have been translated into rhythmic cladding compositions and coloured loading doors rather than applied as literal decoration. The project imagery shows how these accent colours give individual buildings and units an identifiable character while retaining a consistent overall language across the development. Movement and servicing have been treated as an integral part of the design. Lessons from previous phases informed the arrangement of vehicle routes, parking, loading and pedestrian connections, with the aim of creating a safer and more legible environment for employees, visitors and commercial traffic. The buildings are positioned to establish clear frontages while allowing the operational spaces behind them to function efficiently. Landscape is used to soften the public edges of what remains a deliberately industrial environment. Native planting, hedging, trees and wildflower areas establish a greener frontage to Implacable Road while creating separation between employment uses and neighbouring residential areas. The environmental strategy combines an enhanced thermal envelope with extensive rooftop photovoltaic generation. The buildings are conceived as efficient landlord shells that can subsequently be adapted by individual occupiers to suit their operational requirements. Daedalus demonstrates how commercially practical industrial architecture can also contribute to place, identity and long-term regeneration, creating flexible employment space while reinforcing the distinctive character of Daedalus Waterfront.

Daedalus

Daedalus creates a flexible employment quarter shaped by aviation and maritime heritage, combining adaptable spaces with a distinctive industrial character.

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Designed and delivered by Gary and the architectural team at Stelling Properties while Head of Technical Architecture and Sustainability, working with and leading the in-house architectural team, High Street is a major student residential development within Southampton's historic city centre. The approved scheme was redesigned and developed technically and supported through construction by the internal team. The scheme combines the refurbishment of an existing building with a new-build addition, creating 100 student studios together with a generous collection of communal spaces. Rather than treating the retained and new elements as separate projects, the design sought to create a coherent piece of city architecture that strengthens the High Street frontage and responds carefully to its sensitive historic setting. Located within the Old Town North Conservation Area, close to the Grade I listed Bargate and Southampton's medieval town walls, the architecture was developed through a close reading of the surrounding streetscape. Strong vertical proportions, clearly defined bays and horizontal banding establish a façade hierarchy that reflects the rhythm of neighbouring historic plots without resorting to imitation. Brick is central to the building's identity. A restrained buff palette is given depth through recessed panels, soldier courses and projecting brickwork, allowing shadow and texture to animate the elevations throughout the day. Dark-framed windows and carefully controlled metal elements provide a contemporary counterpoint, while the upper level is set back to reduce the perceived scale of the building within the street. At street level, the building establishes a strong and legible entrance while introducing active communal uses behind the façade. Internally, the ground floor is organised around a sequence of social and study spaces including a lounge, games area, TV room, study room, kitchen, coffee station and internal courtyard, creating a varied shared environment alongside the private accommodation above. The interiors continue this more residential approach. Changes in level, integrated seating, colour, timber finishes and carefully designed lighting create spaces with distinct identities rather than a single institutional aesthetic. The result is a series of environments intended to support socialising, studying and quieter occupation throughout the day. The upper floors are organised around an efficient and disciplined residential layout, coordinating new accommodation with the retained building, circulation cores and existing structure. The architectural team carried the project through detailed technical development, coordinating architecture, structure, specialist systems and construction interfaces as the scheme moved from design into delivery. High Street demonstrates how contemporary residential architecture can increase density within a constrained historic city centre while contributing positively to the character of the street combining contextual design, adaptive reuse and careful technical delivery within a single urban project.

East Street

High Street combines new and retained architecture to create contemporary student housing, in response to Southampton’s historic Old Town context.

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Porter Robson was appointed to design a small residential development at Hunts Pond Road, Park Gate, creating two detached four-bedroom family homes within an established residential setting. The development was conceived as a pair of related but individual houses, sharing a coherent architectural language while responding independently to their position within the site. Traditional pitched forms and familiar residential proportions establish a clear relationship with the surrounding neighbourhood, while contemporary detailing gives the scheme its own identity. The houses are arranged around a landscaped shared approach, with parking positioned away from the gardens. A separate timber-framed carport with a planted green roof provides covered parking while introducing a softer landscape element to the centre of the development. The site plan also retains planting around the boundaries, helping the new homes settle naturally into their surroundings. Externally, a palette of brick, slate tiles, stone features and well proportioned windows gives the houses a robust domestic character. The design drawings also incorporate integrated photovoltaic panels and rooflights within the roofscape. Internally, both homes are planned around modern family life. Generous kitchen and dining spaces form the principal social areas, complemented by separate lounges, studies and practical utility accommodation. At first floor, four-bedroom layouts provide flexible family accommodation, including en-suite facilities to the principal bedrooms. The completed project also demonstrates the value of treating architecture, landscape and environmental measures as one composition. Integrated photovoltaics reduce operational energy demand, while the green-roof carport, new planting and carefully organised external spaces help create a greener setting for the homes. Hunts Pond Gardens demonstrates how a modest residential development can achieve more than simply maximising the number of homes on a site, creating well-planned contemporary houses with a strong sense of place, generous family accommodation and a considered landscape setting.

Hunts Pond

Hunts Pond pairs traditional design and materials, creating contemporary family homes and landscaping, generous internal layouts, and renewable technologies..

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Porter Robson was commissioned to extend and refurbish an existing home in Fareham, reworking a series of existing spaces to create a more generous, connected and contemporary living environment. The design builds on the existing house rather than replacing it, retaining its established structure and roof form while introducing carefully positioned additions that improve the way the home works. The original arrangement of separate rooms is reorganised around a generous new kitchen and dining space, creating a stronger social heart to the house and a more direct relationship with the garden. A separate lounge provides a quieter living space, while a new entrance hall, utility and WC improve the practical organisation of the ground floor. The layout also incorporates a ground-floor bedroom with en-suite accommodation, adding flexibility to the home and allowing it to respond to changing needs over time. At first floor, the accommodation is reorganised to provide three further bedrooms, a family bathroom and additional en-suite facilities, creating a clearer and more balanced relationship between shared family spaces and private accommodation. Externally, the extension adopts a deliberately contemporary architectural language while remaining connected to the existing house. A restrained palette of render, cladding and dark grey windows and doors differentiates new interventions, while the matching roof tiles provide continuity with the original building. The wider site is also reorganised, including revised access and parking arrangements, allowing the refurbished house and its external spaces to work together as a more coherent whole. Hill Park House demonstrates how careful extension and internal reorganisation can transform an existing property without losing the value of what is already there, creating a home that is more spacious, flexible and responsive to contemporary family life.

95 Hill Park

Hill Park House reworks an existing family home with contemporary extensions, improving spatial flow, daylight and the connection between house and garden.

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Porter Robson was appointed to transform an under-used existing building on Gosport Road, Fareham, into a purpose-designed eight-bedroom House in Multiple Occupation, creating a higher standard of shared residential accommodation within an established urban site. The project was conceived differently from a conventional HMO conversion. Rather than seeking simply to maximise bedroom numbers, the design places greater emphasis on quality of accommodation, shared amenity and the everyday experience of residents. Eight single-occupancy bedrooms are arranged over two floors, each with its own en-suite, while generous communal and supporting spaces provide a more balanced approach to shared living. At ground floor, a substantial shared kitchen and dining space forms the social heart of the building, opening towards a dedicated external garden. Utility provision, secure cycle storage, refuse storage and a clearly defined entrance are integrated into the plan rather than treated as secondary requirements. The refurbishment also provides an opportunity to reconsider the appearance of a building that had suffered from limited investment over time. Environmental improvements are incorporated into the scheme through upgraded building fabric and a large roof-mounted photovoltaic array, reducing operational energy demand and helping to control future running costs for residents. Gosport Road House demonstrates how careful design and persistent planning engagement can raise the standard of shared housing, transforming an under-used building into a considered residential environment centred on amenity, comfort and long-term quality.

Gosport Road

Gosport Road transforms an under-used building into a purpose-designed HMO, prioritising generous shared spaces, amenity and carefully controlled massing.

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Porter Robson is developing a new collection of seven flexible commercial and industrial units, creating contemporary workspace within a prominent waterfront setting overlooking the wider coastal landscape. Formerly part of HMS Osprey Royal Naval Air Station, it sits within the wider Osprey Quay regeneration area and has long been identified for employment development. Its exposed marine setting, proximity to the harbour and relationship with the neighbouring Sailing Academy give the site a character very different from a conventional inland business park. The scheme responds with two simple terraces of workspace, providing seven independently accessible units arranged around a clear parking and servicing area. The current concept divides the accommodation between four units within The Chandlery and three within The Saltworks. The architectural language is deliberately robust and straightforward, reflecting the practical requirements of modern commercial space while responding to the site's maritime context. Vertically profiled metal cladding, dark-framed glazing and large sectional loading doors create a disciplined industrial rhythm across the elevations, while different cladding tones and strong accent colours distinguish the two terraces and give individual units an immediately recognisable identity. Rather than disguising the industrial nature of the development, the design uses repetition, colour and proportion to turn its functional requirements into part of the architecture. The Chandlery adopts a lighter cladding palette with orange accents, while The Saltworks is expressed in a deeper blue-green finish with yellow loading doors—colours that reinforce the development's relationship with the sea, harbour and working maritime landscape. The two buildings are also subtly shaped by the site. Low, simple roof forms and carefully controlled massing maintain a strong horizontal relationship with the shoreline, while the arrangement preserves openness between the buildings and allows the development to sit comfortably within the exposed coastal setting. The elevations continue the broader architectural character established at Osprey Quay, where lightweight cladding, simple building forms and large areas of glazing respond to both commercial use and the marine environment. Operational requirements have been considered as part of the design from the outset. Parking, loading and vehicle manoeuvring are integrated within a straightforward site layout, with electric vehicle charging infrastructure incorporated across the development. The current site plan provides active charging alongside provision for future EV expansion, allowing the scheme to adapt as demand increases. Environmental performance is further supported through roof-mounted photovoltaic panels, using the extensive roof areas to generate renewable electricity and reduce operational energy demand. The exposed coastal location makes durability equally important, with the material strategy suited to a severe marine environment where robustness and ease of maintenance are fundamental considerations. The earlier planning work for the site similarly identified the marine exposure as a defining characteristic of the location. This project applies the same principles seen in Porter Robson's other employment projects, flexibility, clarity, durability and strong architectural identity. The result is intended to provide practical contemporary workspace while reinforcing the working and maritime character of Portland's waterfront.

North Shore

North Shore creates seven flexible waterfront units, combining robust industrial architecture, maritime character, adaptable workspace and integrated renewable technologies.

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High Street is the transformation of the former Bank of England building in Southampton, into a new student residential development combining the restoration of a locally listed city landmark with contemporary new accommodation. The project was designed and delivered by Stelling Properties’ in-house architectural team, led by Gary in his role as Head of Technical Architecture and Sustainability, with responsibility extending through detailed technical development and on-site delivery support. The design begins with the existing building. Its formal Portland stone façade, classical proportions and distinctive architectural details were carefully retained and restored, allowing the historic frontage to remain the principal civic presence on the High Street. Behind it, a new residential building adopts a deliberately different architectural language, creating a clear distinction between retained heritage and contemporary intervention rather than attempting to imitate the original architecture. The new accommodation is composed as a long, carefully controlled volume fitted within an exceptionally constrained urban site. Light stone-coloured façades reference the tone of the historic building while dark-framed glazing and projecting oriel windows introduce a much more contemporary rhythm. The technical elevations distinguish between smooth stone-effect rainscreen panels and vertically castellated panels, using variation in texture and depth to articulate the larger elevations. The projecting windows are particularly important to the character of the building. Repeated along the narrow elevations, they generate a strong vertical rhythm and introduce depth, shadow and reflection to façades that are experienced at close quarters within the surrounding urban grain. Internally, the enlarged window zones create usable seating and increase daylight within individual studios while their angled arrangement helps maintain privacy between rooms. At the junction between old and new, the project required careful architectural and technical coordination. Existing floor levels, basement structures and retained fabric are brought together with the new residential accommodation, circulation cores and building services. The new multi-storey accommodation extending immediately behind the retained building, with the historic front rooms adapted to provide entrance, reception and generous communal spaces. The retained building becomes the social heart of the development. Its larger rooms and existing proportions are used to provide reception, lounges, games areas and study space, while further communal facilities include a gym, kitchen, cinema and landscaped roof terrace. Double-height areas and the contrast between the more formal historic rooms and contemporary interior interventions give the shared spaces a distinct character. This approach allows the project to retain more than simply a façade. The existing bank building and its basement vaults were incorporated into a new pattern of use, bringing a building that had remained derelict for more than a decade back into active occupation. The environmental performance was developed alongside the architectural strategy. The completed scheme incorporates mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, rooftop photovoltaic generation and an energy-efficient building envelope, while the reuse of the existing building retains valuable fabric and gives a redundant city-centre asset a new long-term purpose. This integrated approach to sustainability was recognised at the South Coast Property Awards 2025, where High street was named Sustainable Development of the Year, reflecting the project’s combination of heritage reuse, environmental performance and contemporary design. Bargate House demonstrates how heritage, contemporary architecture and environmental performance can work together as part of a single regeneration strategy, preserving the identity of an important Southampton building while adapting it for a new generation of occupation.

High Street

High Street combines heritage restoration with contemporary student accommodation, a dialogue between architectural elements, and environmental design.

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Porter Robson was appointed to extend, remodel and environmentally upgrade an existing home in Lee-on-the-Solent, using the refurbishment as an opportunity to address the building’s energy performance as a complete system rather than through a series of isolated improvements. The existing dwelling has an E-rated EPC, and the project has been developed around a whole-house low-energy strategy intended to create a home that is more comfortable, healthy, durable and substantially less energy intensive. The approach follows a clear hierarchy: reduce heat loss, control air leakage, provide effective ventilation, manage moisture and thermal bridging, address summer comfort, then size the heating and renewable-energy systems to the reduced demand. A significant upgrade to the thermal envelope forms the foundation of the design. The strategy includes external wall insulation, improved roof performance, upgraded floors where appropriate and high-performance replacement windows and doors, with particular attention given to continuity of insulation around openings, floor edges, eaves and roof junctions. The project performance brief targets external walls at approximately 0.18 W/m²K, roof performance of 0.15 W/m²K or better, and whole-window performance of Uw ≤1.0 W/m²K. Airtightness is treated as equally important as insulation. A continuous air barrier around the heated envelope and identify the critical junctions where new and existing construction meet. The project is being designed towards q50 ≤2.5 m³/(h·m²), with 3.0 m³/(h·m²) set as the maximum completed-building target. At this level of airtightness, ventilation becomes a deliberately designed part of the building rather than something left to uncontrolled infiltration. A whole-house mechanical ventilation with heat recovery system is therefore integrated into the proposals, providing continuous fresh air while recovering heat from extract air. The system is coordinated with the building layout and roof space alongside the hot-water equipment and photovoltaic systems. Heating is also being reconsidered as part of the retrofit rather than simply replacing the existing boiler. An air-source heat pump is proposed, with the system to be sized from room-by-room heat-loss calculations and designed around low heating-water temperatures. The strategy targets approximately 45°C flow temperatures where practicable, improving heat-pump efficiency and ensuring that emitters, distribution and fabric performance work together as one system. Renewable energy is incorporated after demand reduction rather than used to compensate for a poorly performing envelope. Integrated photovoltaic panels are positioned within the principal roof plane, supporting the transition to an electrically heated home while maintaining a clean architectural composition. Summer comfort has also been considered as part of the low-energy brief. The strategy prioritises controlling solar gain, external shading where required, practical purge ventilation and MVHR summer bypass before introducing active cooling. This ensures that the measures used to retain warmth in winter do not inadvertently create overheating during warmer months. Architecturally, the refurbishment gives the house a clearer contemporary identity. White render is combined with vertically expressed dark-grey cladding, dark aluminium windows and doors, and a restrained palette of grey roof finishes. The front elevation is simplified and strengthened through a new entrance composition and cladding treatment, while the wider remodelling reorganises the house around a more practical kitchen and dining space, lounge, study, utility accommodation and improved bedroom arrangement. Leamington House demonstrates how architectural refurbishment and energy retrofit can be developed together. Rather than treating sustainability as an additional layer of technology, insulation, airtightness, ventilation, heating, solar control and renewable generation are coordinated as part of the architecture itself, creating a more resilient and comfortable home with substantially reduced energy demand.

10 Leamington Cr

Leamington combines contemporary extension and whole-house retrofit, integrating fabric upgrades, renewable technologies and architecture for low-energy living.

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Movimiento Tectónico is a competition proposal for a new ski cabin in Iceland, conceived as both a place of shelter and a base from which visitors can experience the surrounding landscape. Designed for skiers, hikers, families and visitors exploring the local trails, the building brings together practical mountain facilities with spaces for rest, warmth and contemplation, creating a moment of sanctuary within an exposed and dramatic setting. The architectural concept takes its inspiration from the geological forces that have shaped Iceland. The starting point was the movement of tectonic plates: an imagined landscape is divided along lines of movement before individual sections are pushed, pulled and rotated. These fragmented pieces are then reassembled as if colliding, producing a series of angular volumes and rising roof planes that appear to have been displaced from the terrain itself. Two principal ‘fault blocks’ sit alongside the line of the ski route, giving the building its distinctive form while establishing a strong relationship with the surrounding topography. Rather than competing with the landscape, the proposal is intended to feel embedded within it. Dark, monolithic elevations evoke Iceland’s volcanic geology, while planted turf roofs continue the surrounding vegetation across the building and soften the transition between architecture and ground. From a distance the structure reads as a series of geological fragments; at closer range, large areas of glazing cut through the heavier external envelope to frame expansive views across the mountains and bring the changing landscape directly into the interior. The accommodation is organised around a central visitor hub incorporating an entrance and interactive information point, viewing deck, self-service refreshment station and warm rest area, supported by toilets, washrooms and unisex changing facilities. A dedicated equipment checking and tuning station serves skiers, while a separate building provides snow-groomer garaging and supporting equipment storage. The arrangement allows operational and servicing functions to remain distinct from the quieter visitor spaces while keeping the development closely connected to the ski route. Inside, the character deliberately contrasts with the severity of the exterior. Timber is concentrated within the principal warm spaces to create a more tactile and welcoming environment, while generous glazing and roof openings draw daylight deep into the building and maintain a continual visual connection with the landscape. More robust areas retain exposed concrete and hemp-based finishes, providing surfaces capable of accommodating ski equipment and heavy use while allowing the material construction of the building to remain legible. Sustainability was integral to the proposal rather than treated as a separate layer. A Passivhaus-informed approach was adopted to reduce operational energy through a highly insulated and airtight envelope, solar-responsive glazing and passive design strategies. The proposal explored heat pumps supplied by Iceland’s geothermal energy infrastructure, with preliminary analysis indicating the potential for the building to achieve net-zero operational energy. The design was also considered against future climate scenarios, allowing the building's environmental strategy to respond not only to present conditions but to the changing Icelandic climate over its lifetime. Embodied carbon was addressed with the same emphasis. The structural strategy uses a reduced-volume waffle concrete frame incorporating high levels of GGBS, balancing the durability required within an extreme climate against the carbon intensity of conventional concrete construction. Hempcrete infill provides insulation while sequestering carbon, locally manufactured stone-wool insulation reduces transport requirements, and the planted roof contributes further biodiversity and carbon capture. The external cladding explores the use of synthetic obsidian manufactured from waste stone-wool material, linking a circular material process with a dark surface inspired by Icelandic volcanic geology. Preliminary analysis undertaken as part of the competition proposal estimated lifecycle embodied carbon at approximately 425–475 kgCO₂e/m², representing an anticipated reduction of around 55–60% compared with a business-as-usual approach. The project therefore treats architecture, landscape, material sourcing, operational energy and long-term resilience as interconnected parts of a single environmental strategy. Movimiento Tectónico was subsequently featured by ArchDaily, giving the competition proposal an international platform. At its core, the project explores how architecture in an extraordinary landscape can be both expressive and restrained: a building whose form is derived from geological movement, whose materiality belongs to its setting, and whose environmental performance responds to the fragility of the landscape it was designed to celebrate.

Icelandic Ski Cabin

Movimiento Tectónico reimagines an Icelandic ski cabin as fractured tectonic forms, combining dramatic landscape integration, Passivhaus design and low-carbon materials.

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