Case Studies

Redhill Barn, Devon

Redhill Barn was once a large roofless ruin, standing in a Devon field without access, water or electricity. Within its stone walls the architectural practice TYPE has created a new home which is now the hub of an ecological smallholding….

National Automotive Innovation Centre, Coventry

As the future becomes low carbon, car manufacturers are adapting to the consequences with research and innovation into new concepts of transport. So the recent opening of the National Automotive Innovation Centre (NAIC) was well-timed; it is a new centre…

Swimming pool, King’s College School, Wimbledon, London

An elegant wave-like timber roof soars over this new swimming pool, reflecting the shape of water in motion. The pool is glazed on three sides and the timber elements of the roof – curved glulam beams and cross-laminated timber (CLT)…

Two and a Half Storey House, Stoke Newington, London

The Two and a Half Storey House is a masterwork of three-dimensional imagination in timber and an ingenious solution to a common problem: how to create an extra bedroom in a two-storey terrace house. In the case of the conventional…

The Republic Masterplan, East India Dock, London

Timber is not a material commonly used in largescale office refurbishments in central London, but the Republic Masterplan at East India Dock demonstrates how it can successfully transform a couple of tired 1990s office blocks into high quality sustainable and…

King's Cross Sports Centre, London

In the last ten years King’s Cross – the 27 hectare neighbourhood to the north of the railway station – has been transformed to create a new part of the city, with new businesses, restaurants and a lively cultural scene….

The Handlebar Café, Winchester, Hampshire

Six years ago a group of young students from Winchester had a brainwave – to design a community café and cycle workshop on a new cycle path which had just been established close to the town. The students were at…

The Colour Palace, Dulwich Picture Gallery, Dulwich, London

In 2019 an explosion of colour appeared on the sedate lawn of Dulwich Picture Gallery. It was the Colour Palace, a timber pavilion painted in exuberant geometric patterns and stripes in a kaleidoscope of zinging neon colours. It took the…

New Bury Theatre, Hurstpierpoint College, Sussex

Hurstpierpoint College, a co-educational day and boarding school in West Sussex, has a long tradition of theatre performance; its Shakespeare Society has performed a Shakespeare play every year since 1854. It is a tradition celebrated in the new performing arts…

The Rye Apartments, Peckham Rye, South London

Facing Peckham Rye Park in South London is a new development of ten apartments which demonstrates how the use of timber can create homes which are sustainable, efficient to build and with interior spaces of exceptional quality. The apartments have…

Hardman Square Pavilion, Spinningfields, Manchester

Hardman Square Pavilion stands at the heart of Spinningfields, Manchester’s busy commercial district, yet this new building is utterly unlike the surrounding metallic and glass towers; the structure is timber, an exposed glulam frame which is clad with timber weatherboards…

Abbey Wood Railway Station, Abbey Wood, Bexley, South London

Walking into the new railway station at Abbey Wood, the immediate impression is of the elegant timber roof which arches over the interior, imparting a warm, natural quality to this large public space – more than 25 metres by 25…

St. John’s Music Pavilion, Lacey Green, Buckinghamshire

The new music pavilion at St. John’s, a small state primary school in the Buckinghamshire village of Lacey Green, is an elegant and award-winning timber structure which was built as a co-operative venture with the school, local people and local…

Velvet Mill, Lister Mills, Bradford

Dominating the Bradford skyline is a group of magnificent Grade II* listed Victorian buildings, Lister Mills, with massive stone walls and an iconic 250 foot high chimney, inspired by St Mark’s Campanile in Venice. They were built by Samuel Lister…

Pocket House, London

Pocket House is an award-winning family house, distinguished by its character, the quality of its detailing – much of it in timber – and by the skill with which the architect has made use of a dauntingly restricted site. It…

Cambridge Central Mosque, Mill Road, Cambridge

The design of the new mosque in Cambridge, by Marks Barfield Architects, is based on the concept of ‘a calm oasis for contemplation, under a grove of trees’, inspired by the image of the garden of paradise. This is expressed…