The best new architecture practices on our Directory
Our Directory is the must-stop destination for anyone looking for the country’s top practices, sharp designers, master craftspeople and furniture sellers. For anyone looking to design, build or kit out their space, we provide an invaluable and up-to-date resource – check out the latest practices and shops to be added.
Al-Jawad Pike
Architects Jessam Al-Jawad and Dean Pike mastermind sensitive residential extensions, office fit-outs, pop-up structures and luxury retail design from their HQ in Hackney’s bustling Vyner Street.
Their approach is
reassuringly meticulous and refreshingly exploratory, underpinned by technical
prowess and a much-valued ability to communicate well with both clients and
contractors. Exemplary projects include a slick timber installation at Tate
Modern for London Fashion Week in 2019 and a rethink of Peter and Eleanor Pritchard’s Victorian
flour store near Columbia Road, which we sold last year.
Magri Williams
This young, up-and-coming architecture studio started by Joe Magri already has some deftly-executed residential building and design projects under its belt. The studio’s approach is calm and considered and an appreciation for materiality comes through every time. Their first project – an extension and loft conversion in Haringey using London stock brick, plywood and polished concrete – was deservedly shortlisted for the NLA´s Don’t Move, Improve! awards. Definitely ones to watch.
Ab Rogers Design
Ab Rogers, son of Richard Rogers, has built an eponymous practice that is every bit as playful and plucky as his dad’s. With bases in London and Melbourne, the practice has worked on everything from smart concepts for compact living to a handsome redesign of Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck.
Lately, Ab and the team have been busy reanimating Ernő Goldfinger’s brutalist Balfron Tower in collaboration with Studio Egret West and have recently opened up a new centre for Maggie’s in Sutton, both undertakings that reveal a sensitivity to historical context and a human-centric approach.
Woodsmith
Duncan Crockford, a joiner with more than a decade’s experience of building and design and a background in fine art, has been plying his craft since 2015 – and he’s understandably in high demand. With a focus on bespoke kitchens and fitted furniture that elevate the art of carpentry, all of Crockford’s materials are sustainably sourced.
His woodwork is world-class from start to finish: the new cabinetry created for a flat in Gospel Oak, for instance, matches that of the original 1960s Neave Brown design perfectly. To offset any impact to the environment, he plants and nurtures trees through his support of the World Land Trust.
Push Pull
Although James Watkins, proprietor of vintage store Push Pull, fell into trading beautiful mid-century pieces by accident, his shop is not to be missed. From bentwood Josef Hoffmann chairs to String shelves and Panton lamps, his smart curation of timeless vintage furniture will complement most interiors without breaking the bank.
His most recent venture is a collaboration
with designer Matthew Long on their own line of furniture. The first piece is
the cosy PP//01 modular sofa, which is a design classic in the making.
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