Don’t Move, Improve! shortlist announced

Projects by nimtim architects, Office S&M, Unknown Works, and Atelier Baulier are among the shortlisted entries for the NLA’s annual Don’t Move, Improve! competition.

15 London-based home renovation projects have been shortlisted for the NLA’s annual Don’t Move, Improve! competition. This year’s ‘Green Ambitions’ theme was evident in the 2023 submissions, with the shortlist featuring schemes that highlight the importance of improving the sustainable credentials of London homes. Other themes for 2023 include a focus on wellbeing and maximising space to provide solutions for compact living.

Designed by Cooke Fawcett, in collaboration with interior designer Black and Milk, Banya and Garden Studio in Camden houses the traditional elements of a Russian Banya, including sauna, bucket shower, plunge pool, and garden studio. The latter features large, glazed sliding doors that draw light from the garden into the interior. A bespoke wrap-over rooflight/window to the rear frames a view of the woodland beyond.

The interior of Elizabeth Mews by Trewhela Williams, also in Camden, is defined by tonal and textural nuances that create a sense of homogeneity. The previously underutilised garage has been incorporated into a dual-aspect open-plan organised along a nine-metre galley kitchen spanning the full depth of the house.

Designed by Mike Tuck Studio, Breathable House in Waltham Forest is a reworked Victorian terraced house featuring high levels of daylight and natural materials. The ground-floor extension is faced with solid blocks of external cork insulation, as well as a thinner external layer, which sit on a terrazzo plinth. The natural materials allow the previously damp house to ‘breath’. An oversized timber door connects the kitchen to the garden. A large rear window is divided by vertical timber fins to break up the proportions of the elevation, improve privacy, and form a window seat inside.

Unknown Works’ CLT House, also in Waltham Forest, is a renovation and extension project that has transformed a modest mid-century terrace into a bold and sustainable new home. The design makes extensive use of CLT construction, wrapping the interiors in warm, natural finished timber.

Brückenhaus in Southwark by R2 Studio Architects reinterprets contemporary living through an artist’s lens. An expressive colour palette is woven through the interior, while the exterior remains restrained and functionalist. The rebuilt rear wing provides space for a first-floor wellness area comprising a private roof terrace, sauna and outdoor shower, while the opened-up ground floor links the existing house, extension and garden through a series of interconnected spaces.

Nic Howett Architect’s Secret Garden Flat, also in Southwark, remodels a small awkward apartment, moving the emphasis of living away from a busy main road to the garden behind. Self-building with a palette of simple and modest materials, the team has added a new bedroom and a secluded garden studio.

Over in Islington, Studio Hallet Ike designed DB Apartment, a double extension and refurbishment project introducing light and airy lateral living to a previously enclosed ground-floor apartment. A clean minimal design with an emphasis on high-quality materials, allows the homeowners to maximise the full breadth of the property, with physical connections into the garden from multiple aspects.

Also in Islington, Rotherfield Street by Atelier Baulier, increases the size of the kitchen in a compact one-bedroom flat, while also creating a living space that opens onto the garden. The project also includes a 20-square-metre single-storey extension spanning the full width of the rear elevation.

Kitchen in the Woods, Southwark, by A Small Studio occupies a small oasis of protected woodland within the Dulwich Estate conservation area. The extension has a purposely light ecological impact, ensuring easy coexistence with the garden’s abundant wildlife, including foxes, squirrels, birds, and bats.

In Hackney, Graphic House by Office S&M utilises colour to define key moments throughout the plan and tell a story about the building’s purpose and history. The design draws upon the client’s belief in the power of graphics and love of Art Deco forms, with distinct shapes used to connect spaces and bright colours to enhance each room.

Designed by District.Architects, Colour Casing in Southwark provides the flexibility of a three-bedroom two-reception house within the footprint of an original, small one-bedroom flat with a skilfully conceived ground-floor wraparound extension.

Low Energy House by Architecture for London in Haringey is conceived as an exemplar for the sustainable refurbishment of a typical London terrace. The original structure of the house has been revealed and its modest beauty celebrated. Energy requirements are reduced dramatically by insulating, triple-glazing and improving airtightness. New additions include a rear extension and loft conversion.

Lubetkin apartments by Studio naama in Tower Hamlets involves the refurbishment of an apartment in Berthold Lubetkin’s Grade II listed Sivill House. The design celebrates the subtle embedded structural framework connecting to the identity of the building, stripping back areas to reveal original concrete beams, punching through a bedroom and living room wall, and integrating timber-clad adaptive furniture and bespoke metalwork to give warmth, colour and light to the principal spaces.

Walled Garden by nimtim architects in Lambeth reimagines a Victorian two-storey garden flat, within the Minet Conservation Area. The project includes a rear extension, re-configured interior spaces, and redesigned garden. The end result is a space of reflection and sanctuary from the city: a home full of soft daylight and richly textured natural materials.

Also in Lambeth, White Patio House by Pashenko Works provides a prototype for dense urban living. Exposed blockwork with high recycled content delineates the whole perimeter of the site as a uniting theme and contriving an ascetic domesticity. The blockwork, steel beams, floor and metal deck are left true and exposed.

Selected from more than 130 submitted projects, the shortlisted projects were chosen by a highly esteemed judging panel, including Anna Beckett, Associate at Buro Happold, and Phil Coffey, Director of Coffey Architects. The Winners will be announced in May.