About Us
LTS Architects is an award-winning architectural practice known for high-quality architecture that is responsible, sustainable and that makes a positive contribution to people’s lives. Since 1996, we’ve been designing beautiful buildings and better places for people. Our work includes residential schemes, universities, schools, galleries, one-off houses, and even a temple. We’re open, honest and easy to work with. There’s no ego, no one-size-fits-all attitude just a collaborative and responsive approach that’s focused on listening to our clients’ needs and aspirations to design buildings, places and spaces that people love. Our team combines knowledge and expertise in architecture, planning, sustainability and interiors to provide a service that embraces every aspect of a building’s design, construction and performance. We are hands-on, taking a rigorous approach to every aspect of a project no matter what the scale to reveal opportunities, unlock potential and maximise value for everyone involved.
Shree Swaminarayan Temple
The Shree Swaminarayan Temple is an award-winning project involving both traditional religious architecture and contemporary design and construction techniques. A new Hindu Temple is complemented by a multifunction community hall and refurbished office building; the facilities providing a new religious and social heart to the local community. LTS provided architectural services through all stages of the project and travelled to India on a number of occasions to visit community leaders and traditional craftsmen. Working on a project that is so intrinsically linked to a local community has been a uniquely rewarding experience.
Honor Oak Park
Honor Oak Park Sports Ground and Pavilion provides a range of accommodation for King’s College London’s South-East sports complex. The central pavilion comprises changing rooms, and equipment storage facilities along with split-level social spaces including a terrace overlooking the landscaped sports grounds. LTS provided full architectural services to the project, from its early phases of masterplanning and feasibility through to its completion. Sustainable design was at the core of the concept brief, and the building achieved a BREEAM excellent rating.
Science Gallery London
This extraordinary project combines the innovative programme of the Science Gallery International with the research strengths and history of King’s College London. Housed within a wing of the original Guy’s Hospital, opposite London Bridge Station and beneath the Shard, the project includes the refurbishment of the historic hospital quadrangle, which will create a significant new public space. Providing a ‘bridge’ between the general public and the academic community work of King’s College, the Science Gallery will be a significant new addition to the cultural landscape of London. LTS developed concept design proposals as part of a number of successful bids for major grant funding and have since been appointed to develop detailed proposals.
Student Unions
The project seeks to centre the Union within the Guy’s campus, creating a visible presence and identity and reinvigorating this historic King’s site. The ambition has been to provide world-class facilities for the students of a world-class university. The project has been developed in two phases which focus on the restoration of the original Georgian volumes with contemporary detailing and materials. In the West Wing, new spaces are being formed to provide specialist facilities for student societies’ activities and the KCLSU officers and representatives. A new KCLSU Student Centre will provide a public frontage for the Union, providing advice and guidance to over 100 students per day. In the East Wing, the current Student facilities are undergoing full refurbishment to provide quality meeting, entertainment and common spaces for the students of the College. The Spit and Guy’s Bar are now connected via a new steel and concrete staircase, linking the volumes and introducing light in to the plan. The new food and drink commercial offering, which supports the work of the Union, is supported by thoughtful contemporary detailing and robust finishes which evoke the building’s former life as a hospital and its future existence at the heart of the Union. This project has led to a further exciting commission, developing an entirely new Student’s Union at the College’s main campus on the Strand.
The Cicely Saunders Institute
The Cicely Saunders Institute is the world’s first Institute of Palliative Care. Housing research offices, education and conference facilities and a day centre providing complementary therapies, general support and information, the institute is at the heart of its’ community. Sensitive design consideration was given to holistic qualities of palliative care, wanting to support the centre’s ability to create an intimate, welcoming environment for patients, their families and carers. The building is bright and open. By introducing unfinished natural materials to a functional institution building, it is softened and welcoming. The vast central light well, integrates the spaces around it with each other, but provides different user groups with a sense of autonomy, identity and discretion where it’s desired. A protective shell of handmade brick opens up on the front and rear facades to reveal a rich timber lining within which the shared activities of the Institute are contained. A BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating is achieved by incorporating ground source heat pumps with passive heating and cooling systems; thermal mass; solar thermal; landscaping and natural ventilation. Daylight and solar gain are controlled by the south-west facing brise soleil.
Base New North Road
Base turned the brownfield site of a derelict cinema into a new landmark mixed use building. The client asked LTS Architects to propose a striking, contemporary building that would capture the imagination of their young, professional target market. The apartment block, consisting of 12 two-bedroom apartments and two penthouses, is expressed as a discrete single volume, raised above the transparent base of a ground floor commercial unit. This block is defined by the street lines of the corner plot with a private raised courtyard carved out of the interior, around which the apartments are arranged. Glazed screens sit flush with the cladding, whereas balconies are recessed deep into the plan framing views out of the apartments. The building has a strong visual presence, exploiting the prominent position when viewed along New North Road.
Borough High Street
The Borough High Street Hotel scheme comprises a 100room hotel, three retail units and a gym for the students of King’s College London. The site is in a prominent location in the developing London Bridge Quarter. The scheme will regenerate the currently vacant site on Borough High Street and provide a vibrant public space within the historic grain of Southwark’s characterful ‘yards’. The building references the Burgage plots of Southwark’s past and proposes a re-introduction of the historic public spaces within the site. The resultant proposal is a contemporary piece of architecture which engages with the history of the site, making a significant contribution to the regeneration of the London Bridge area. The Tender design has been completed and the project is now on site.
Townsend Street
Townsend Street was won in a limited competition and was one of the first completed developments of the Elephant and Castle Regeneration, providing 37 residential units. In an area defined by long-term and significant development and upheaval, LTS Architects design proposals sought to promote and protect a sense of permanence and place-making. This informed the material palette with an anthracite grey brick, giving solidity to the base of the scheme and the landmark tower element. Courtyard gardens are enclosed in the same material and address the newly landscaped Comus Place, a shared surface street. The low-rise blocks, that extend beyond the masonry base storey, and elements of the tower are finished in a crisp white panel system. The materiality, scale and positioning of the buildings adds positively to the local street scene, providing a sense of identity in a rapidly changing part of London.
Brent House
LTS were commissioned to carry out a feasibility study into a large residential and mixed-use scheme on the High Road in the London Borough of Brent. Our work was used to define an architectural language and approach to form, proposing a design specification benchmark for the first phase of the development. The proposals include a range of residential types including one – three bed apartments and town houses, with a high percentage of family sized accommodation incorporating generous outdoor spaces on balconies and terraces. The large scale of the development is eased into and broken down by articulating the city block as two interconnected ‘L’ blocks, which work together to enclose a public square in the centre of the development. The topography of the site created an interesting design challenge, which we approached by scaling down the volumes into a variety of contained but connected spaces.
Helenslea Avenue
Located in North-West London, Helenslea Avenue is a 24 unit residential development providing a mix of two, three and four bed apartments. Occupying the site of the former Swaminarayan Hindu Temple, whose replacement was designed by LTS Architects on a nearby site, the project seeks to work within the established suburban context while increasing the development density to make best use of the site. Though the building design is thoroughly contemporary the context helped establish key design principles such as faรงade rhythm, eaves and roof heights and material palette. The apartments are typically large, dual aspect with flexible layouts and generous balconies. Designed to a high specification they include a number of sustainable design initiatives that will significantly reduce energy consumption for the end users.
Rushworth Street
Rushworth Street is a robust and contemporary mixeduse development that acknowledges the site’s prominent corner location and industrial context. Commercial space is located at ground and first floor levels, to provide an active street frontage. Both commercial and residential occupiers can access their spaces through the courtyard. The introduction of varied and integrated mixed-use and public activity at ground floor level will encourage interaction and help to animate and activate the public realm. Particular care has been paid to entrance routes for residents, creating a sense of collective ownership. Careful circulation design pays particular attention to the quality of filtered daylight, improving the resident experience of these spaces. The design also ensures that all residences look over the shared roof garden, with each having direct access to the area to help engender a sense of community and shared inclusiveness.
Honeypot Lane
Honeypot Lane is an exemplar sustainable mixed-use regeneration scheme that redevelops a brownfield site to provide 120 apartments and 2,500m2 of commercial space across four blocks. The design optimises passive environmental features and minimises wastage to achieve an 80% carbon reduction and meet Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4. Lauded by local planners as ‘most environmentally friendly building’ in Brent, the scheme’s high level of carbon reduction is achieved through renewable energy features including photovoltaic panels and solar water heating technologies. The buildings’ orientation and internal layouts are designed to optimise daylight penetration to every apartment and minimise heat loss thereby reducing the energy load requirements from heating, lighting and ventilation systems.
The Water Tower
New build insertions in the form of a pavilion and courtyard at the lower levels and a top floor observation deck contrast with the converted eight storey Victorian water tower in this unique single family-occupied residence. LTS Architects provided full Architectural services from inception to completion, acting as Lead Designer on the project. We developed design proposals and were involved in negotiations with the Local Planning Authority and Building Regulations to sensitively manage the historic site. In preparing detailed design we worked closely with the contractor to achieve optimum design results and buildable solutions appropriate to the site constraints.
Hidden House
The ‘Hidden’ House is a private family home in South-West London, which is created from two former workshop buildings and a retail space. The project involves the sensitive reworking of existing structures, and the creation of a new subterranean living space in the basement of this complex urban site. Located within a conservation area our design proposal is completely invisible from the street. The existing building will be substantially re-built and re-structured in order to transform the internal spaces and allow for the creation of a new sunken garden and atria. The main living spaces are arranged as a sequence of linked open plan spaces that include a mezzanine study level within the roof pitch. The garden and atria provide a flow of daylight to the lower level, containing three double bedrooms, including a large master suite with an en-suite bathroom resting within the arched pavement vaults. The project has been fully designed using BIM software with the 3D capabilities of the software allowing a full understanding of the existing building geometry.
The Boatman
The scheme at Jamaica Road is a small residential development in the heart of Bermondsey in South-East London. The proposed redevelopment of the site involves the removal of an existing Public House, replacing it with a modestly sized four storey building housing five apartments and one maisonette unit. The materiality of the architecture draws heavily on immediate context, whilst the form is a reaction to the constraints of light distribution to the neighbouring properties. The building strikes a harmonious relationship between the surrounding buildings and the need to introduce a strong piece of contemporary architecture to the site. The building is clearly defined as having a modern interpretation of the plinth, middle and top of a more classical architectural typology. At base level, a darker blue grey brick plinth grounds the building and makes reference to the adjacent street front. In the middle, a red brick volume has various balconies and recesses carved from it. These recesses respond to the internal particularities of the flats, the movement of light around the building, and the views out of the building towards Canary Wharf and Southwark Park beyond. At the top of the building, a lightweight perforated steel volume crowns the red brick building. There is heavy play on the perforation and profiling of this material and it contains two apartments and roof terraces, which will be occupied by the client’s family.
Elvaston Mews
LTS Architects worked closely with the client developers on a number of sites. Elvaston Mews, comprises the refurbishment and extension of two traditional mews properties in the heart of South Kensington. Working within the confines of the existing building envelope the project maximised the use of space and light to create two, four bedroom, family homes of just under 3,000sqft each. We created interesting connections and views through the properties, maximising the use of the light and space. Fine detailing and materials, combined with the considered integration of circulation, storage and services, complete the design of each property to the highest standard. The buildings achieve a BREEAM Domestic Refurbishment Very Good rating.
Maberley Road
The single-family dwelling at Maberley Road is a substantial refurbishment and extension of a 1930s semi-detached house in South London. The proposal takes full advantage of the extensive gardens on site to create a new principal living space housed to the side of the existing building. The extension has been designed to provide the house with a new spatial quality and ‘liveable’ layout that absorbs the internal material aspects and the external garden landscapes. The formality of the existing rooms will contrast with a multileveled space, which is open to a dramatic asymmetric pitched roof. The new roof includes a large triangular shaped roof-light giving views to the tree canopies above, again taking advantage of the existing landscape of the site. This is extended through large glazed openings and terraces, that step down to the secluded grounds, creating a real sense of an outdoor living space.
Masterplanning and Feasibility
Working in close collaboration with clients, we seek out sustainable, innovative solutions that respond to the specific conditions of a site and the needs and aspirations of the communities who use them. Our diverse expertise and creative approach has led us to work with many clients across a variety of sectors delivering feasibility studies and masterplans that support and encourage the future regeneration and reinvigoration of areas and communities. Our work includes proposals for a 600-home development in Wembley and smaller scale developments on difficult sites across London and the South East. Wembley We created proposals for this residential-led development, including a primary school and new open space, within the Wembley Opportunity Area. Our work focused on investigating the benefits of a north/ south orientation of the open space rather than the east/ west layout in the adopted planning policy. We were able to show an improved definition of the open space with overlooking by surrounding homes and good pedestrian
access throughout the new neighbourhood. Our investigations enabled Brent Council to support a revised open space orientation as part of the wider masterplan. Chiswick As part of the redevelopment of eight townhouses, we prepared a detailed feasibility study outlining options that explored the site constraints and opportunities. Our work revealed the site is constrained by overlooking and sunlight and daylight impacts on surrounding homes. To mitigate these issues we turned the terrace 45 degrees and provided substantial rear gardens and improved access. Our plans also accommodated an additional dwelling adding even more value for our client. Denham We’re used to working with tricky sites to test options and uncover opportunities and this was the case when we developed capacity studies for small infill housing developments across backland garage sites in Denham. Here we were able to replace the existing dwellings with a number of 3- and 4-bedroom houses while maintaining privacy and respecting the context of the surrounding area.
The Temple, North West London Client: Shree Swaminarayan Mandir Temple Value: £11m GIA: 3,930m2 Status: Completed
Honor Oak Park, London Client: King’s College London Value: £4m GIA: 600m2 (pavilion), 5 acre site area. Status: Completed
Science Gallery International, King’s College London Client: King’s College London Value: £12m GIA: 2,000m2 Status: On Site
Borough High Street Hotel Client: King’s College London Value: £10m GIA: 4600sqm Status: On Site
Townsend Street, South East London Client: London & Quadrant Housing Trust Value: £6m GIA: 7,062m2 Units: 37 Status: Completed
Brent House, London Borough of Brent Client: Brent Council Value: £30m GIA: 25,000m2 Units: 150 Status: Feasibility
The Water Tower, London Client: Private Client Value: Confidential GIA: 300m2 Units: Private House Status: Completed
Hidden House Client: Private Client Value: Confidential GIA: 200m2 Units: Private House Status: On Site/Due for completion August 2016
Jamaica Road (The Boatman) Client: Private Client Value: Confidential GIA:882m2 Units: 6 Status: Planning
King’s College London Student’s Union, Guy’s Hospital Campus & Bush House Guy’s Campus Client: King’s College London Value: £1.65m Status: On Site/Completed June 2016/ September 2017
The Cicely Saunders Institute of Palliative Care, London Client: King’s College London Value: £6.8 GIA: 2,000m2 Status: Completed
Base Apartments, New North Road, London Client: Rock Investments PLC Value: £1.7m GIA: 1,650m2 Units: 14 Status: Completed
Helenslea Avenue, North West London Client: Helenslea Avenue Development Ltd Value: £10.5m GIA: 4,900m2 Units: 24 Status: On Site/Due for completion June 2016
Rushworth Street, Blackfriars, London Client: Martin Lavell Ltd Value: £3m GIA: 2,600m2 Units: 9 units + 1,500m2 Commercial Status: Feasibility/Planning Granted
Honeypot Lane Client: British Steel Pension Fund Value: £15m GIA: 13,500m2 Units: 120 + 2500sqm2 Commercial Status: Feasibility/Planning Granted July 2005
Credits Photography: Edmund Sumner Federico Redin Kit Oates Matt Bargery Matt Blainey
Elvaston Mews, London Client: Proma Design Ltd/Clarisford Development Ltd Value: £1.5m GIA: 500m2 [Two houses 250m2] Units: Private House Status: Complete
Maberley Road, South London Client: Private Client Value: Confidential GIA: 75m2 Units: Private House Status: Completed 2015
LTS Architects Unit C 15 Bell Yard Mews London SE1 3TY 020 7357 7000 www.lts-architects.co.uk
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