Enrapt

It’s refreshing to be given so much time on a single room - to plan every interior feature from the outset. This loft bedroom suite has many space, structural, services and planning constraints... Our designs shall exploit each of these, by focussing on the details. After all, strength lies in the small things.

It’s been a super busy start to the year, but there’s always time for the hound... The new visitor centre here will certainly improve our trips to the woods, but the architecture is perhaps slightly more airport terminal than forest canopy!

Delighted to be working on this (seemingly) little but (actually) very long property and finding ways to create light-filled spaces to its centre... The increasing return of High Street living presents challenges of separation, privacy and adapting for purpose. But for us - in that lies architectural opportunity!

A Saturday flashback to a project from last year.... Our client sold the property halfway through and we didn’t get to photograph it! Since completed by its new owners, Google has caught up and we can now enjoy a few sneaky views. This vast rear extension in a densely occupied Conservation Area involved a few difficult discussions with the planners, but it’s great to see the building now (or nearly) finished.

The planning application for this rear and side extension to a family home in Surrey has now been made. We’re hoping for a positive response soon, so that we can push ahead with detailed design work and commence on-site this summer!

We’re enjoying this little book of little buildings for little animals... As a little practice, we certainly don’t provide little amounts of care to our clients. As with this, it’s all about the little details... and we’re BIG on that front!

Fulfilling New Year’s Renovations (extensions, new-builds and other architectural installations!)... Enrapt offers a full design and management service - taking your outline brief through all stages, to a completed property. Contact us to discuss your next project, arrange a consultation/visit and let 2019 be the year of your renewed home.

Season's Greetings from Enrapt Ltd. Six months since starting; Sixteen projects underway; Sixty Instagram posts up!
... With the privilege of working on such magnificent homes, we have chosen to make a donation to Shelter and to support those less fortunate.
Whilst it isn’t a great time of year for many, we hope that you have a happy Christmas and a wonderful start to 2019!
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Edwardian meets Art Deco meets Modern, in this neat little guest loo - part of a newly refurbished home that will be rented out and therefore sought more of a durable hotel style feel.

Visiting nearby Flint House (RIBA House of The Year 2015 by Skene Catling de la Peña) which erupts from the ground on a geological chalk seam and transitions from dark grey at the base to a pale sky white, at the top of the wedge.

Seasons greetings from Haakon & Pippi at Enrapt!

A beautiful pre-CAD drawing of the former local library. Not a great building, but dynamic and stimulating - relative to its replacement - a clunky Victorian pastiche. When did historical association surpass meaningful architecture, as a preferred attribute? There are many exciting 20th Century buildings at risk of demolition... When they go, so shall the lessons and virtues of modernism that have informed so much of our lives today. We mustn’t lose this important (and recent) part of our heritage. We must learn to work better with existing buildings and their inherent value - irrespective of style, age and condition.

For those who bathe in the bedroom?... No candles or towels provided, but a lot of time was spent selecting materials and colours with just the slightest hint of warmth (not much!) The matt finished stone bath was winched in before the glazing was completed and a separate underfloor heating zone created for the tiled area.

A little flat kitchen, with scalloped tiles and herringbone floors, borrowing light from the hallway - via the biggest but least expensive glazed fire doors possible.

The perfect weather for designing in... Such incessant rain is rather uninspiring, but it’s somehow pixelating the ‘grass’! Whilst trying not to see everything in right-angles, it often helps the rationale.

A lot can be learnt from commercial architectural projects. Visiting the 2018 Stirling Prize winner by Foster & Partners is like witnessing a computer visualisation made real... a pair of simple blocks (albeit vast and angular) comprising thousands of sculpted parts whose geometry is possible only through digital technologies. An epic investment in materials alone hopefully sets a precedent for future buildings, made to last.

Another concealed outdoor space (below that on the previous post)... the inverted corner bi-folds would have been wonderful cantilevered, but we conceded to sneak in a circular column to simplify and economise the structure. The glazing is 2.4m high timber framed with level thresholds to the exterior glass floor.

Obtaining Listed Building consent is always more challenging... but keeping proposals convincingly simple, respecting the context (seemingly overlooked, but these are in fact commercial units with obscure glazing) and ensuring a high degree of workmanship through detailed design means we can accomplish life-enhancing changes to properties in difficult settings - such as this elegant little balcony in a Marylebone lightwell.

Since our opening 4 months ago we’ve had the pleasure of working with 16 wonderful clients. Their feedback is treasured information - to help us learn, grow and continually improve our service... If you’re new to construction, be reassured that we will look after you at every step, to make the process (nearly!) as enjoyable as the outcome.