Mixed disciplines make for rich projects

BanfieldWood is a team of London-based architects, engineers , designers and fabricators specialising in residential spaces and hospitality experiences.

Founded in 2022 by two life-long friends, the practice was formulated from a shared vision of creating unique and crafted spaces that are unique to their users and influenced by the mixed abilities of disciplines, and hoped to disrupt the traditional designer-engineer-contractor relationship by offering a whole service approach.

This approach culminated in the practice taking on a hands-on approach, building its first project; a cocktail bar in Liverpool, and later, a ‘floating’ cantilevered extension in Brighton that comprised of over 1900 handmade tiles. These technically complex projects brought in-house knowledge, learning and research that is applied to every project.

Since then, the practice has grown to an agile team of 4-8 practitioners, and has seen us involved in a range of exciting projects for interesting clients, and challenging briefs.

With over four decades of experience in the team, we have worked across all scales and disciplines and offer a holistic approach towards the procurement of buildings and spaces.

Architecture and design projects are overseen by Simon Banfield and ARB Registered Architect, while engineering is overseen by Matthew Wood, an IStructE accredited Engineer. BanfieldWood is a RIBA chartered practice.

Constraints lead to engaging spaces

We delight in tricky spaces, and clients with varied interests with the belief that the more niche, the richer the outcome.

Over the past few years, we have had the pleasure of working on a selection of interesting, technical brief’s, where we strive to find a guiding principle for each project, either through the interests of the user, or the constraints of the site. 

Recent projects include 

  • Refurbishment of an Islington townhouse for a competition-winning cyclist in Islington, designed for entertaining, living, and training. 

  • An extensive fit out of a pasta restaurant in Canary Wharf that is designed to invoke the settings of the Emiliana region of Italy.

  • Extension and refurbishment of a Grade II listed home in Belgravia that focusses on re-use and sustainability for a green energy Entrepreneur.

  • Sprawling barn conversion for a multi-generational family in the Cotswolds, with a broken split-level plan, and a rethinking of materiality.

  • An office fit-out for an movie production company with meeting rooms that act as camera lenses in Shoreditch.

  • Travertine stone clad coffee-shop in Aldgate for an ambitious young roastery.

  • Re-thinking of an office building in Southwark, offering a mixed-use approach to reinvigorate a tired and under-utilized building.

  • The re-building of a family home in Wimbledon for a growing family which takes advantage of a long, thin slice of land, and offers views through the whole house.

Our Approach

Each project is unique, and we craft our response to every clients’ individual needs.

We appreciate that a building project can be one of the biggest investments that an individual makes, and for most people this may be the only time you embark on such a journey; its our job to try and make that as smooth as possible.

We aim to guide you through each stage of the journey, allowing you to be as involved as you want, and develop a shared language to allow you to understand what your project will feel like, and how that space might be used.

After an initial consultation, we follow a tried and tested process which has been developed in-house to help you embark, understand and deliver your project.

  • For projects for individuals, we begin by defining a set of questions about how you might use the space, and what your current day-to-day life looks like; how you cook, sleep, or entertain, and then establish key moments you can see in the space.

    For commercial, or developer clients, we aim to establish what you’re looking to achieve, and what are the limits of the project; financing, legacy, or salability, with the aim establishing a timeline for its use; 5 years, or 50 years.

    In all cases, we use this as a chance to question your preconceptions with the aim of understanding what could also be a light-touch approach; a building isn’t always the right answer.

  • This can be the most enjoyable start of the project, where our job is to get you excited about what is about to happen, while also defining a ‘concept’ for the project; is it about light, or views, or connecting different parts of the project, for example.

    within this, we begin to discuss layout, massing (size and shape), materiality, and quality of spaces, and this can be explored with images, examples of other projects, maquettes, sketches, or drawings.

  • After ‘freezing’ a layout and key concepts, this is where the project begins to take shape, and where key elements are defined, such as key materials and finishes.

    Communicating these in rendered visuals, models and material palettes help you to imagine spaces, and discard elements that don’t feel right.

    At the end of this stage, planning will be procured if this is required, and, if needed, an initial cost plan can be made in-house.

  • Following a successful planning permission, we then start to work up ‘working’ drawings; these are the technical elements of the build, the specifications, choosing the finishes and interior details, right down to the last screw and bolt.

    This might mean making samples, or 1:1 elements of the design, and sourcing suppliers or bespoke fabricators.

    This stage can run into many pages of documentation, and is time consuming, but allows us to cost the scheme correctly, allowing certainty and financial planning.

    As part of this, we’ll source the right contractor for the project.

  • Once this information is produced, we get the project costed by one of our preferred, experienced contractors, or some instances, we might even build or manage it ourselves.

    Following agreement of terms and costs, a contract is signed and we help manage the project, any extras or changes, and provide information while on site, visiting the project regularly to assess and manage progress, quality, and cost.

  • Once the project is complete, we can help with furnishings and styling, as well as the nitty-gritty of the end of the project; final payments, any ‘snags’ and (sometimes) any disputes with contractors or sub-contractors.