Project location: Regional

Medina House

Medina House is a highly bespoke, environmentally conscious family home on Brighton’s historic Hove beachfront, designed on the site of a former Victorian women’s bathhouse. Referencing the original structure’s character – including its Dutch gables and arched openings – the new home reinterprets its form with refined modern detailing. A sequence of vaulted spaces and split levels create spatial richness across three storeys, while the architecture remains rooted in the local context though its use of chalky-white Petersen Kolumba bricks – echoing the stratified Sussex coastline and responding to shifting coastal light.

Externally, the home features loadbearing white Petersen Kolumba bricks with handmade textures, deep reveals, and sculptural arches. The facade includes a complex doubly-curved precast concrete arch above the main feature window achieved through 3D modelling and brick slip application – along with a freestanding 7m-high garden wall with opaque glazing and non-loadbearing arches. The project’s fabric-first design also prioritises sustainability, integrating a ground-source heat pump, natural ventilation, and saltwater-resistant timber joinery to withstand the marine environment.

Project

Bulls Barn

Bulls Barn is a substantial new-build family home in Ditchling, within the South Downs National Park, set against panoramic views of Ditchling Beacon. Designed by Selencky /// Parsons, the house comprises three distinct volumes featuring Komproment red clay tiles atop carved flint bases. These masses are interconnected by glass-wrapped circulation spaces that maximise natural light and visual connection to the landscape. Full recladding, internal reconfiguration, and the addition of a 70 m2 annexe (housing a gym and studio) transform the original 1960s structure into a sustainable, contextually rooted architectural statement.

Built with triple-glazed window packs, ground-source heat pumps, MVHR systems, and photovoltaic arrays, the project combines high-performance mechanics with traditional materials. Flint and clay tiles reference regional craftsmanship, while the home’s environmental strategy ensures longevity and a reduced carbon footprint.

Project

Wellington College

Wellington College, founded in 1854 as a national monument to the first Duke of Wellington, stands as one of the most prestigious co-educational boarding schools. Located within 400 acres of Berkshire parkland, the school accommodates over 1,100 pupils and continues to evolve through a 25-year estate development strategy. This long-term vision seek to sensitivity enhance the listed campus by blending architectural innovation with it’s historic landscape setting.

As part of this masterplan, a series of new buildings – ranging from educational and residential to cultural and social facilities – have been introduced to support the academic and pastoral ambitions of the College. The development promotes low-carbon infrastructure, improved access, and the formation of new character areas that reinforce the relationship between buildings and nature across the estate.

Project

Mill House

Mill House is a mixed-use development in the heart of Cambridge, designed by MCW Architects, the 2023 Higher Education Architect of the Year. Situated beside the historic Newnham Mill Pond, the scheme replaces a fire-damaged Edwardian building and revitalises a prominent corner of the city with new housing and a vibrant commercial frontage.

The three-storey development integrates sensitively into the local townscape, combining seven upper-floor studio and one-bedroom apartments with a ground-floor café-deli that also serves as a flexible community venue. The building enhances the conservation area by re-establishing street presence and reactivating the public realm. With carefully framed views across the millpond and thoughtful massing, the project delivers a modern interpretation of Cambridge’s architectural heritage.

Project

Astley Castle

Astley Castle in Nuneaton stands as a benchmark for contemporary restoration, earning the RIBA Stirling Prize in 2013 for its visionary approach. Once a roofless ruin with centuries of decay, the medieval structure – formerly owned by the three queens of England – was transformed into a remarkable holiday residence by Witherford Watson Mann Architects for the Landmark Trust.

Rather than replicating the past, the architects Witherford Watson Mann preserved the castle’s raw, fragmented presence and inserted a modern home within its ancient walls. New Petersen brickwork carefully binds the medieval remnants, stabilising the structure while leaving elements of ruin exposed to maintain a sense of historical continuity. The result is a sensitive, layered composition of past and present – functional, architectural, and symbolic.

Project

Maggie's Centre

Maggie’s Lanarkshire is a project of quiet dignity and architectural nuance — a healing space designed to support people affected by cancer. The building forms part of the Maggie’s Centre network, each commissioned with the ambition to explore how architecture can meaningfully improve wellbeing.

Designed by Reiach & Hall Architects, the building consists of a low brick form that gently folds around a series of enclosed gardens. These external rooms allow light, air, and reflection to permeate the heart of the building — forming a meditative rhythm for visitors moving through the space. The walled garden, water features, and filtered views provide gentle transitions between public and private, openness and sanctuary.

This project demanded not only aesthetic and spatial sensitivity but a level of construction precision that few building envelopes require — achieved through EBM’s close design coordination and advanced brick specification.