Reuse Flat takes the prize for Most Sustainable building at the 2019 year’s Don't Move, Improve! awards.

Reuse Flat, in Hackney, is a zero-waste renovation of the kitchen, dining and living areas of a three-bedroom ground-floor apartment. It features a new interior lining to improve thermal performance, reclaimed wood and materials that can be disassembled and reused in the future.

A podcast with Tom Raymont about Reuse Flat. In this episode the BVDS director George, talks to the architect Tom Raymont. They talk about their award winning Re-Use Flat project in London, which is a transformation of an existing apartment and was designed with the aim of resulting in zero waste.

Construction is wasteful. As an example, the construction industry in the UK contributes a staggering 60% of the UK’s total waste. With Re-Use flat, Arboreal have demonstrated a different way of doing things. The existing wood floor has been used for wall panelling, rubble has been used for garden walls and recycled jeans from France have been used for the insulation.

What George likes about the project is that it demonstrates creative and common sense ways to reduce the waste coming out of the construction site, with certain aspects that could easily become mainstream.

At the end of the interview he asks Tom the three questions he asks all of his guests; what is the one thing that annoys him in his home, what home has he visited that has made him feel happy and, if he could choose anyone to design him a house, who would he choose?

Featured in House beautiful and by the Architectural Association.

Loft Library takes the prize for the Most Innovative building at the 2019 year’s Don’t Move, Improve! awards. yay!

There were 37 projects on the shortlist for the 2019 year's Don't Move, Improve! – an awards programme that champions creative and innovative home extension and renovation projects across the UK capital.

Dezeen is media partner for Don't Move, Improve! The contest was open to any house extension or improvement project completed in the last two years, in any one of London's 33 boroughs.

The 2019 year's judging panel, chaired by NLA founder Peter Murray, consisted of Dezeen editor Amy Frearson, architect Carl Turner, Ash Sakula co-founder Cany Ash, journalist Philippa Stockley, and Jo McCafferty of Levitt Bernstein.

The judges said that the standard of entries was higher than ever this year. Trends they identified included use of natural materials, introduction of colour, and creatively designed ceilings and roofs.

"It's good to see a trend of gentle experimentation with sustainable natural substances, particularly brick and wood, and of homes being extended in ways that revolve around their owners' lives, resulting in something both idiosyncratic and full of character," said Stockley.

"To make this happen, architects are really listening to and responding to their clients' wishes."

Awards: Bethnal Green Memorial receives multiple awards:

RIBA London Award 2018

RIBA London Project Architect of the Year 2018

and a special mention for best project in the UK under £1m.

Client: Stairway to Heaven Memorial Trust

"A striking memorial that is part sculpture, part architecture and that has intellectual conceptual rigour, a poignant justification for its form, a clear consideration to the viewer's experience and spatial interaction, a construction and structural complexity, and is built to an impeccable level of finish and detail." as mentioned by the RIBA Architecture.

Bethnal Green Memorial wins the RIBA London and National Award 2018. 

Larch Hut is nominated as a finalist. 

Clapham Retrofit wins the Residential Project of the Year as well as the AJ Retrofit Awards 2014.

CIBSE: Recognising the new build or refurbishment of a building in the residential sector that most effectively demonstrates high levels of user satisfaction and comfort whilst delivering outstanding measured building performance.: "An imposing 170-year old Grade II listed Victorian townhouse in Clapham has undergone a deep retrofit to become the first listed building in England to meet the AECB Silver Performance Standard."