St John’s Wood Architects

traditional architect designed house in Hampstead with wood wall panelling, window seat and stone fireplace

Architecture for London is currently working on several houses in St John’s Wood, in both the Borough of Westminster and the Borough of Camden. If you are seeking St John’s Wood architects for your house refurbishment or extension, we’d be delighted to help.

Our architects have significant experience in refurbishing and extending 18th and 19th century heritage properties, both listed buildings and those in conservation areas. We deliver sustainable residential projects, in partnership with our construction team, AFL Build.

Architecture for London is an RIBA Chartered Practice. View our project portfolio, or if you would like to discuss improvements to your property, please contact us.

St johns wood basement construction — Our basement extension in progress at Springfield Road, St Johns Wood.

Springfield Road, NW8

Our proposal at Springfield Road is currently in the construction phase, and works are progressing on site with expected completion at the end of 2025. The existing house is a mid-19th-century, semi-detached villa.

The project is a sustainable refurbishment, with air source heat pumps, MVHR and internal insulation throughout. All windows are being replaced, refurbished or reglazed with high-performance units as appropriate. The refurbishment includes natural, breathable materials such as wood fibre, cork, lime, stone and timber. There is an extensive drainage and rainwater harvesting strategy with a green roof, blue roof and attenuation tank.

St Johns wood architect designed rear extension to Victorian villa with basement light well — Proposed house extension and refurbishment at Springfield Road, St John’s Wood.

Rear and side extensions provide new lateral living spaces. Externally, the materials are contextual, with the use of traditional London stock brick and a monolithic natural stone lintel. Thin metal-frame glazing and lightweight curved metal balustrades contrast with the visually heavier brick and stone elements. A new basement provides a gym, guest suite and utility spaces.

St Johns Wood architect interior with stone kitchen island and view to rear extension — Springfield Road, NW8: 3D model of lower ground floor extension and garden landscaping.

The interior design and finishes are contemporary on the lower floor, with stone surfaces in the kitchen and new social spaces. Different grades and finishes of the same stone create interest and unusual textures. More modest materials are elevated through finishing treatments, for example, with stained pine plywood.

On the lower ground floor, the floor level is lowered to create a generous ceiling height. On the upper floors, the historic decorative features are celebrated and reinstated where they have been lost.

St Johns Wood house interior with skylight and basement staircase — St Johns Wood house: hall interior with skylight and basement staircase

Carlton Hill, NW8

Architecture for London’s project at Carlton Hill, NW8, improves a Grade 2 listed Victorian Gothic house. The end of terrace property had been subdivided from a wider house in the 20th Century, resulting in grand vertical proportions with a relatively narrow 4.5m internal width. However, the property still retained a generous eight metre plot width, allowing a large side addition. The key improvements were an extension to the side at both lower and raised ground floors, making better use of the generous plot width and creating lateral living spaces.

tadelakt and arebescato marble bathroom with double basin — St John’s Wood architects: refurbishment of a listed building in the Borough of Camden

The lower ground ceiling heights are to be significantly increased with the underpinning of the original foundations. New basement construction around an existing front light well and under the front garden provides a gym, study and spare bedroom suite for guests. In the side extension at lower ground, a new dining room faces onto the mature garden, with a wine cellar behind. Generous open plan kitchen and living areas are connected to the dining area with a glass rear extension.

Sketch plans of the lower and upper ground floors at Carlton Hill, St John’s Wood.

Significant 20th century internal alterations had resulted in an unsatisfactory staircase, with a glazed partition separating the stair and front bay window. This is proposed to be replaced with a new feature oval stair rising from the lower ground to the second floor that is open to the front bay.

A new master suite is proposed over the entire second floor, with existing ceilings removed to create double-height vaulted spaces into the roof. At first floor, the generously proportioned early Victorian reception room will form a second bedroom with a dressing room and ensuite.

Gerogian house rear extension — Regent’s Park House, in the Borough of Camden

The built environment of St John’s Wood

St John’s Wood is largely in the borough of Westminster, although its northern edge lies in Camden. Many of the original Georgian and early Victorian properties are now Grade II listed. The remainder of the pre-C20th buildings are generally classified by Westminster as ‘unlisted buildings of merit’. Most of the area is included within the St John’s Wood Conservation Area. The area is bordered by Regent’s Park to the east and Maida Vale to the west.

St johns wood house architects: drawing plans — Proposed section drawing at Springfield Road, NW8

The St John’s Wood Conservation Area is one of the largest conservation areas in Westminster. The land around St John’s Wood remained in Crown ownership until the late 17th century, and it remained primarily agricultural until the end of the 18th century. In the 19th century, the development of St John’s Wood began at a faster pace, as indicated on Greenwood’s Map of 1830. These early streets laid the model for the wider development of the area, with a predominant pattern of pairs of villas set in large gardens.

Although many of the original houses and gardens disappeared during the 20th century, much of the suburban character remains. The picturesque character of the area is derived in large part from the variety of architectural styles employed: restrained Classical, Italianate or Gothic. The design of these villas was greatly influenced by architect John Nash’s work in Regent’s Park, and most were constructed in the early Victorian period. St John’s Wood was designated a conservation area in 1968.

St Johns Wood basement design with a large roof light. Stone floor with a metal staircase and oak joinery — The proposed metal staircase leading to the new basement in our St Johns Wood house

St John’s Wood architects: planning permission

Architecture for London successfully gained planning permission for multiple projects in St John’s Wood, including a substantial basement and rear extension to a semi-detached house in Springfield Road.

Discover Architecture for London’s projects. If you are looking for St John’s Wood architects and would like to discuss your project, please contact us.