DK Architects Ltd

31/07/2023

We are pleased to announce that we were given High Commendations for two projects in the Sussex Heritage Trust Awards. One was for a pub refurb and modernisation in the South Downs National Park - The Long Man Inn, Wilmington and the other was for a flat in a Listed Building in Brunswick Terrace, Hove.

12/10/2022

By way of a complete contrast, here is a barn set in the Sussex countryside but not in the National Park which was finished a few months ago. I love these countryside projects as much as the urban and suburban settings. Our motto is "The practice aims to offer a tailored service to clients for their individual project to cost effectively produce buildings of quality and delight, in tune with their context."

21/09/2022

We have just been told that we are regional winners of the New House category of the LABC Awards with this house in Brighton near Preston Park Station. The big national event is in January.

19/07/2021

We have just added a new section to our website entitled 'Join Us' aimed primarily at Architecture Students in their post-degree or post-diploma / masters years. We have a position for the coming year from now until September next year. We are looking forward to fill that place with the right candidate.
https://www.dkarchitects-uk.com/join-us/
Read what the highly talented Will Cork & Rhiannon Graham have to say... and a bit from me.

Join Us Contact us to find out about our latest career opportunities ‘DK Architects is a comfortable working environment with welcoming staff and a proud work ethic. In my first three weeks in the job, I felt like I had learnt more than my three years as an undergraduate at University. The nature ...

17/02/2021

Published in Brighton & Hove News on 16/02/2021

Preston Park cricket pavilion

A Brighton cricket club wants to add a balcony to its pavilion, modernise its changing rooms and make its clubhouse accessible for people with disabilities.
St Peter’s Cricket Club, which is based by the Preston Park velodrome, has leased the Victorian pavilion for just over 130 years.
The club said: “The existing club house is circa 132 years old and is no longer fit for purpose as a clubhouse. It is simply too small to accommodate an extensive and growing membership.
“It is underused outside the cricket season (and) can be mistaken for an empty and obsolescent building.”
The club wants to build a two-storey extension at the back of the building to the basement and ground floor. It said that from the front it will still look like a single-storey building.
The club leases the pavilion from Brighton and Hove City Council and submitted a planning application to the council last month after consulting neighbours.
It said: “The area proposed for the extension of the clubhouse fronting Preston Drove does not have an active frontage and contains storage areas and access for council maintenance equipment (which will be retained) but is otherwise not used and is an eyesore with rubbish and discarded items strewn around the site.
“The building does not provide the necessary facilities to be compliant with national sporting organisation guidelines (ie, Sport England and the ECB) and importantly is not disabled compliant, which means that the club’s ability to appeal to disability and other gender groups is severely constrained.
“The building is too narrow to function properly, does not have disabled access or toilets, the changing rooms are too small and do not provide an adequate number of toilets and showers, no compartmentalisation between males and females and limited space for social gatherings and events.”
The changes are aimed at putting right the problems and the club said: “We have consulted with Sport England and adopted their guidelines as far as possible in the design, in order that all of the above limitations are addressed and that the building is accessible and meets the requirements of a diverse group of users.
“Apart from minor refurbishment over the years, the physical structure and layout has remained largely unchanged for over 100 years and is no longer fit for purpose as a multi-use building.
“A condition survey undertaken in 2020 revealed the need for an extensive repair and maintenance works programme.
“The clubhouse is in active use for only five months during the cricket season between April to September and is largely dormant for the remainder of the year which makes the building a target for vandalism and unsocial behaviour.”
The pavilion was built in 1887 and has been occupied by the 138-year-old cricket club since 1889. It wants the changes to respect the building’s heritage.
Preston Park cricket pavilion plan by DK Architects
Members have turned to DK Architects, in Hove, for help with their plans which include open the pavilion to the cycling and triathlon clubs that use the velodrome.
And they hope to encourage para-cycling and wheelchair athletes as well as allowing the wider community to treat the building as a hub.
The cricket club has about 85 adult and 240 youth members and fields men’s and women’s teams. The colts include dozens of girls.
The club added: “The ultimate goal is to make the building attractive and fully functional for all sorts of events, including social events, contributing to it being a truly sustainable and all-year-round facility.”
A near neighbour, whose details have been redacted by the council on its website, sent a letter of support and praised the club for consulting neighbours.
The neighbour said: “We fully support this development which will turn a rather sorry looking building into something more pleasant to look at and will tidy up the grounds surrounding it.
“It will also provide a useful local facility.”
The planning application can be found by searching for BH2021/00289 on the council’s website.

23/01/2021

Another project nears completion. Keep an eye out for the finished photos in a future post. Quite a story, but it is a delight for great clients.

23/01/2021

I should have added earlier that the project under construction with the beautiful new kitchen was completed and when judged for the Sussex Heritage Awards achieved a High Commendation. Some great work by Workhaus Joiners and finishing touches by our clients.

02/07/2020

I was pleased to hear from my clients that their home had been featured in the July issue of 25 Beautiful Homes and we had been mentioned. We can take no credit for the interior design which is in itself beautiful, but creating the space in which it happens is our main contribution. I have added a couple of photos of what it was beforehand. This project was awarded by the Sussex Heritage Trust in 2015.

29/08/2019

Two of our projects are approaching completion now - the micro house in Southover Street, Brighton and the Arts and Crafts House in Hove with a modern garden face. At the same time a new partially buried house in Brighton is underway. We are not typecast Architects with a 'route one' approach. The solution lies with synthesising the aspirations and budget of the client with the potentials of the setting as either a site or an adapted building and what may be allowed by the controlling authorities. Our practice 'aims to offer a tailored service to clients for their individual project which will cost effectively produce buildings of quality and delight, in tune with their context.' If this sounds good to you for a project you may have in mind then make contact and we can start the journey.

18/07/2019

LOVE ISLAND - This kitchen island has been lovingly made by Workhaus Joiners of Hove for installation in a local Arts & Crafts suburban house currently undergoing some major surgery. The back of the house came off a while ago so this is an old picture. I shall add an update shortly showing the house in its new form and including the kitchen units.

12/07/2019

We won a High Commendation from the Sussex Heritage Trust for a small project in Clayton. The fuller description will be on our website next week. The judges comments were "A clever use of space. The design enhanced the front elevation and the Second Floor is a triumph."

24/06/2019

Anyone in Brighton may have noticed a bijou residence taking shape part of the way up Southover Street. It is coming along well and is attracting very admiring comments and a lot of interest. Clad in Trespa it has a really interesting sheen. The banding relates to the banding on the pub two doors up.