The complexity of modern urban living requires a multi-faceted, flexible and inter-connected approach to creating private and public environments. From our first project - a split home for a divorced couple - to our more recent schemes that have pursued the
super-densification of urban living, DSDHA seeks to challenge preconceptions in order to create innovative and well-designed homes with wellbeing and conviviality as core considerations. Rejecting the cookie-cutter approach to design, we utilise our sophisticated research methodologies to deliver homes that fit the needs of both the client and the inhabitant while acknowledging the site’s historical and social context.
The homes that we design seek to establish – through tectonics, views and layout – a connection between the personal landscape of the inhabitant and the wider urban landscape outside, reflecting the geological, historical, topographical and ecological conditions of their context.
We take an active responsibility in the human dimension of sustainability. With every project, we consider the legacy and the long-term sustainability of the building by anticipating future change - both within the site and beyond its boundaries - and building in the flexibility for change. At
Vesta House, Olympic Village, we anticipated imminent densification of its immediate context by simulating the daylight conditions that would be created by future phases of development as part of the Olympic legacy plan, which consequently informed the design of the facade to mitigate against loss of amenity for our residents.
The wider city is always considered: our rich experience in urban design enables us to establish a strong connection between the personal landscape of the inhabitant and the surrounding urban landscape. We take great care in designing communal spaces, which we see as a continuation of domestic interiors demanding the same attention to light, craftsmanship and detailing to foster a social environment.
At
Abell and Cleland, Westminster, we overcame complex site restraints - such as its historic setting, rights of light envelopes and proximity to the security-sensitive MI5 - to achieve an exceptional density score of 319 dwellings per hectare without sacrificing generous gardens and communal areas, or loss of amenity to surrounding neighbours.
