Alison Brooks Architects

Alison Brooks Architects Architects with an international reputation for delivering design excellence & innovation in project

Founded in 1996, Alison Brooks Architects has developed an international reputation for delivering design excellence and innovation in projects rang­ing from urban regeneration, master planning, public buildings for the arts, higher education and housing. ABA’s award-winning architecture is born from intensive research into the cultural, social and envi­ronmental contexts of each project. Our appr

oach enables us to develop authentic, responsive solutions for our buildings and urban schemes, each with a distinct identity. Combining formal invention with rigorous attention to detail, ABA’s buildings have proved to satisfy our clients’ expectations and positively impact the urban realm. Our approach has led us to win national and international awards including Architect of the Year and Housing Architect of the Year 2012. In 2013 ABA were shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling prize for Newhall Be. The scheme also received RIBA regional and national awards and was Supreme Winner at the 2013 Housing Design Awards. Alison Brooks Architects is the only UK practice to have won the RIBA’s three most prestigious awards for architecture – the Stirling Prize for Accordia Cambridge, the Manser Medal and the Stephen Lawrence Prize. Alison Brooks was awarded AJ Woman Architect of the Year 2013. With an expanding portfolio of higher education and arts buildings, ABA is delivering a £22M campus for Exeter College at Oxford University, won in international competi­tion. ABA has produced a £135M masterplan for the University of Northampton’s Avenue campus and the £100M masterplan for the Dollis Valley Estate Regeneration. Landmark public buildings include Quarterhouse Performing Arts Centre, recipient of a RIBA Award and 2010 Kent Design Award for Best Public Build­ing. ABA has a growing international presence with the practice’s work published worldwide. Selected for the 2010 Audi Urban Future Award, ABA’s ‘Kaleidoscope City’ project for future urban mobility was exhibited at the 2010 Venice Architecture Biennale and in the 2011 New York Festival of Architecture. The practice has been published widely and ABA buildings have twice featured in the Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture.

We are pleased to share that Rubicon has received an Honourable Mention for 2025 from and The Rubicon, the net zero d...
21/08/2025

We are pleased to share that Rubicon has received an Honourable Mention for 2025 from and The

Rubicon, the net zero development, which marks the gateway and urban fringe of the northwest Cambridge urban extension - was designed for and and redefines community living by merging warehouse cycle-friendly loft typologies with the collegiate court.

This prestigious recognition, now in its 20th year, represents the world's oldest and most distinguished global building awards program, celebrating innovative design that shapes our built environment.

This acknowledgment reinforces our commitment to architectural excellence and our belief that thoughtful design has the power to transform communities and enhance the shared human experience.

Grateful to be part of a legacy that advances public understanding of good urban design and its profound impact on how we live and work.






We are pleased to share that Rubicon has received an Honourable Mention for 2025 from and The Rubicon, the net zero d...
21/08/2025

We are pleased to share that Rubicon has received an Honourable Mention for 2025 from and The

Rubicon, the net zero development, which marks the gateway and urban fringe of the northwest Cambridge urban extension - was designed for and and redefines community living by merging warehouse cycle-friendly loft typologies with the collegiate court.

This prestigious recognition, now in its 20th year, represents the world's oldest and most distinguished global building awards program, celebrating innovative design that shapes our built environment.

This acknowledgment reinforces our commitment to architectural excellence and our belief that thoughtful design has the power to transform communities and enhance the shared human experience.

Grateful to be part of a legacy that advances public understanding of good urban design and its profound impact on how we live and work.






Pleased to announce that Alison Brooks, Founder and Creative Director of Alison Brooks Architects in London, has been in...
19/08/2025

Pleased to announce that Alison Brooks, Founder and Creative Director of Alison Brooks Architects in London, has been invited to join this year's jury for the 58th Awards of Excellence.

She will join a distinguished lineup of fellow Canadian women in the industry: Kelly Buffey, Co-founder and Creative Director of Akb; Sonia Gagné, Design VP and Principal Partner at Provencher_Roy in Montreal; and Salina Kassam, Toronto-based architectural photographer who will be adjudicating the Photo Awards of Excellence.

It's an honour for Alison Brooks to contribute to this annual celebration of design that has been spotlighting Canada's architectural brilliance since 1967.

Submissions are open now through September 12, 2025.





Unity Place in South Kilburn delivers 100% affordable housing through three elegant building typologies.⚪ Image 1 : Prot...
07/08/2025

Unity Place in South Kilburn delivers 100% affordable housing through three elegant building typologies.

⚪ Image 1 : Protruding windows and balconies - Two-storey porticos and balconies punctuate the buildings' façades. Balconies are characteristic of late Victorian mansion blocks but here are simplified into rectilinear, aluminium-clad volumes that offer greater shade and privacy.

⚪ Image 2: Flatiron block - The Garden Villa is a transitional typology – a hybrid of 19th-century semi-detached villas opposite and its mansion block neighbours. Its 'flatiron' plan form relates to the faceted geometry of ABA's other buildings but results from a site constraint – an underground water main.

⚪ Image 3: Sketch of the street - Showing the relationship between new buildings and existing context.

⚪ Image 4: The mansion block typology - Reimagining the classic mansion block with frequent lift cores serving dual-aspect apartments, eliminating corridors while activating the street.

⚪ Image 5: Plan of the scheme - Including collaborative buildings by Feilden Clegg Bradley and Gort Scott.

⚪ Image 6: Plan of the ABA building - Showing the mansion block and flatiron typologies with their faceted geometry expanding dwelling capacity and resolving the site's irregular constraints.

All homes feature 2.6m ceiling heights, French doors for cross-ventilation, and sustainable features including green roofs and heat recovery systems. A Community Hub provides vital social spaces for residents and the wider community.

📸










Unity Place in South Kilburn delivers 100% affordable housing through three elegant building typologies ⚪ Image 1 + 7: P...
07/08/2025

Unity Place in South Kilburn delivers 100% affordable housing through three elegant building typologies

⚪ Image 1 + 7: Protruding windows and balconies - Two-storey porticos and balconies punctuate the buildings' façades. Balconies are characteristic of late Victorian mansion blocks but here are simplified into rectilinear, aluminium-clad volumes that offer greater shade and privacy.

⚪ Image 2: Flatiron block - The Garden Villa is a transitional typology – a hybrid of 19th-century semi-detached villas opposite and its mansion block neighbours. Its 'flatiron' plan form relates to the faceted geometry of 's other buildings but results from a site constraint – an underground water main.

⚪ Image 3: Sketch of the street - Showing the relationship between new buildings and existing context.

⚪ Image 4: The mansion block typology - Reimagining the classic mansion block with frequent lift cores serving dual-aspect apartments, eliminating corridors while activating the street.

⚪ Image 5: Plan of the scheme - Including collaborative buildings by Feilden Clegg Bradley and Gort Scott.

⚪ Image 6: Plan of the ABA building - Showing the mansion block and flatiron typologies with their faceted geometry expanding dwelling capacity and resolving the site's irregular constraints.

All homes feature 2.6m ceiling heights, French doors for cross-ventilation, and sustainable features including green roofs and heat recovery systems. A Community Hub provides vital social spaces for residents and the wider community.

📸










As summer hits its stride, our thoughts drift to the idea of 'garden rooms' - a seasonal experience of spaces that eleva...
24/07/2025

As summer hits its stride, our thoughts drift to the idea of 'garden rooms' - a seasonal experience of spaces that elevate the living experience into something richer than just a practicality. The warmth of a breeze while working outdoors, with a cool drink, transforms the everyday into an immersive experience, set against the hum of nature at its peak. Delving into our archives for timeless inspiration, here are three gardens and the spaces they enliven.

⚪ Fold House, London (2004)

A 420 sqm conversion and extension of a Victorian terraced home in the Wandsworth Common Conservation Area, Fold House transforms the notion of domestic space. Its 90 sqm garden pavilion - home to the living and dining areas - opens gently onto a 200-foot garden, becoming part of the landscape. Playing with the idea of lightness: a single thin brass plane is cut and folded to form roof, columns, porticos, walls and benches, resting almost weightlessly against the existing Victorian structure.

📸

⚪ Wrap House, London (2005)

Tasked with extending a single-family house into the garden, the design takes a bold, sculptural approach: a continuous timber plane that folds across the full width of the plot, creating the illusion of a space far larger than planning covenants would suggest. Floating lightly above the lawn, polished steel supports catch and mirror light, blurring boundaries, while timber decking wraps fluidly around the base of a tree - allowing the interior floors to flow seamlessly into the garden on a single, uninterrupted plane.

📸

⚪ Accordia Sky Villas, Cambridge (2006)
Marking the entrance to the Stirling Prize-winning Accordia neighbourhood, these four semi-detached villas are part of the 378-dwelling scheme. The south-facing living spaces - awash with natural light - open onto a courtyard garden framed by a two-storey portico. This portico functions as both a shading device and a first-floor balcony. Clad in graphite-toned metal, the villas embody a restrained materiality, confidently and effortlessly engaging with nature in a fashion that resonates across all three projects.

📸

Public Housing Regeneration 🏙️ shining a spotlight on Kilburn Quarter as a bold reimagining of what public housing can b...
22/07/2025

Public Housing Regeneration 🏙️ shining a spotlight on Kilburn Quarter as a bold reimagining of what public housing can be. A competition-winning collaboration with this project marks phase 2 of the South Kilburn Estate Regeneration for the London Borough of

Replacing the outdated 1970s Bronte House and Fielding House towers, the scheme delivers 229 new homes - with a 60:40 market to affordable housing split - and re-establishes Kilburn Park Road as one of the Borough’s grand tree-lined avenues. The design adapts the historic mansion block typology into a contemporary, scalable rendition of the Victorian housing model.

Framing new semi-private gardens, Kilburn Quarter integrates mansion terraces and point blocks to form a confident, character-rich residential quarter. At its heart lies a new civic square and semi-public pedestrian boulevard, enhancing its social connectivity.

The masterplan reinstates South Kilburn’s historic Victorian street pattern, restoring its rhythm with outward-facing homes, active street frontages and frequent ground-floor entrances that link directly to nearby public transport - providing smooth door-to-street access.

The south gateway building responds to the complex junction between Cambridge Road, Stuart Road and Kilburn Park Road with a distinct leaf-shaped geometric plan. This faceted form creates landscaped niches at ground level, while the upper floors offer 100% double-aspect flats with expansive 270-degree views.

Part of the 15-year regeneration strategy led by the South Kilburn Partnership - with the London Borough of Brent as a key partner - the project is set to continue through 2025. The overarching goal is to deliver better homes in a safer, more sustainable environment for the current and future residents of South Kilburn.

📸










✍🏻 YACademy is honoured to welcome Alison Brooks, FRSA, RIBA, RDI, Hon. FAIA, as a guest lecturer for our Wood Architect...
13/07/2025

✍🏻 YACademy is honoured to welcome Alison Brooks, FRSA, RIBA, RDI, Hon. FAIA, as a guest lecturer for our Wood Architecture programme.

Founder of Alison Brooks Architects in London, Alison is internationally recognised for her commitment to generous, inclusive city-building and a uniquely sculptural design language inspired by place-memory, culture and nature. Her accolades include the RIBA Stirling Prize, RIBA House of the Year and Architizer A+ Firm of the Year.

Landmark projects include the Smile - a 34m cross-laminated tulipwood public installation, the mass timber structure Homerton College Entrance Building and the ongoing revitalisation of the University of Toronto Faculty of Information - reflecting her innovative approach to material, form and civic identity.

Her special lecture forms part of a course taught by Dagur Eggertsson, of  exploring the expressive, structural and cultural potential of timber in architecture.

A passionate educator, Alison has taught at Harvard GSD, Cornell AAP and is currently teaching the Masters of Collective Housing at ETSAM Madrid, and serves on the AA Council and British School at Rome.

Image 1, 2, 3: Cohen Quad, Oxford. photo

Image 4, 5, 6: the Smile, London Design Festival. Photo

Image 7, 8: Venice Biennale 2018 'ReCasting'. Photo

Image 9: Homerton College, Cambridge University

Image 10: Wish List stool. Photo
📌 Learn more: www.yacademy.it

 
 
 



One Ashley Road stands as an urban front door into a transformed neighbourhood. Set in Tottenham Hale, a London suburban...
10/07/2025

One Ashley Road stands as an urban front door into a transformed neighbourhood. Set in Tottenham Hale, a London suburban transport hub which is well poised for growth, the mixed-use towers offer the civic gesture of a protective passage for young children, residents and the wider public alike. Positioned alongside the busy 1980’s Watermead Way, the building’s scale and orientation buffer noise and movement, transforming the site’s hard edge.

It is instantly recognisable by its silhouette clad with hand-laid rich-orange brick skin and a colonnaded base. The sheltered walkway doubles as an al fresco commercial front which spills into a new civic ‘prow’ square facing the transport interchange. Framing the northern edge of this new neighbourhood, One Ashley Road links seamlessly to schools, colleges, urban parks and the Walthamstow Wetlands wildlife sanctuary.

Double-height ground spaces lend the building a civic presence - one that anticipates the energy of its evolving community and the vibrant, high-density, family-oriented neighbourhood it’s poised to grow into.

⚪ Image 1: One Ashley Road’s public colonnade
⚪ Image 2: Rich orange brick outer skin and faceted metal detailing inspired by the hexagonal forms and colours of the historic Berol Eagle Pencil Factory
⚪ Image 3: Ground floor plan of the One Ashley Road site
⚪ Image 4: Passage toward the ‘prow’ square linking the transport station hub
⚪ Image 5: Sheltered colonnade connects to parks, schools and colleges
⚪ Image 6: Retail bay elevation and section showing the protective colonnade
⚪ Image 7: Northeastern view from Watermead Way
⚪ Image 8: Render showing the future neighbourhood masterplan

📸  .images











Mesh House is a bold riff on the domestic, set deep in the architectural playground of Belsize Park, London. Experimenta...
08/07/2025

Mesh House is a bold riff on the domestic, set deep in the architectural playground of Belsize Park, London. Experimental houses from the 18th to 21st centuries stack side-by-side - and our sculptural take on the Victorian villa joins the conversation with quiet confidence while adhering to strict local planning regulations.

From the street, Mesh House reads like a textured jewel box. Step inside and it opens up sequentially - as you move toward the rear garden, the home becomes lighter, more transparent - solid walls give way to floating volumes and sunlit courtyards. First-floor rooms seem to hover, in turn lifting the main living space.

Look up, and surprises await - vertical voids open to the sky and a stair landing becomes a bridge between spaces. The connective tissue of the house is visible from multiple angles giving the upper floors a treehouse-like atmosphere.

Wrapped in small-format copper shingles, every fold of the roof, angled façade and bay window forms part of a unified sculptural whole. By blurring the distinction between wall and roof, surface and structure become one.

📸 











Alison Brooks led an intensive postgraduate design studio in Madrid as part of the renowned programme at and alongsid...
03/07/2025

Alison Brooks led an intensive postgraduate design studio in Madrid as part of the renowned programme at and alongside Architect and Teaching Assistant

Alison’s studio, entitled ‘Inhabited Boundaries’, explored collective housing through the lens of consciousness, identity and architectural edges. Set in Madrid’s historic Barrio de La Latina, students worked on ‘Plaza Fiesta’, a public space bridging two streets at C. del Almendro and C. de la Cava Baja.

More than any other typology, urban housing impacts our collective understanding of place. It is the frame for streets, squares and passages in which civic life takes place - a three-dimensional boundary between the public realm and the space of private dwelling.

How does nature of the urban ‘street-wall’, the boundary, the façade and its structure express these new conditions? Can a wall be re-imagined as a place of invitation, of liminal being, of environmental absorption or social expression?

‘’Urban housing impacts individual and collective consciousness at multiple scales. Each dwelling offers an intimate stage for individual experience: of home, of shelter, of daily domestic rituals and as a place for social exchange. Volume, light, material and acoustic properties of the dwelling are experienced sensorially. Moments in everyday life engrain themselves in human conscious or subconscious to forge our sense of place and a sense of self.’’

Huge congratulations to Alison’s brilliant international cohort for their energetic and imaginative contributions.

📸 MCH










Alison Brooks led an intensive postgraduate design studio in Madrid as part of the renowned programme at and alongsid...
01/07/2025

Alison Brooks led an intensive postgraduate design studio in Madrid as part of the renowned programme at and alongside Architect and Teaching Assistant Carlos Chauca Galicia.

Alison’s studio, entitled ‘Inhabited Boundaries’, explored collective housing through the lens of consciousness, identity and architectural edges. Set in Madrid’s historic Barrio de La Latina, students worked on ‘Plaza Fiesta’, a public space bridging two streets at C. del Almendro and C. de la Cava Baja.

More than any other typology, urban housing impacts our collective understanding of place. It is the frame for streets, squares and passages in which civic life takes place - a three-dimensional boundary between the public realm and the space of private dwelling.

How does nature of the urban ‘street-wall’, the boundary, the façade and its structure express these new conditions? Can a wall be re-imagined as a place of invitation, of liminal being, of environmental absorption or social expression?

‘’Urban housing impacts individual and collective consciousness at multiple scales. Each dwelling offers an intimate stage for individual experience: of home, of shelter, of daily domestic rituals and as a place for social exchange. Volume, light, material and acoustic properties of the dwelling are experienced sensorially. Moments in everyday life engrain themselves in human conscious or subconscious to forge our sense of place and a sense of self.’’

Huge congratulations to Alison’s brilliant international cohort for their energetic and imaginative contributions.

📸 MCH










Address

Unit 610, Highgate Studios, 53–79 Highgate Road
London
NW51TL

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 6pm
Tuesday 9am - 6pm
Wednesday 9am - 6pm
Thursday 9am - 6pm
Friday 9am - 6pm

Telephone

+442072679777

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Alison Brooks Architects posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Featured

Share