More on this topicAJ Small Projects 2025 shortlist: Part 1 This year we’re celebrating the 30th anniversary of AJ Small Projects. To mark this milestone – and to reflect the quality and variety of the almost 170 entries we received – we have, for the first time in the award’s history, shortlisted 30 projects. The shortlist includes every typology of project from saunas and wellbeing spaces to new parks and outdoor classrooms – and all completed well within a tight budget of £399,000. The intention has remained the same throughout the award’s existence – to give well-deserved recognition to projects realised on more modest budgets. The award champions the idea that big budgets aren’t everything; that a project’s success comes from thought, collaboration, environmental and social considerations, and judicious material selection. But small projects have also always been crucial in the experimentation and testing of ideas. They also teach valuable lessons about prioritisation and prudent choices, which then feed into more established practice. Everyone starts small.Advertisement This year’s winners will be announced at a free-to-attend event at Orms’ recently fitted-out offices in Old Street. The shortlisted practices will each present their projects to the jury in a crit-style, live judging session on the same day as the awards event. To attend the event click here Come back tomorrow to see the final ten schemes shortlisted for AJ Small Projects 2025, and be sure to vote for your favourites in our reader poll. If you’re a subscriber, you can also read the Small Projects issue here. AJ Small Projects is sponsored by Marley Daniel Koo Architects Hertfordshire Annexe Extension £204,000 Located on the fringe of St Albans, this project is an extension to a family home accommodating a one-bedroom annexe. The brief called for a living space that was independent of the main family unit yet one that maintained connection.The design responds to two key characteristics of the site: topographical level changes and the mundane, repetitive aesthetics of suburban rear gardens. The rear garden slopes gently towards the main house, while a steeper decline to the front leads across a quiet road to open fields. The extension sits to one side of the long rear garden. Its elongated cuboid volume is partially submerged into the sloping lawn and a roof overhang shares a datum between the existing house and garden. Internally, a glazed vestibule marks the transition between house and annexe. The narrow, front elevation between houses has a large, glazed door. The rooms are laid out in a sequence to the rear, with rooflights punctuating key moments. Blockwork provides a plinth for the façade and forms part of the retaining wall, and the same finishes are applied to a new patio. The scheme is clad in fibre cement panels, hung in a tapered arrangement over timber-frame construction and modulated by powder-coated aluminium profiles at regular intervals across the façade, providing order, texture and abstraction. FW Location St Albans, Hertfordshire | Start on site April 2023 | Completion April 2024 | Gross internal floor area 48m2 | Client Private | Funding Undisclosed | Structural engineer RAVIM Consulting | Services engineer N/A | Main contractor Arco Construction | Annual CO2 emissions Not supplied | Embodied carbon 200 kgCO2/m2 (predicted) | Whole-life carbon Not supplied | Design life 60 years | Photography Matthew Blunderfield See more photos and drawings of this project in the AJ Buildings LibraryAdvertisement Dow Jones Architects St Mark’s Schoolhouse £363,000 This project repurposes a derelict Grade II-listed Victorian schoolhouse as the architects’ own studio. The building’s openness has been maintained, with the teacher’s office becoming a library and a two-storey ‘tower’ structure installed, forming an upstairs meeting room with dining room below. A service yard was enclosed to make a kitchen and WCs. Reversible conservation techniques retain the space’s character, combined with an environmental upgrade. This consists of high levels of insulation and improved air tightness, with timber-frame lining providing insulation to external walls, external roof insulation above the sarking boards and new hardwood double-glazed windows – while an ASHP, MVHR and phase-change thermal battery provide low-carbon heating and hot water. The project featured extensive reuse of materials, with dilapidated roof tiles crushed as hardcore below the new slab and the new tower’s structure and cladding made from old floor joists and pine floorboards. RGW  Location London SW11 | Start on site October 2023 | Completion April 2024 | Gross internal floor area 100m2 | Client Dow Jones Architects | Funding Private | Structural engineer Momentum | Services engineer cc|be | Main contractor Silverfern | Annual CO2 emissions 4.48 kgCO2/m2 | Embodied carbon 124 kgCO2eq/m2 (estimated) | Whole-life carbon 300 kgCO2eq/m2 (estimated) | Design life 60 years | Photography Anthony Coleman See more photos and drawings of this project in the AJ Buildings Library Edward McCann Architecture Artist Studio in a Converted Garage £148,500 A conversion of a former garage into a studio for an artist, this project was commissioned for Fiona Stevenson, a painter with Down’s Syndrome. Her primary needs were good quality light, space to spread out and gallery space to showcase her work. Although living independently, the project’s site is located close to her parents’ house, allowing her needs to be met with more ease. The key feature of the design involved replacing the existing roof with a polycarbonate-clad lantern structure to diffuse light and add height in a heavily wooded area. The existing brickwork of the garage was retained, with some openings blocked up and others introduced – including a glazed sliding door framing a Japanese garden to the rear. Internally, interior finishes, timberwork and steel structure have been left exposed, as a ‘crude’ industrial aesthetic appropriate to its purpose. The existing masonry has been insulated externally with a Viroc cement board cladding. Where possible, attention was given to the detailing and junctions between elements, with quality of light prioritised. FW Location Hertford | Start on site August 2024 | Completion December 2024 | Gross internal floor area 36m2 | Client Andrew and Mari Stevenson | Funding Private | Structural engineer Barnard & Associates | Services engineer Studio Dekka | Main contractor Datum Contracts and Construction Management | Annual CO2 emissions 23.4 kgCO2/m2 | Embodied carbonWhole-life carbonDesign life 25+ years | Photography Agnese Sanvito See more photos and drawings of this project in the AJ Buildings Library George Bunkall Architects Marble and Minarets £235,000 This project is the reconfiguration and extension of a loft in Hackney. The house and its garden back onto the Madina Mosque. Wraparound timber glazing, stained black, is used to frame  this unique vista. Many materials were reused, including existing roof slates taken off and relaid and the existing oak floorboards taken up and reconfigured, with new rush ‘mat’ infilling added to accommodate the greater floor area. When selecting new materials for the project, natural ones were prioritised: the structure is timber, the walls are insulated with wood fibre and internally finished with a lime plaster. Copper dressing to the slates and marble internally are used in small quantities but with big impact. An existing void under the roof eaves has been reworked as a cave-like bed space. Its found geometry, together with that of the adjacent mosque, is echoed within the design of elements in the new space. RGW Location London E5 | Start on site May 2023 | Completion October 2023 | Gross internal floor area 45m2 | Client Private | Funding Private | Structural engineer Webb Yates Engineers | Services engineer N/A | Main contractor Ask Interiors | Annual CO2 emissions Not calculated | Embodied carbon 162 kgCO2/m2 | Whole-life carbon Not calculated | Design life Not supplied | Photography Max Creasy See more photos and drawings of this project in the AJ Buildings Library Gianni Botsford Architects The Old Byre £375,000 Set on a ridge above West Cowes on the Isle of Wight, this project is a conversion of two old farm buildings on a smallholding into a home that also offers residencies and studio space for  visiting artists and writers.  Insulated and wrapped in corrugated cement board, the scheme leaves the barns largely intact. From a central courtyard, the domestic exterior unfolds, framed by a translucent polycarbonate façade, punctuated by large, glazed doors. These provide a separate entrance to each of the living and working spaces inside. The two buildings have been purposely left disconnected to allow for movement between the private and social places to take place outside – through full-height doors that don’t have traditional handles or locks. A house has been built inside the older barn from spruce plywood. A back alley connects these interior spaces, while a concrete plinth supports the façade. FW Location Cowes, Isle of Wight | Start on site January 2021 | Completion August 2023 | Gross internal floor area 166m2 | Client Joseph Kohlmaier | Funding Private | Structural engineer Horne & Littlemore | Services engineer N/A | Main contractor Imp House | Annual CO2 emissions 32 kgCO2/m2 (actual) | Embodied carbon 207 kgCO2/m2 (actual) | Whole-life carbon 220 kgCO2/m2 (actual) | Design life 50 years | Photography Schnepp Renou See more photos and drawings of this project in the AJ Buildings Library Invisible Studio House in an Olive Grove £130,000 The design and construction of this holiday home was consciously rooted in the local materials, techniques and resources of a small Greek island. The site is in an earthquake and fire danger zone and the house is constructed of reinforced concrete – using local limestone aggregate, as there is limited alternative material to build with. Making formwork is a key local skill. The main volume, containing simple rooms, is made entirely from concrete – walls, floors, ceilings, kitchen and some furniture. Above, a large, shaded living space sits under a corrugated roof supported on red oxide reinforcement bar trusses – again drawing on local skills and materials. There is no glass, only galvanised weld mesh sliding screens, separate insect screens and plastic curtains: cheap materials that are readily available from the hardware store in the village. All the process of the build and any ‘mistakes’ – marks of eccentric formwork and so on – are left evident. RGW Location Corfu, Greece | Start on site December 2020 | Completion July 2024 | Gross internal floor area 240m2 | Client Piers Taylor and Sue Phillips | Funding Private | Structural engineer Lakis Voutsinases | Services engineer Lakis Voutsinases | Main contractor Invisible Studio | Annual CO2 emissions 1 kgCO2/m2 | Embodied carbon 62.5 kgCO2/m2 (actual) | Whole-life carbon Not calculated | Design life 50-100 years | Photography Jim Stephenson See more photos and drawings of this project in the AJ Buildings Library Material Cultures with Central Saint Martins Clearfell House £125,000 Developed as part of Central Saint Martins’ Regenerative Construction unit on the MArch course led by Material Cultures, Clearfell House was designed and built as a construction teaching tool. This new building for Forestry England in Dalby Forest in Yorkshire will be used as a multifunctional room for learning about woodlands through interpretation, as well as about the wildlife and habitat of the forest. The project looks at the impact of plantation woodlands on the landscape and demonstrates that recalibrating landscapes away from extractive practices can create opportunities for innovation in construction using underutilised timber species and materials. The project has been designed using a material palette drawn from British forestry systems. The structural frame is of ash and larch – species both compromised by climate change and disease – and the lengths of the boards are constrained by what can be feasibly grown in British woodlands. Each timber is applied differently: the ash sits under the external envelope of the building, while more resilient larch buttresses the frame. Both are connected using splice joints. FW Location Dalby Forest, Scarborough | Start on site September 2024 | Completion October 2024 | Gross internal floor area 20.7m2 | Client Dalby Forest, Forestry England | Funding SOM Foundation, Forestry Commission Woods into Management Forestry Innovation Fund | Structural engineer Structure Workshop | Services engineer N/A | Main contractor Yorkshire Oak Frames | Annual CO2 emissions Not calculated | Embodied carbon Not calculated | Whole-life carbon Not calculated | Design life Not supplied | Photography Henry Woide See more photos and drawings of this project in the AJ Buildings Library Nina+Co with ROAR Nina’s House £300,000 This project is a deep retrofit of a cold, leaky 1970s house in London’s Tottenham, using natural, local and recycled materials to create a warm, fossil fuel-free home with good air quality and modest electricity bills. Rather than extend the property, budget was spent on upgrading environmental performance. The ground floor was remodelled as open plan, bringing the garage and porch into the thermal envelope. The gas supply was removed and an air-source heat pump and underfloor heating installed, while insulation and airtightness were improved with new doors and high-performance windows and the addition of cork cladding – providing a distinctive insulated façade with softly rounded corners. One wall unable to be accessed externally is lined with a lime plaster layer containing insulating cork granules. Joinery was fabricated locally using British Douglas fir tri-ply board and the timber kitchen island was made from a London plane tree felled by Camden Council. Pine floorboards were reworked as ceiling cladding. RGW Location London N15 | Start on site May 2023 | Completion December 2023 | Gross internal floor area 112m2 | Client Nina+Co | Funding Private | Structural engineer Michael Barclay Partnership | Services engineer Waxwing Energy | Main contractor N/A | Annual CO2 emissions 13 kgCO2/m2 | Embodied carbon Not calculated | Whole-life carbon Not calculated | Design life 15-25 years (minimum) | Photography French + Tye   See more photos and drawings of this project in the AJ Buildings Library OEB Architects Lewisham Loggias £378,000 Inspired by the clients’ love of castles, Classical compositions, Italian urbanism, secret gardens and decorative tiles, this project is unike other polite London roof extensions. This loft extension forms a new main bedroom suite, giving the parents of a growing family their own floor. It includes a sleeping area, open plan bathroom and dressing room, and compact WC between – all positioned to maximise the panoramic view over Canary Wharf. Externally, the two halves are expressed as separate bays, reducing the roof’s impact while still creating volume inside. Between the bays, a ceiling sweeps up to a large rooflight, adding a sense of drama to the circulation space. The bays have been constructed from simple painted timber to visually link with the existing sash windows below. Bold red square columns, inspired by the house’s existing dogtooth brickwork, provide a sense of enclosure and, when the sliding glazing is fully open, a pair of open loggias overlooking the garden is formed. Internally, concealed pocket doors open to create movement through the full width of the property and a circular mirror to one side reflects a new circular opening in the gable to the other. FW |  Location London SE13 | Start on site August 2023 | Completion May 2024 | Gross internal floor area 175.4m2 | Client Private | Funding Private | Structural engineer Bailiss & Company | Services engineer N/A | Main contractor John D Construction | Annual CO2 emissions Not calculated | Embodied carbon Not calculated | Whole-life carbon Not calculated | Design life 50 years | Photography Taran Wilkhu See more photos and drawings of this project in the AJ Buildings Library OGU Architects and MMAS with Matilde Meireles DRIFT £198,000 DRIFT, a floating pavilion on the River Lagan at Belfast, was moored at two locations – Stranmillis Weir and Waterfront Hall – over September 2024 and reformed in response to each site. Part of the Belfast 2024 cultural programme, the project aimed to connect people to the river and create flexible public space at the water’s edge. A collaboration between the architects and sound artist Matilde Meireles, the pavilion was open to the public daily from 10:00 until 18:00, with sonic work by Meireles amplifying the multisensory experience of the river. Five live public performances of a site-specific work by Meireles were also held. The pavilion was constructed using materials symbolising the connection between river and people. Blue cotton rope referenced the rope used by people working with water and Belfast’s rope-making history; fabric screens with punched eyelets evoked tarpaulins and sails, while the aluminium scaffold and brackets echoed the language of utilitarian river infrastructure. RGW Location Two locations in Belfast | Start on site August 2024 | Completion August 2024 | Gross internal floor area 54m2 | Client Belfast 2024 (Belfast City Council) | Funding Belfast 2024 (Belfast City Council) | Structural engineer Design ID | Services engineer N/A | Main contractor DRIFT SPACE | Annual CO2 emissions N/A | Embodied carbon Not calculated | Whole-life carbon Not calculated | Design life Up to 50 years | Photography Joe Laverty See more photos and drawings of this project in the AJ Buildings Library AJ Small Projects is sponsored by