The PLOT

We are a small design lead practice with a focus on creating well considered, bespoke yet buildable architecture.

Our main showroom on St Johns Hill, Battersea (a 1-2 walk from Clapham Junction train station). This keeps us well connected to projects throughout London and the home counties alongside our other bases in Twickenham and Cobham. Over the years we have specialised in building and extending homes, working across a wonderful range of styles and ages of property. We take particular pride that we have no “office style” and deliberately approach each project tailoring the design to that of our client’s unique taste, how they live and that of the local context.

Although our focus is primarily on residential design with a 1-2 hour radius of London we also take on a commercial projects and work globally (with a current tally of four continents – if anyone is reading this from South America, Antarctica or Australia and have an interesting project please do get in touch as it would be nice to get the full set!).

The business and each project is collaboratively designed and managed by us (the PLOT directors Mollie and Oliver). We set up and have evolved the practice with the below core philosophy:

To be hands on throughout the process: Our clients work directly with the directors throughout (we do not win a commission and then hand it over to a junior staff member). This does however mean we have a limited number of projects we can take on as we focus on quality rather than quantity.
We have always considered one of our most important roles as designing a scheme that best combines the unique brief, taste and style of our clients as well as the building or site itself. As can be seen from our portfolio we explore a range of build styles and tailor the architecture and interior design to our clients. Whilst at a previous practice we occasionally witnessed clients being pushed into design choices more fitting to the taste of the designer than the client, which was concerning and a motivation to do things differently.
We are detail orientated and provide a complete service for homeowners, taking the project from planning through to completion. We produce 3D visuals, a full working drawing set including architecture and interior design and offer tendering and contract administration service option. We refuse to be involved in a project to provide “just building regulations” drawings. In our professional opinion that “building regulation drawings” are insufficient to competitively tender the works, lack a clear direction to the build team and lead to unnecessary issues on site, the quality of the build and ultimately is not something we think is good for our clients. This approach we believe had led us to our high referral rate from previous clients and our employment by trade professional such as developers / builders and even architects and interior designers whom we regularly collaborate with usually in the form of the detail delivery of their concept design.
We want to make the process as clear as possible for our clients, making a policy of no fuzzy or pretentious language wanting to make things straight talking and simple.

We offer a no obligation and no cost introductory meeting to talk through your ideas and scheme and to see if we would be a good fit. Please send us an email to organise this.

Testimonials

“We have worked with PLOT over the past 2 years to realise our dream of renovating our late 1920's home in Twickenham which needed complete modernisation. Oliver and Mollie have been attentive to our budget and design ideas, whilst guiding us to be bold in our choices to create a wonderful result. From initial concept design ideas through planning and tendering process to final delivery of the project PLOT have been professional, attentive and at times very patient! PLOT's knowledge of planning guidance proved especially valuable, as we achieved planning approval first time round on our ambitious and novel plans. Our home is transformed and ready to meet our needs for many years to come. We would highly recommend PLOT, as their dedication to providing the best level of service is outstanding”.
Rob & Elinor
“Amazing creativity combined with pragmatism on budget and a focus on delivery. They designed a rear extension in Teddington and delivered something really special. I couldn’t recommend them more highly. They were helpful every step of the way from design to procurement and oversight of delivery. They even stepped in to help when we had some problems with suppliers. I would definitely use them again”.
Paul & Lizzie
“We have worked with PLOT on renovating and extending our Edwardian family home in Surrey for the past 18 months. Oliver and Mollie have been hands-on, professional, patient and creative at all times - all the way through, from the planning and design, through to construction and finish. We have worked in partnership - they have listened to us, steered us, and delivered. They have such enthusiasm for architecture and design. They work round-the-clock to achieve the best finish, often for bespoke detailing, and to keep their client's costs down. We cannot recommend them highly enough. When we take on another project in a few years' time, we plan to instruct them again. Our home has been transformed and we have gained some friends along the way!”
Claire & Matt
“PLOT architecture assisted us in the successful planning application for a rear extension. As our project was very time sensitive, Mollie in particular was great at liaising with the council’s planning officer and very thorough in providing all the documentation necessary as quickly as possible to avoid any delays. Mollie and Ollie were also very good at dealing with some tricky structural engineering issues to our best advantage. PLOT was also instrumental in finding the right building firm for our job. I would definitely recommend”.
Valeria
“We used Plot Architecture to help us get planning for a large 11 apartment scheme in Ealing. Their approach was refreshing and Mollie and Oliver are knowledgeable, professional and a pleasure to work with. We would highly recommend”.
Rob M

Oliver PG Sims

Oliver completed his Diploma in Architecture at the Royal Institute of British Architects office based examination in partnership with the Oxford School of Architecture. After graduating he worked initially for the world-renowned Sir Nicholas Grimshaw before focusing on smaller scale architecture (predominantly residential) and working for several other respected architectural practices honing his craft with projects winning regional, national and world design awards.

Oliver is hands on with the architectural design drawing and detailing of every single PLOT project from initial concept designs to the detailed construction drawings.

Mollie Allen

Mollie completed her masters in Civil and Architectural Engineering at Bath University initially focusing more so on the structural design side while completing the design of a large number of residential and commercial schemes for award winning practices. Gradually her focus moved further and further towards (and then fully) to the architectural side.

Mollie is hands on all designs and leads the interior design and the tendering and contract administration of our builds. Mollie is generally the first point of communication on our projects and is always willing to talk through ideas for new schemes so book in a call to talk through your project.

Featured projects

The Herringbone House

Our clients bought this post war house following a probate sale, when very little had been done in the way of upgrades for decades. Here was a perfect opportunity to turn this 'blank canvas' into a brilliant modern home. The repeating brick arches over three floors is a striking design and a source of inspiration for ongoing projects.
The Modern House

Over the last few years we have been involved in the phased restoration of this 60s detached house in Strawberry Hill. Originally designed by an architect for his family and sold for the first time to the current owners, we gave the property a sensitive, modern update for the young family to make it their own.
The Belgravia Townhouse

This listed mansion was a joy to work on and now has a new lease of life for the proud homeowners. We were appointed by Nick Elias Studio for architecture and interior design delivery from concepts to completion for sensitive extensions, remodelling and refurbishment throughout property on the Grosvenor Estates.
The Farm House

This large 1100 square meter, 11,840 square foot new family home has been designed with the traditional farmhouse style. The client wanted to ensure his family home was spacious enough for the needs of the young family, whilst feeling warm and inviting and sitting beautifully in the land.