"David Nossiter is known for his authentic yet spatially complex contemporary architecture, working from an approach that incorporates the needs of the client, the topography of the landscape and the orientation of the site as equal and foremost considerations. David's work ranges from rural barn conversions to urban new builds - all designed in his London studio.‘‘
David Nossiter creates contemporary architecture by understanding what already exists, revealing the character, history and hidden potential within a building and its surroundings.
Specialising in historic barns, listed buildings and sensitive renovations, David transforms existing structures into distinctive contemporary places that respect their past while responding to modern life.
David’s approach begins with a careful understanding of place, the existing building, the landscape, the orientation of the site and the needs of the client.
Four principles shape David’s architectural approach:
Reuse & Adaptation. Finding new possibilities within existing structures through thoughtful transformation rather than replacement.
A building’s ability to change is part of its architectural value. Adaptation allows buildings to continue their lives rather than becoming fixed at an arbitrarily chosen moment in their history.
Light & Landscape. Creating spaces shaped by natural light, views and their connection to the surrounding landscape.
Material Craft. Using honest materials and careful detailing to create durable and timeless architecture.
Living Well. The spaces we inhabit shape the way we live. We consider how people use, adapt and inhabit spaces, creating places that feel natural, enduring and connected.
Before drawing begins, there is a process of discovery. The existing building is studied not simply as a collection of walls, roofs and openings, but as something that has evolved over time.
Its materials, proportions, alterations, relationship with the landscape and evidence of previous use all contribute to an understanding of what it might become.
This is particularly important when working with historic and listed buildings, where the qualities worth retaining are not always immediately apparent.
Renovation can imply returning a building to an assumed former condition. Transformation is different. It accepts that buildings change, and asks how those changes can be made meaningful.
The question is not necessarily what was “original”, but what matters now, what has accumulated through time, and what can be added without erasing the character of what is already there.
Church Hill Barn is an important example of this approach. Its transformation was not an exercise in reproducing the past, but in allowing an existing structure to accommodate a new life through a contemporary architectural response.
Buildings are rarely as original as we imagine. They are altered by their owners, their uses, their materials, their surroundings and the passage of time.
To decide that one particular moment represents the “original” building can therefore be an arbitrary act. Conservation inevitably involves choices about which layers of a building’s history are retained, revealed, adapted or allowed to disappear.
For David, these questions are not obstacles to design. They are part of the design process.
The most enduring buildings are often those capable of change.
Uses evolve. Families grow and change. Working patterns alter. Buildings acquire new meanings and new occupants. Architecture that can accommodate change has a greater chance of continuing to be useful and loved.
Adaptability is therefore not simply a practical consideration. It is an architectural quality.
The architect’s role when working with an existing building is partly one of interpretation. The task is to understand what is already present, identify its potential and make decisions about what should remain, what should change and what should be added.
The resulting architecture should feel neither like a replica of the past nor an unrelated object imposed upon it.
New and old architecture can exist in dialogue. A contemporary intervention does not have to imitate historic fabric in order to respect it. Equally, the presence of history does not mean that new architecture should be deliberately assertive or detached.
The most successful transformations allow the different layers of a building’s history to be read together.
This is where material, proportion, light, detail and craftsmanship become important: they create relationships between what was there and what is newly introduced.
David Nossiter provides services for three kinds of project:
Our project sites are often within sensitive contexts. These require careful assessment ahead of development or renovation proposals and David offers a site appraisal service to help clients understand the opportunities and constraints of a property.
David Nossiter Architects are proud recipients of several accolades, including a Sunday Times British Homes Award.
David’s Church Hill Barn was filmed as an inspirational project for Channel 4’s Grand Designs (see television).
He remains the single point of personal contact for clients throughout the architectural process, from the early ideas to on-site supervision.
Additional resourcing is allocated to a project under David’s direct supervision and according to requirements.
David works collaboratively with architects and designers, drawing on a wide range of experience and expertise throughout the development of each project.
Present and past DNA studio colleagues:
For projects involving existing buildings, sensitive sites, historic fabric or the transformation of a property, David offers a personal architectural service from initial appraisal through to completion. Get in touch.