How do you turn a sports facility into a commercially resilient urban destination?
You stop designing it as a sports facility.
The padel venues that hold up commercially are hospitality-led destinations - courts are one revenue stream among several, not the whole business model.
A feasibility and concept design study by Jack Pannell, Director at Common Ground Workshop, for our client The Collective House - a modular padel and wellness concept designed to roll out across constrained urban sites in London.
Lounge, F&B, wellness, yoga studios, retail and landscaped social terraces wrap around a core of courts - turning match bookings into all-day dwell time, and shifting the venue from a 4-hour peak-use asset into a full-day destination.
A padel court earns for the hours it's booked. A hospitality-led leisure destination earns for the hours it's open.
Working on an active leisure or hospitality site? DM us or tap the link in bio.
#Padel #PadelClub #PadelLondon #PadelArchitecture #HospitalityDesign #WellnessDesign #LeisureArchitecture #ActiveLeisure #Placemaking #UrbanDesign #UrbanDestination #LondonArchitecture #ArchitectureStudio #ConceptDesign #FeasibilityStudy #ModularDesign #HybridSpaces #ArchitectsOfInstagram #CommonGroundWorkshop #TheCollectiveHouse
Our proposal for luxury Pilates operator Ten Health & Fitness was actually a space that had previously been written off.
- Small and awkward ground floor footprint.
- Very high ceilings.
- A mezzanine cutting through the volume with extensive back-of-house space.
It didn’t fit a typical brief.
We developed a strategy that reframed how the space could be used - bringing operators back into the conversation, including Ten Health & Fitness.
The result is a calm, pared-back pilates and wellbeing studio where there hadn’t been a viable use before.
Not every project starts with design.
Some start with unlocking the problem. #NineElms #LondonArchitecture #CommercialArchitecture #AdaptiveReuse #UrbanRegeneration #ChallengingSites #ConstrainedDesign #UnlockingPotential #FeasibilityStudy #SpatialStrategy #WellnessDesign #PilatesStudio #HospitalityDesign #WellbeingSpaces #LondonDesign
Director Jack Pannell was recently interviewed by Richard Waite for the Architects’ Journal Housing on the Edge feature, exploring how architects are navigating grey belt and Paragraph 84 opportunities within the National Planning Policy Framework.
Traditionally Paragraph 84 has been associated with large, expressive houses, whereas Whistler’s Forstal is proposed on a highly constrained site outside the village envelope, with limited precedent and a high policy bar, suggesting is a more refined reading.
Rather than relying on scale or spectacle, the scheme focuses on precision, environmental performance and landscape integration, developed in collaboration with @forwardstudio.uk Studio, the client and planners as a single, coherent strategy.
In doing so, it meets the ‘exceptional’ test in a way that feels more grounded, repeatable and policy-aligned.
As the AJ piece highlights, this opens up a broader conversation:
how carefully considered, evidence-led design can support development in sensitive edge-of-settlement locations, without relying on excess.
@commongroundworkshop are East London architects specialising in complex planning applications, including Paragraph 84, grey belt and constrained urban and rural sites. Big thanks to @oflightstudio for the fantastic visual. #greybelt #propertydevelopment #passivhaus #sustainability #architecture #architect
We’re excited to share our reimagining of a duplex apartment within an award-winning contemporary block in Hackney.
This project explores a calm and considers interior language, where clean, precise detailing is paired with a rich, tactile material palette. Natural textures, soft tonal variation and carefully integrated joinery combine to create a space that feels both minimal and warm.
Working at the intersection of architecture and interior design, our approach is to strip back the unnecessary and focus on clarity, proportion and material quality, crafting spaces that are quietly expressive and built to last.
#CommonGroundWorkshop
#LondonArchitects
#InteriorArchitecture
#HighEndInteriors
#LuxuryInteriors
#MinimalInterior
#ContemporaryDesign
#TactileMaterials
#ArchitecturalDetailing
#DuplexLiving
#HackneyHomes
#EastLondonDesign
#DesignInspiration
#WarmMinimalism
#CraftedSpaces
We’ve submitted pre-application proposals for two pedestrian-accessed hillside homes to the rear of 13 Beech Drive, Berkhamsted (HP4 2JW), within the Dacorum Borough Council area.
Working closely with our client, we’ve been shaping a site-specific brief that responds carefully to the constraints of the plot - sloping topography, a backland setting, and the need to respect neighbouring amenity and established character.
Our approach has focused on:
• Working with the natural hillside rather than against it
• Delivering well-proportioned homes benchmarked against London Plan space standards
• Using materiality and massing to reinforce local character
• Embedding landscape strategy from the outset
The proposals are still evolving, but it’s exciting to see how careful sectional design and considered spatial planning can unlock challenging sites in a sensitive and contemporary way.
Looking forward to constructive engagement at pre-application stage and continuing to refine the scheme with our client as it develops.
Client: Vinit Patel
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#Berkhamsted
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#BacklandDevelopment
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#PreApplication
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#ResidentialArchitecture
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#commongroundworkshop
We are thrilled to release the latest view of our compact three-bedroom Passivhaus in the Kent countryside, designed in collaboration with Forward Studio, that proves exceptional design (Paragraph 84) isn’t about scale or spectacle. Carefully sited within a challenging context, the home balances energy efficiency, landscape sensitivity, and thoughtful material choices, from dark-stained sweet chestnut cladding to a subtle, considered colour palette.
Every detail has been tested against the site, orientation, and broader environmental goals, creating a dwelling that feels at home in its setting while delivering ambitious sustainability and comfort. A modest plot, a tight brief, but a result shaped by careful frameworks, iteration, and attention to design discipline.
#CommonGroundWorkshop #ForwardStudio #Passivhaus #Paragraph84 #KentArchitecture #SustainableDesign #RuralHomes #LowCarbonLiving
Nestled in a striking countryside setting in Kent, this compact three-bedroom Passivhaus blends rigorous design thinking with a playful engagement with the landscape. In collaboration with Forward Studio, every detail was shaped by context, light, and careful material choices, creating a home that’s quietly bold and exceptionally comfortable. Huge thanks to Light Studio for capturing the mood and atmosphere so beautifully — the images really bring the subtle gestures and thoughtful frameworks to life.
#CommonGroundWorkshop #ForwardStudio #Passivhaus #Paragraph84 #KentHomes #LandscapeDesign #SustainableArchitecture #LightStudioPhotography
Common Ground Workshop are please to kick off 2026 with some site progress photos for the renovation of a historic working studio in the heart of London, commissioned by a private client.
Drawing on our extensive experience working with heritage and historical buildings, this project is a celebration of architectural preservation and thoughtful adaptation. The original fabric of the studio, rich in character and material texture, will be carefully retained and sensitively enhanced.
Sustainable interventions will be integrated throughout, subtly amplifying the building’s inherent beauty while improving energy performance and long-term resilience. The result will be a studio that honours its past while supporting a low-impact, contemporary way of working.
More information coming
We’re excited to share our concept proposals for a new brunch destination at London’s Silvertown – East London’s most eagerly anticipated development by Lendlease.
Located at Plot 6 Unit A within the Silo D Quarter, the site sits at the south-west gateway to Silvertown, just steps from Pontoon Dock DLR – a prominent location to establish a new benchmark for hospitality design in the district.
Our client, ‘Little Hudson’, is a much-loved, family-owned café already rooted at Royal Wharf (by ‘Ballymore’). Known for fresh food, specialty coffee and a warm, community-focused atmosphere, they are now set to expand into Silvertown with a new café and brunch space.
Our vision is to create a vibrant, sustainable, and highly distinctive interior that celebrates Silvertown’s heritage and materiality, ensuring the space feels authentic and contextual, whilst keeping sustainability at its core, from concept to delivery.
We’re thrilled to play a part in shaping Silvertown’s transformation, and to support an independent, family-owned business in bringing new energy and identity to this landmark development.
We have submitted a planning application for two new detached three-bedroom five-person houses on the site of a former bungalow located in Sidcup, within the London Borough of Bexley.
The architectural character of Foots Cray Lane and wider Sidcup area is defined by a mix of traditional and mid-20th-century residential styles. The design responds sensitively to the scale, height, and materiality of neighbouring properties, drawing on the character of the local context while introducing a contemporary architectural language that reflects current aesthetic and environmental standards.
Our ambition is to set a positive benchmark for sustainable small-scale development within the borough, incorporating low-carbon materials, internal flexibility and adaptability, on-site renewables, and a high-performance building fabric.
This is a complex and challenging site: it is intended that the scheme will positively contribute to the delivery of much-needed housing within the London Borough of Bexley, supporting local efforts to increase the supply of high-quality, family-sized homes.
Common Ground Workshop are architects in East London working with property developers and private clients on a range of challenging sites across London.
For more information on our recent work, please visit our website.
We’re thrilled to share bespoke joinery images for our Whitechapel townhouse renovation, transforming a Grade II listed property into a modern family home. Balancing heritage sensitivity with contemporary design, the project reimagines historic architecture for 21st-century living while retaining the building’s original charm and character.
Formally a large 4 bedroom rental property for staff at the The Royal London Hospital, the development brief called for a sensitive re-think and overhaul of the tightly-planned interior and exterior spaces to provide a contemporary high-specification single family home. Our approach to the project brief sought to work carefully with the built fabric, complementing and enhancing the existing historical features and detailing throughout. The property has now achieved practical completion and recently sold on ‘The Modern House’.
A glimpse behind the scenes: a collection of sketches from some of our latest projects, spanning leisure and hospitality-led masterplans, mixed-use developments, and retrofit schemes across London and Europe.
Sketching is at the heart of how we work: It’s not just about drawing but about discovering. Each place holds its own story, and through hand-drawn exploration, we uncover the character and potential of every site.
From the earliest ideas to the construction phase, sketching helps us communicate clearly with clients, stakeholders and collaborators, bringing everyone along on the exciting journey from concept to construction. For us, these drawings are the first steps toward meaningful, transformative architecture.
#ArchitectureSketch #DesignProcess #Masterplanning #Retrofit #MixedUseDesign #ArchitecturalDrawing #SketchToSite #UrbanDesign #CreativeProcess
