We’re thrilled to share that Dope Bakehouse has been named a project finalist for the @interiordesignmag Best Of Year award!
This one hits different, it’s our FIRST as SML Studio Architecture. There’s something incredibly special about reaching this milestone with the team and vision we’ve built from scratch.
Massive thank you to the Dope Bakehouse team for trusting us with their brand, and to everyone who’s believed in us from day one. This milestone is just as much yours as it is ours. Here’s to many more. ✨
Transforming an underused rooftop podium into leisure hospitality, Cloud Padel integrates padel courts with café, retail, and spectator zones: a recreational pavilion where watching matters as much as playing.
Four design strategies, urban / industrial / organic / local, frame Dubai’s skyline while lightweight canopies create shelter to this integrated landscape.
2025: A Year of Growth and Harvest
Grateful to our clients and collaborators for making this year special.
✓ Dope Bakehouse completion – first commercial project debut
✓ Ellipsis completion and opening
✓ Studio apartment renovation
✓ Nepal School Competition with @vacantdesignstudio
✓ Lisbon/ Porto/ Naples/Amalfi Coast Studio Trip
✓ Dubai Pavilion Project with @_studiokomorebi
✓ Liverpool/Wales Trip
✓ Press debuts on Wallpaper, Nuvo, Dezeen, Azure magazine
✓ Planning Approval for Westminster Mews Project
✓ Finalist for Interior Design Magazine Best of Year Award
✓ Rebel School/Grosvenor Cohort of 2026
What a journey it’s been. Here’s to building on this momentum in 2026!
This staircase does double duty: it moves people and light.
We used perforated metal treads to let daylight filter all the way down to the basement, turning the whole skylit stairwell into a glowing vertical column through the three floors.
At the bottom level, we switched to solid wood treads to wrap around a small mechanical room tucked underneath.
It’s one of those moment where function and design clicks when working with an existing building.
Planning permission granted ✨
We’re pleased to announce planning approval for our mews renovation project in the City of Westminster.
Navigating pre-application processes, historical considerations, and multiple risk items has been a journey of persistence and collaboration. This extensive renovation includes a change of use, basement extension, and facade alterations; adapting a historic mews for modern day living.
On to the next chapter 🧱
#planningpermission #basementextension #westminster #londonarchitecture #heritage #architecture
Melted butter, reimagined.
The lacquered counter reflects the flow of melted butter, transforming a simple ingredient into design language and creating a glossy meeting point for craft and café culture.
To bring this vision to life, we explored a dozen material options from Corian, micro cement to precast concrete, and even tiles. The counter had to be locally available and capture that perfect buttery yellow. It took a brave client willing to try something new, a contractor who pushes boundaries, and seamless coordination across multiple trades to make it happen. The result: a counter that feels as rich as butter, and a space we couldn’t be more delighted with.
Photography @takenby_jh
It’s been an honour to restore an Arthur Erickson classic. Our latest project at @ellipsis.ca is now complete, a balance of preservation and new intervention.
We worked closely with our partner in crime @tetherstone , who helped bring the concept to life through our shared obsession with detailing, from full-scale mockups to building with impeccable precision.
Excited to see this space open to the public very soon.
Photography @takenby_jh
#ArthurErickson #Architecture #AdaptiveReuse #DesignDetails #Ellipsis
Chippenham Mews: a considered transformation that respects the mews typology while introducing a new sense of openness and light.
We’ve recently submitted this scheme for planning in West London, proposing a retrofit and conversion of the existing garage into an open-plan living space, complete with a half-basement extension.
Scroll to see the journey: from its original character to a contemporary reinterpretation, from day to night.
1) Proposed facade at night
2) Existing facade with garage
3) Proposed facade during day
4) Proposed facade opening up to the mews
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#SmlStudioArchitecture #LondonArchitecture #MewsHouseDesign #RetrofitArchitecture #ResidentialDesign #WestLondon #AdaptiveResuse #HomeExtension
This one is coming up on the horizon!
Opening late Aug 2025
Client @ellipsis.ca
Design @sml_studio
Construction @tetherstone
Mechanical & Plumbing: Leeson Engineering
Electrical: RFT Engineering
Photography @takenby_jh
At Dope Bakehouse, craft is explored at every scale from pastry to space. Design elements are inspired by food forms: the coffee counter is poured like melted butter; a translucent orange curtain drapes like a sugar glaze from the ceiling; and a built-in bench extrudes like rising dough. Every detail, from the ceiling cove to the baseboard, is rounded, as if combed with cream.
It was designed in close collaboration with owner Jess Reno, fusing pop culture and sensory experiment. Every room is a new experience: bold, cinematic, and a little bit surreal. Integrated speakers in the signage pulse music through the space, underscoring the idea that baking is a vibe.
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#SmlStudioArchitecture #DopeBakehouse #HospitalityDesign #CafeDesign #InteriorArchitecture #SpatialExperience #CafeCulture #UrbanSpaces #VancouverDesign #LondonDesign #VanEats #ArchitecturalSpaces
