Homes & Interiors Magazine
Our Blackford Road project is in Homes & Interiors Scotland this month.
Words by Caroline Ednie, photography by the brilliant @nannespringer

Our Blackford Road project is in Homes & Interiors Scotland this month.
Words by Caroline Ednie, photography by the brilliant @nannespringer
Our clients made these cardboard WC and sink to mock up the space in a small bathroom…
We’ve been working as architect for Bowhouse in Fife, where the most recent Food Production units are complete and looking lovely in the summer sunshine.
We are always looking for opportunities to add value to projects through design. This simple barrier, to protect people coming out of Bowhouse farm buildings near where cars drive, could have been something boring and standard. With some design thought we referenced the old cowsheds in this farm steading and hopefully made something beautiful.
We’re delighted to have won an RIAS Award for 2022. One of only 8 national awards for architecture.
And the BBC website information here:
RIBAJ Burrell Review 6 pages out this week
Kieran was commissioned to write an artcle for the RIBA Journal on the Burrell Collection re-opening in May 2022.
LINK to the article (paywall)
Our Walled Garden project, 7 new houses set in leafy Trinity, Edinburgh for boutique developer MacKenzie Residential, has been shortlisted for three awards at The Scottish Home Awards 2022:
1. Innovation in Design
2. Small Development
3. Renovation of the Year
We’re really proud that our fabric first approach to retention of the existing buildings has been recognised as an innovative and sustainable approach to the climate crisis.
There are scales of eco-friendly housing – this one is on the extremely eco end. Collaborating with www.alltenvironmental.com on this significant refurbishment, alteration and energy retrofit.
It is also a huge change aesthetically and we’re excited about both.
Really pleased that our Lockerbie Sawmill for James Jones and Sons has been recognised and shortlisted for an RIAS and RIBA Architecture Award 2022.
One of 14 Scottish projects by some great architects.
This project is very sustainable, built almost entirely in timber from the mill site, super insulated, with air source heating and sequestering at least 70tonnes of Carbon in the construction.
moe info on our project page
Our house in Ravelston from 2016, bedding into its beautiful garden with planting design by Carolyn Grohman http://www.secretgardensdesign.co.uk/
The Charteris Centre, a social enterprise hub in a former church on The Pleasanace, is nearly finished.
These photographs, copyright Woolver, graciously sent with some lovely feedback:
“I think it’s delicate and inspirational and apparently I can’t walk past it without taking a photo”.
(This to balance out less-nice comment on twitter.)
Cladding with pattern designed in collaboration with chalkplaster and signage going in at our Church conversion project in Edinburgh.
There is just something about the french langauge. A short video by french journalists on our Excroissance en combles (Outgrowth in attic according to google translate).
A Edimbourg, l’agrandissement d’une petite maison par les architectes Konishi et Gaffney occasionne une excroissance en toiture.
Lockerbie Sawmill won the EAA Wood for Good Award 2021.
Nearing completion. Architecture in Edinburgh.
Lockerbie Sawmill has been shortlisted for an EAA Ambassador Award.
We’ve been shortlisted for the national Wood Awards! Up against some lovely buildings that we’ve admired from afar.
Clockwise from top right: Konishi Gaffney – Lockerbie Sawmill; Haverstock Architects – Guildford Council building, Niall McLaughlin – Magdalene College, Cambridge; De Matos Ryan – Nun Monkton, North Yorkshire
https://www.woodawards2021.online/shortlists
We’re making an usual, small artist’s studio at the moment, still in progress but being carefully & beautifully made by a local artisan.
We are really proud to have been recognised in the 2021 Scottish Design Awards. We won in the commercial category and were awarded the Grand Prix for Architecture. A very exciting achievement and a huge honour.
Working with James Jones & Sons on their visitor building was a brilliant opportunity to showcase their materials and explore the possibilities of timber construction. We’d like to thank them for their trust in us; our consultant team for their expertise and the builder for their hard work and patience.
images by @dapplephotography
The RIBA Journal have published a lovely article on our Sawmill in Lockerbie.
Words by David Reat, Photography by Dapple Photography
We’re pleased to have been shortlisted for the Scottish Design Awards 2021 for our office and visitor building for the UK’s largest sawmiller, James Jones & Sons, in Lockerbie.
More info here
We are pleased to be working with craftsmen https://oldschoolfabrications.co.uk/ on a stair at Greyfriars Charteris Centre.
They’ve made up this sample stair detail for approval. And it’s a work of art.
We’ve been working for 18 months on this refurbishment and new build at a former care home in the Trinity area of Edinburgh.
The project for local developer building 3 new houses and forming an additional 4 homes fitted within the existing buildings; trying to maintain as much of the existing fabric as possible. This environmentally friendly scheme has super insulated fabric, solar panels, EV charging, sustainable drainage and integrated landscape design. It received planning permission last year, the warrant this week and is due to start on site next month.
Image by 3D Cad Visuals
Landscape Architecture: Emily Peel Yates
Structural Engineer: Gordon Eadie
M&E Engineer: Harley Haddow
Civil Engineering & Drainage: Etive
Planning submitted for conversion of old garage to Covid Secure meeting room. Proposed elevation with simple timber cladding,full & half cut siberian larch cladding, pitched & zinc clad roof and externally insulated new office meeting room.
Planning granted for this house extension in Edinburgh. Steeply sloping site so lots of steps down internally to better connect the house to the garden.
Work is nearing completion at our office and training centre for James Jones & Sons, the UK’s largest swawmillers, in Lockerbie.
We’ve been on site looking at snagging work done to this extension to a Listed Building in The Grange, long delayed by C19 among other things.
Lockerbie: scaffolding coming down this week to reveal our timber cladding with details for vents and black / natural Scottish Larch cladding milled in house by James Jones.
We are often asked about cladding finishes and protecting the wood. It is almost impossible to maintain the “orange” tone of wood externally as the sun bleaches the colour from wood (and almost every other material). In cities it is often difficult to prevent a dark grey staining caused by pollution. We have moved to recommending the SiOO:X finish to timber cladding – the image here showing the change that occurs between 1 month and 12 months.
The effect is best decribed as a form of bleaching, a natural whitewash, which protects the wood.
We’ve been searching for ways of adding our voice of support to the Black Lives Matter movement.
We have settled on this picture by Gordon Parks.
Gordon Parks was a black photographer who documented, among other things, the race protest movements in 50’s and 60’s in the US. Looking at these photos 60 years later reminds us of how little has changed. We support systemic change in the US, the UK and around the world.
Untitled, Harlem, New York, 1963
© The Gordon Parks Foundation.
Our clients in Portobello for this extension have finalled had their glass installed. They were caught at Coronavirus shutdown (with the glass due for delivery on the 25th March) and have had to be very patient.
They are however delighted and sent us this message:
“The photos don’t do it justice, I have to say it’s a thing of beauty, I absolutely love it. I quite can’t believe the difference the glass has made…
Thank you to you for designing such a beautiful room, I feel like I’m walking into a magazine every time I go down the stairs”
Obviously still work to do to complete the construction which we’re managing with the builder over the next few weeks.
Our cafe and visitor centre on Silecroft beach in Cumbria has been submitted for planning.
local newspaper report:
Konishi Gaffney have suspended work from their office for the time being.
We are working from home and can be contacted by e-mail as normal. Calls should be directed to Kieran in the first instance on 07817 102 319.
We remain committed to our clients; their projects and timelines so please be assured that we are working on through this crisis.
James Jones office extension, construction progress Feb 2020
Competition win in Architects Journal today:
Konishi Gaffney have won a national architectural competition for a new café on the beach at Silecroft in Cumbria and will be appointed to deliver the £380,000 building by spring 2021. The competition attracted 59 design team entrants from across the UK.
Silecroft beach is situated in the southwest corner of the Lake District National Park, is overlooked by Black Combe Fell to the north and gives spectacular views across the Irish Sea towards the Isle of Man.
Our design developed with two sheltered, canted courtyards, one facing Black Combe Fell and the other, the sea views which are are maximised through the splayed forms. The building will provide shelter from the blowing wind regardless of direction. We took pitched, slate roof vernacular of the Lake District and adapted this to make a modest addition to the beach context.
As part of the #strongconstitution community hashtag for Constitution Street in Leith we had our photos taken by photographer Paul MaGuire @paulmaguireartist.
Konishi Gaffney Architects are an RIAS Chartered Practice
We have been shortlisted down to the last 3 for the Silecroft Beach Cafe competition in Cumbria, winner to be announced this week.
We received planning permission in The Grange, Edinburgh for this new “studio” room with timber cladding elevation over an existing garage.
Our largest project to date has started on site this week. Today is #SocialEnterpriseDay and contractors SJS have been appointed and started on Monday, getting set up and preparing work areas.
Our Greyfriars design on display at the RSA open exhibition 2-9th November.
Kieran gave a talk on the practice’s EAA award winning house extension at ESALA, the venue was this amazing former courtyard in the Art School.
We’ve been invited to talk about our work as part of Schwarzbrotreihe, at the Univeristy of Stuttgart tomorrow (30.10.2019).
Schwarzbrot translates as “daily bread” and the series (reihe) asks for architects to talk about one project; from concept to completion to “give an insight into the daily activities (the schwarzbrot) of an architect”.
Our church conversion and extension on The Pleasance, won in competition in 2017, is due to start on site in the next week or so (just waiting for final building warrant sign off).
Kieran was asked to write a review of the new Hill House Box in Helensborough.
Full article on RIBA Journal website.
This is an extension and house alteration using hand made Dutch bricks. In-progress site photo.
Our cottage near Crinan is on the front cover of the Times Bricks & Mortar section.
The article is about Statement Cottages by Gabriella Bennett @palebackwriter
Photos back today from the brilliant Nanne Springer
We’re working for a large UK sawmiller in Lockerbie; building a new office and reception building on their main timber processing site. Work started in May and our first site visit was today.
Our office at 88 Constitution Street, Edinburgh.
This house extension and remodelling is to a house called Tigh Na Geat which means “House under the Hill” in Gaelic. This construction photo shows why it’s called that.
We are really proud to have won the 2019 EAA Award for small projects at a ceremony at St Celia’s Hall last night. Some excellent other projects in contention for this architectural award so we are all pleased to have won.
Many thanks to our wonderful clients Ken & Gemma Gray.
Builders: Watson & Lyall Ltd
Engineer: WMA
photographer: Nanne Springer
We received planning permission for a radical rethink of a terraced house in Portobello – dropping the existing garden room down by 1.2m to get better access to the garden.
Architect Edinburgh
Architects Edinburgh
We’re pleased to have had two projects shortlisted for the EAA Small Projects architectural award. (Our favourite award).
Blackford Road
Jessfield Terrace
More info on the EAA Awards here: www.eaa.org.uk
The RIBA Journal picked us as one of 6 architects outside London to write about as “future winners”.
The article is really well written and insightful, available in full here (though possibly behind paywall): https://www.ribaj.com/
Drawings of our extension at 12 Jessfield Terrace, submitted for an RIAS architecture award,
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported in 2018 that the world has until 2030 to act to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees C. We all need to change and to press our governments to do so too. Architects have an added responsibility as emissions from buildings accounts for 37% of total UK greenhouse gas. We continue to advocate for maximum insulation, for sustainable energy products (we’re particularly in favour of ground source heat pumps combined with solar photo voltaics) and we no longer support the installation of wood burning stoves.
Individually Makiko and Kieran have stopped eating meat, drinking milk and now drive a plug-in hybrid electric car.
Slating starts at our house on East Mayfield in Edinburgh.
One of our projects for a listed building in the Grange was refused listed building consent (but did receive planning permission) in 2018 in a decision many found incomprehensible. The client appealed and this week won that appeal with the reporter’s comments feeling like vindication for our design approach:
“Whilst the proposal is clearly a modern intervention, I consider that the appellant’s architects have sought to ensure to that it does not jar with the listed building whilst avoiding pastiche design solutions. The eaves height of the proposed extension lines up with the eaves of the conservatory and the roof on the east side of the conservatory and I consider that this provides a balance to the south elevation when viewed from the garden area. The use of stained charcoal cedar cladding ties in with the dark stained sandstone which is a feature of the building and, similarly, with the existing dark timber eaves and finials. I therefore consider that the proposals provide a positive relationship with other
parts of the building.”
Kieran (with editing help from Adam) was commissioned by the RIBA Journal to write a review of the Bayes Centre at Edinburgh University by architects Bennetts Associates. Published today HERE
“The phase 1 Infomatics building is cellular with rooms off corridors; in the new building these dissolve into wider circulation that in turn washes out into the atrium and open plan work spaces.”
Image copyright Keith Hunter
Axonometric of our Blackford Road extension added to the project pages.
We’ve been working with Nanne Springer, a fantastic photographer from Germany but living in Canada, on several projects and are delighted with the results. One project at Blackford Road in The Grange and the other at Jessfield Terrace in sunny Leith.
A decision by Edinburgh City Council planning department to refuse planning for a listed building in the Grange, Edinburgh has been appealed and we won! The decision was reviewed by the council’s own in-house team who have found in our favour and granted planning permission, the Scottish planning inspectorate reviewed the Listed Building Consent application and we won that too. Shouldn’t have been a contentious proposal in the first place!
We have 100% success rate in appeals, 3 for 3.
Kieran contributed to the The Times, Bricks & Mortar article on insulating your listed building.
Steam bent oak extension…
We’ve been working on a site in Dunblane called Holmehill thinking about the landscape and scope for garden and buildings.
Contoured plywood site model at 1:300 made by twadugs modelmakers
Konishi Gaffney are an RIBA Chartered Practice.
This small timber and zinc clad extension in the Grange area of Edinburgh is nearing completion: clients move in at the weekend.
We’ve been working on a village site looking at the development of a garden… more to follow.
This drawing a layout for model at 1 to 350.
Homes & Interiors have produced a magazine with some of our projects included.
We’ve had planning granted for a new build house in a rear garden in the Colinton Area of Edinburgh.
Planning application submitted today for Greyfriars Charteris Centre on The Pleasance in Edinburgh.
This project named after The Very Reverend Professor Archibald H Charteris:
“It is they who dream bright dreams that in the end deliver. Do not be afraid or ashamed to announce splendid hopes. It is enthusiasts the world needs and I pray you to be enthusiastic!”
Good progress on our extension & refurbishment to this C-Listed cottage near Crinan.
Model in progress looking at new elements in alteration to church on The Pleasanace in Edinburgh.
Konishi Gaffney were invited to lead a team of designers and landscape specialists looking at alternative designs for Westbank Street in Portobello. Our proposals were for a mix of residential, office, arts spaces and leisure facilities. The local community are advocating for a mixed use on site rather than a commercial housing solution. The results were produced over one weekend in March 2018.
We have just submitted this planning application for a new, fully accessible house in the Colinton area of Edinburgh.
Two project site visits this week, one 30% complete the other 90% with the high tech super thin framed doors installed.
Photographs by our very own Ivan Fraile Gisbert of a recently completed project on a steep hill in West Edinburgh.
Two new members of staff, Dana and Helena start work making two laser cut models to develop the design for two projects in Edinburgh.
Happy New Year to all our clients and supporters!
Konishi Gaffney Architects has won an invited competition to rework a former church in Edinburgh – the current home of the Greyfriars Charteris Centre. We saw off a strong shortlist to win the job which includes a new build three storey link building and major alterations to the existing church.
We were pleased to have been commended in the DIA awards 2017 for our project for studio / office spaces at Comielaw steading.
Construction work has begun on a cottage near Crinan in Mid Argyll. We’re demolishing an existing conservatory, shown here, and forming a new extension behind with exposed trusses and a metal sinusoidal roof.
November | December issue
Beauty and the East! Words by Caroline Ednie. Photography by David Barbour
Kieran wrote a review article for the RIBA Journal on a new house by Ann Nisbet in Ayrshire.
link to RIBAJournal
Third book in three weeks, this time the expensively assembled Home, Housing Scotland 2000-2020.
It is interesting as an overview of award winning houses in Scotland in the 21st Century.
We have two projects included.
Bowhouse in Fife is open for business.
Our steading / farm sheds conversaion is partially open with food producers taking space and a monthly farmers market installed in-situ. Last weekend saw a number of local suppliers selling food from coffee to honey and steaks to beer. Yum.
Phase 2 is underway and our major architectural intervention in detail design.
We’re pleased to be included in a new book on Contemporary Timber Architecture in the UK by Peter Wilson and Wood for Good.
Our hand out information sheet for the Edinburgh Doors Open day 2017, this house which won teh EAA 2017 small projects award is featured. http://www.cockburnassociation.org.uk/edinburgh-doors-open-day/
Our wonderful clients at 2 Ravelston Dykes Lane are opening up their house for doors open day 2017, this weekend. The house is open on Sunday 24th September from 10am – 4pm.
We’ll be there too showing people around.
Published in House Beautiful, September 2017
We’re pleased to have had two houses selected by the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland for a new book on the best architect houses in Scotland since 2000.
Kieran and Makiko spent 3 and 4 weeks respectively in Japan this summer, there for a family gathering and followed up with trips to see buildings. Kieran stayed in a Buddhist temple in Koyasan as well as re-visiting Naoshima to see Tadao Ando’s work and new buildings by Satoichi Sambuichi.
This unusual extension in the garden of a large Georgian House in The Grange was approved for planning. Housing a kitchen / living / dining and study.
Planning permission was granted today for this extension and internal alterations to a small Victorian terraced cottage in Edinburgh.
Our project at Ravelston Dykes Lane won a commendation from the Saltire Society’s Housing Design Awards.
We’ve taken on the role of steam bent timber cladding sub-contractor as we could ony find a couple of furniture / boat making companies prepared to take on the role and they were naturally quite expensive for such a specialist task. We researched the process, built our own steam box and jig and spent 6 days on site bending and cladding this little side extension.
We believe that architects who are hands-on in the process of construction are better designers for it so this suited us and we enjoyed getting a tan in sunny Glasgow.
This is classed as technical research.
Our Comielaw project is published in the June 2017 edition of On Office magazine.
The Scottish First Minister visited our office today. I talked to her about our 3 main concerns:
1. Building Control in Scotland: 3-4 month delay on every project, stiffles innovation, beaurocratic. Should be privatised out of local council’s hands as is done in the English building control system.
2. Procurement – impossible for small practices like ours to get public work.
3. VAT is payable at 20% on alterations and 0% on new builds: unfair & encourages unsustainable development.
Konishi Gaffney won the 2017 Edinburgh Architecture Association award for best building under £500,000 and were shortlisted in a further two categories.
Link to the award winners announcement.
We are delighted to have been shortlisted for 3 projects in 3 different categories by the EAA in the Small Projects, Wood Award and Ambassador categories.
Link to the 2017 awards shortlist.
Kieran is talking at the University of Dundee on Thursday 19th January.
Article in “The Times” today asked for my opinion on a public vote which saw Princes Square in Glasgow voted the best Scottish building in the last 100 years.
We have been shortlisted for a Creative Edinburgh “City Award” looking for an “outstanding creative contribution” to the city of Edinburgh. Up against “Jupiter Artland” and “local Heroes” in this “Oscars of the creative industry”. Winner announced at awards ceremony this evening.
Photoshoot for extension in Argyle Crescent.
Barbara Elliot, who was passing, took this photo of our shopfront (*thanks).
Makiko folded these forms from scrap A3 drawings.
Planner visit to review Comielaw Steading conversion in Fife: 12 new business units in Grade B listed steading with black timber clad replacement shed.
Desk space available to rent. In large west facing studio, part of our office. Wall of windows (albeit overshadowed), timber stained floors and white painted walls. Flexible on use but would suit creative types… Shared used of kitchen / toilets etc. Wifi, heating & electricity and rates etc. all included in rent.
Article in Scottish Field Magazine Edinburgh on our Japanese House.
Our Edinburgh Pop-Up Pavilion, part of the Cities Expo and the Festival of Architecture 2016 opened last night on the Mound. Otherworldy photograph of Makiko and Kieran inside by Malcolm Cochrane.
More progress on fabrication of the Edinburgh Pop-Up Pavilion.
Progress on fabrication of the Edinburgh Pop-Up Pavilion.
We are deighted to report that we won the competition to design the Edinburgh Pavilion for the Pop Up Cities Expo being held in Edinburgh over the summer this year. Part of the 2016 Festival of Architecture programme. More information here.
Very well written article by Archinect journalist Robert Urquhart.
Link to the full article with pictures.
Amazingly blue skies as this Edinburgh house nears completion.
KGA in Vegan Life magazine. Thought only architects used words like haptic.
We’ve been shortlisted for the 2016 EAA small projects Award.
On site nearing completion.
Sculpture installed at coffee shop fit out.
KGA shortlisted for the prestigious Architect’s Journal small projects award.
Link to AJ article (paywall).
Sculpture in progress as part of a coffee shop fitout, Edinburgh.
We have gone out to tender on this tall extension. Sketch by work experience student Haruka Kitamura.
Submisison for EAA small projects award 2016.
Progress on new house at Ravelston in Edinburgh. Eco credentials include ground source heat pump, 200mm external insulation and integrated solar panels.
Maquette at 1:4 for coffee shop interior and furniture made by Johannes Sailer.
Site visit to rural fife, lovely pink wheelbarrows.
We just received planning permission for this house in Wandsworth.
Our new office is taking shape – should be complete next week. If anyone is looking for desk space we have some available.
Work is progressing on our new house in Ravelston, Edinburgh. The roof has a scissor truss and whitewashed ceiling; the windows a super horizontal proportion.
Uploaded 4 recently photographed projects to this website:
Example of wood stain before and after and the lovely joinery in a Grade A listed house in Edinburgh’s New Town.
Konishi Gaffney won a prestigious RIAS award for our Regent Street Dormer.
Work starts on our house in the Ravelston area of Edinburgh. The idea was to connect front and rear gardens with a Japanese sense of space.
Open roof design for a house extension near our office in Leith.
Konishi Gaffney have been shortlisted for an RIAS/RIBA architecture award 2015. Available on the AJ website [paywall].
News also published on Dezeen.
Almost finished on this little extension in Portobello.
Work in progress on zinc roof in Edinburgh with specialist rooflight (the white covering sheets will come off soon).
Work in progress on extension in The Grange, Edinburgh.
New house and steading conversion site in the Scottish Borders.
Roof structure (which will be exposed) in the morning light.
We’re radically altering a 1970’s house in Peebles in the Scottish Borders. Self-builder installed the windows yesterday. Starting in spring we’re insulating and over cladding in larch.
Our model in the RSA Open Exhibition which runs until 20th January 2015.
The venerable RIBA Journal asked us to share our 3 favourite specifications.
External insulation to an old Victorian cottage. Planning to do more of this: an easy and efficient way to insulate existing buildings. Here we have a further counter batten and more insulation to go on top.
Extension with a big picture window starts to take shape.
I tend to like buildings in construction as much as when finished. Here green pressure treated battens and light from the roof.
We currently have 4 projects in various stages of construction. This one in the Grange area of Edinburgh topping out next week with a huge skylight.
We are sandblasting larch cladding to raise the grain on a small house extension in Edinburgh, then washing the cladding black. It’s very exciting.
German architecture magazine Detail, publishes our Dormer project over 4 pages. That is definitely a career goal achieved!
We’ve been very busy recently working on some exciting projects. This one a house in Galashields in the Scottish Borders on a very steep site.
We had some good press recently. The Sunday Times found us to be in the top 10 “architect provocateurs” in the UK. Especially good as 8 of the 10 were London based and we were the only practice from Scotland.
We’ve been shortlisted for an EAA small projects award for this garden office & house alteration in Portobello in Edinburgh. We are currently working as Architects in Fife.
We’ve been shortlisted for the prestigious AJ small projects award [and on valentines day, can’t you feel the love?].
Konishi Gaffney are moving to our own new and bigger offices [17th Century former thatched cottage].
132 Constitution Street, Edinburgh, EH6 6AJ.
All other contact details remaining the same.
Makiko’s maquette for folding furniture at 1:15.
Rosefield and Regent St Dormer projects submitted for the EAA small projects award.
Our Regent Street dormer in the Architect’s Journal Building Library. Link (but may require a login).
We are very pleased to have been invited along with 5 other (bigger and longer established) pratices to submit design ideas in a design competition for the reburbishment and extension of the Village Hall in Heriot, Scottish Borders.
Welcome to our new employee, Euan Gray, a brilliant young architect aiming to get his part III with us. Euan’s career has been varied & hands on including this yoga studio (pictured above) which he designed and self built as owner of the wildhutte design company.
Euan’s experience and personal research into hutting ties in with our interests and I hope Euan will push on our research in that field.
Euan’s pechakucha about hutting in February 2012.
Konishi Gaffney are Award Winning Edinburgh Architects also working in The Scottish Borders, Fife & East Lothian.
Video of Kieran talking at the RSA about our Warming Hut project [start at 3:53] .
Site visit to Galasheils this weekend; exciting site with huge slope.
“Strawberry string” maqutte for warming huts finished and delivered to the RSA. Our 2nd submission, Above Scotland exhibition table, also included.
Last site visit to listed building alteration project for which we were the architect; St Andrews in the Kingdom of Fife.
We achieved planning approval this week for this little barrel-vaulted extension.
Kieran is giving a talk at 57°10 the student run architecture lecture series at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, Thursday 24th at 5pm.
Working on design model for extension to listed building in Edinburgh.
Toddlers Hut project featured in News Section of Dutch Architecture Magazine A10. Sept/Oct 2013.
Friday 13th wasn’t inauspicious for us as our cantilever steel balcony & stair clicked into place like a dream. Site install in St Andrews, Kingdom of Fife led by Johannes Sailer included Kieran + client!
Busy month: trip to Tokyo including visiting this Exhibition of work by Christian Kerez. A repeat of his Venice Biennale exhibition of 2012.
House alterations with home office in garden, Portobello, Edinburgh.
Published in Grand Designs magazine.
We’ve been shortlisted for an art/architecture competition. Site & brief not public yet but looking forward to ongoing collaboration with johannessailer.com.
Zinc clad dormer extension nearing completion.
Picture window looks like cinema.
Royal Scottish Academy summer show opens tonight on the Mound in Edinburgh. Our three plaster maquettes in situ as of yesterday.
Pre-application planning submission for a potentially contentious, long, low extension clad in that lovely Danish brick we’ve been trying to use for ages… drawing by Rebecca.
Our submission for the Royal Scottish Academy show 25th May – 2nd July 2013.
Site visit yesterday looking at a farm steading in the Kingdom of Fife with some lovely old buildings. We are architect leading the design team.
We just got back from the printers our first little book of work.
Started on site on an unusual long thin dormer in Portobello. Today we saw view from the top for the first time (imagine a lovely summer’s evening).
Building design magazine publish news of our Toddlers Hut panning approval.
Konishi Gaffney = top 10 UK Architects! [who tweet].
In Building Design Magazine (link behind paywall).
Our house (and family) included in Unhappy Hipsters website: a dry critique of contemporary lifestyle photography and design (which we love!).
Edinburgh Architcture Association Awards submission today.
The Architects Journal invited us to write a short piece on likely impact of independence on Scottish Architects.
And in same edition of the magazine comment on potential closing of Strathclyde University Architecture building.
Konishi Gaffney included in list of “Top Architects” in Scotland for 2013. We were pleased & surprised to be named in 11th place making us the top small practice in Edinburgh and the youngest practice in the top 20. Full article here.
2011 natural play in Tokyo.
Glass goes in and last minute work on tiling and exterior rendering.
Our Trinity House project published in the Architecture Scotland Annual.
Our Christmas cards went this week. Lots of research and testing by Makiko. We are using these folding techniques to design a garden office and a chicken coop.
Construction progresses at B-listed house in Portobello.
Model tests for Papa Westry Bonfire architecture competition.
The Toddlers Hut model at the Royal Scottish Academy of Arts & Architecture. We had two works selected for the RSA open exhibition which runs from Nov 24th – Dec 16th, RSA on the Mound, Edinburgh. Photos by Eileen Hall.
The Toddlers Hut not-for-profit playgroup on the beach in Portobello goes in for planning.
Makiko and Kieran have been invited by Edinburgh University Students Architecture Society to talk at Edinburgh University. Friday 9th November at 6:30pm.
First images of the exhibition “Above Scotland” we designed at the Lighthouse in Glasgow for RCHAMS and A+DS.
Images by Eileen Hall.
Private view tomorrow for the Above Scotland Exhibition at the Lighthouse in Glasgow.
We designed and fabricated 25 bespoke steel tables, each with a magnifying lens lamp, for an exhibition at the Lighthouse in Glasgow.
Above Scotland, exhibition at the Lighthouse in Glasgow, invitation.
Participated in Portobello High School community consultation. Thoroughly unsatisfactory meeting. However… We were table #3. Our conclusions drawn on page above (click to enlarge) but just to summarise:
1A. IN PARALLEL with the above Council should start feasibility into option 2 site.
NB our table also concluded following:
Origami flyer of our recently finished Trinity Project.
Makiko is talking at Edinburgh Napier University today about her background and route into design.
Makiko and Kieran are talking about their competition winning scheme for Killcreggan.
Made by artist & steel fabricator Johannes Sailer our steel table for an exhibition in October.
Talk by Kieran at the V&A Dundee in May 2012, introduction by Philip Long.
Video by Phil Richardson, University of Dundee. Thanks to the V&A Dundee.
Kieran presented some of the practice’s work in Brighton.
Image copyright and thanks to Jim Stephenson.
Kieran has been invited by RIBA Sussex to talk in Brighton on the theme of “creative responses to unused space” part of LoveArchitecture.org.
Philips Lighting publish interview with Kieran on Sustainable design.
Scottish Government publish our Japanese House as part of their Inspirational Designs agenda.
Exhibition at New London Architecture. Image copyright and thanks to Agnese Sanvito.
New planning application today for this extension to listed building.
Kieran presented the practice’s work at the V&A in Dundee under the theme “Site Specific”. Link to video to follow.
We didn’t win.
Published in the peabody brochure for shortlisted schemes and exhibited at New London Architecture.
We have been shortlisted for the Peabody Housing Competition in East London.
Winners announced on 17th May | Exhibition opens on the 9th May at New London Architecture.
Design development model in progress for house extension, Edinburgh.
The Japanese House, Edinburgh featured in the special 100th anniversary edition of Grand Designs Magazine. Eight page article by Jill MacNair with photographs by Ben Anders.
KGA are proud to announce that the V&A has invited us together with DO Architecture from Glasgow and Kennedy Twaddle from London / Dundee to give the V&A at Dundee‘s annual keynote address. Part of the Ignite Festival in Dundee on 19th May. The 2011 lecture was given by Kengo Kuma.
We were invited to submit a proposal for a 5000m2 office building in Geneva. The site was complicated with a North frontage and surrounded by a mix of housing, office and light industrial buildings. Our proposal was to make a deep timber frame with a mix of timber and glass infill to soften the building. This image by the fantastic Jonathan Knox of Pixogram.
Special thanks to new employee Frazer Haviz who has been working hard on these competitions.
The Architects Journal publish their Peckham Charrette issue. Konishi Gaffney invited and led one of the six architect / lighting teams.
We were invited by Philips Lighting and The Architects Journal to a design charette on Peckham in London. Marianne and Kieran attended from the studio.
Scottish government publishes our Bath Street and Japanese House projects in their new exemplar pages entitled Inspirational Designs.
Just been sent a copy of the Urban Realm Architecture Scotland Annual 2011 with our Bath Street project.
How do you place a modern extension onto an asymmetric 1970’s house?
Our answer was to ignore that problem and solve a different problem: How to give more height to the ground floor extension when there is a flat roof balcony 2.5m above…
I like our solution (the steps point at the amazing view) and this was done in 6 hours proving we can tailor our services to your requirements!
Consultation photographs from our Toddler Hut project.
Architects Journal news article on the Peckham Rye Lane Urban Design charette. Online version in the Architects Journal (subscription may be required)
KGA were invited by the Architects Journal as one of six architects & lighting designers to work on the Peckham Rye Lane Urban Design charette. The event (on 23rd February) was sponsored by Philips Lighting who also invited us to Eindhoven to see their R&D factory and new products.
Article in the Architects Journal (subscription may be required). Photo by Merlin Fulcher.
Pictures of our Trinity project back from the photographer.
Published in the fabulous No.1 Magazine.
Toddler Hut model images added to project page and article in the Scotsman on Toddler Hut consultations.
Toddler Hut public consultation tomorrow afternoon at the local library.
Photography day with Alan Craigie of our recently completed projects at Trinity and Willowbrae in Edinburgh. (This one an i-phone pic of mine, not the real thing!)
In progress 1:300 site model by Sheffield architecture school graduates Rafaela and Josh.
We make the list (only architect) in Scotland’s The Herald 2012 press review of year called “Who’s Hot & What’s Happening”. Many thanks to Module Architects for alerting us to the fact.
Wallpaper* magazine publish picture of Makiko & Kieran with 4 other practices in the Architecture Gallery at the V&A with short article about projects.
Work nears completion on this small project for kitchen / dining / living alterations.
Sketch design work on a small house alterations project.
Working on some iterations of form for a small children’s nursery using the fantastic Pepakura designer which allows you to make very quick paper models from 3D computer models.
Konishi Gaffney Architects won a prestigious Saltire Housing Award commendation for the Bath Street Window project.
The Saltire Awards are 75 years old and the most prestigious awards in Scotland. We are delighted to have won having been shortlisted for the Japanese House in 2010. Congratulations to the builder Watson & Lyall who were there to pick up the award and the structural engineer Tall Engineers.
Kieran is introducing Minka a short documentary by Davina Pardo of Birldings Films at the Edinburgh Architecture Association on Wednesday 30th November 2011.
Progress on our project in Willowbrae, Edinburgh. Here new steel beams are encased in plasterboard to give short fire resistance.
Photographer Alan Craigie took some great pictures of our Greenhill Place kitchen doors, nicknamed Alice in Wonderland doors as the scale of the opening is so large.
Kieran wrote to the AJ about the Doolan RIAS best building in Scotland Prize and was published as letter of the week. We are looking forward to an honorary AJ china mug in the post!
We spent two week in France over the summer with our friend Frances Doherty, she “encourgaed” me into making a ceramic tile (all her guests do) and has now posted it on her pottery blog. Mine is a maquette of the entry sequence to our Fermanagh house.
Frances makes incredible ceramic sculptures (see her blue bells for example) which are a hand made version of biomimicry | parametricism. The sculptural repetition has an architectural power that I am trying to find a way of using on a building scale.
Just back from an extraordinary week visiting Sutherland (the far North West of Scotland) we had never been before and were overawed by the landscape. Really want to work in this area – so if you have a project let us know!
Working up presentation drawings of our Canted House. Project listing to follow.
Planning application for small, affordable timber clad extension and alterations to this existing house in Portobello goes in.
This project is a very simple design solution – a set of 3m high doors for a kitchen, out the garden. One thinner door opens in, the other larger door opens out.
The Client loves it and claims it has radically changed their house and how they live, which is why I love domestic architecture; small changes can make a disproportionate difference.
Interview on local TV station, URTV, about the Kilcreggan Competion win.
The 2011 Saltire Housing Design Awards shortlist was announced today. Our £25K Bath Street Window is up against strong competition so we’re not holding our breath…Nice to be recognised though after our Japanese House made the 2010 shortlist.
Konishi Gaffney architects presented on Saturday evening to the community and 6 judges in Kilcreggan village hall, we had expected 15-20 people so were pleased and surprised to see a packed hall. We were very pleased to have won from a large number of entrants (the shortlist was 6 from 56) and look forward to working with a very intelligent (and forthright) community lead by the Rosneath Peninsula West Community Development Trust.
This image of proposed beach and pool in the bay, located on the Highland boundary fault line.
Thanks to the Glasgow Institute of Architects for a very well run competition. Full results here.
Shortlisted for GIA run design competition: Kilcreggan – a future for rural communities. Presentation and judging on the 20th August 2011.
Published in US based Dwell Magazine and parodied in Unhappy Hipsters whose tagline “It’s lonely in the modern world” we love. Pictures by Ben Anders.
Sedum roof matting installed on Friday on our Trinity project. The green cable in a temporary watering supply mechanism (hence also the water in the valley gutter).
Visited Zaha Hadid’s Riverside Museum in Glasgow. Great building.
At the summer soltice it’s hard to remember what noon on January 2nd looked like. Here it is, when we visited the new site for a house in Fermanagh. The house we designed, under wraps for now, is currently in for planning which is an interminably long process in Northern Ireland.
ScotLarch cladding at the listed Trinity House.
Art of Leith Exhibition opens.
Shortlisted for a second Saltire Housing award in a row for our tiny Bath Street Window project. The last set of Judges from the EAA didn’t visit in the end which was very disappointing.
Art of Leith Exhibition poster uses our Fermanagh House image. Please come along to the exhibition and to the Open Studios day.
BetonHala Exhibition Centre Competition winners announced.
Cleared Fraser’s desk today by [finally] getting these models up on the wall.
Our Bath Street Window makes the cover of Beautiful Kitchens Magazine.
Scottish Larch cladding from Russwood sample panel approved by client today.
Competition proposal, first model images.
Site progress on our Trinity extension – cladding panels going on and ground levelled.
Matsushima, where we lived for three years appears largely to have missed the main tsunami demolition. Aerial photo montage post-tsunami 14th March 2011. CLICK HERE for very large image (may take a few minutes). 5KM to the East Higashi-matsushima looks like this.
Sketch model for new house in Ireland.
Site progress on our Trinity extension.
Shortlisted for an EAA small projects award 2011 for the Bath Street Window project.
Our Japanese House published by Danish / Norweigen design magazine Bo Bedre.
In Tokyo for three weeks (as Thomas Heatherwick would say “on a research trip”). Met and interviewed architect Kengo Kuma today for a magazine article about his brilliant competition winning project for the V&A in Dundee.
Our Bath Street Window published on the cover of The Architects Journal as part of the shortlist for the small projects award 2011.
EAA small projects award submission deadline today.
First sketch model of our Fermanagh house, thinking about cob, straw bale or clay daub textures.
Japanese house published as a budget self build home, see press for full article.
Joined the walk-a-chat group climbing the unpronounceable Stuc an Lochain. We had really amazing weather (clear blue skies and no wind) as we climbed through thick snow chatting about art’n’stuff.
Simon Whatley’s beautiful furniture was photographed in our house by Robert Pereira Hind back in September. We were very impressed with the images.
You can now hire out our Japanese House for photo shoots for the day via Location Scotland.
Study / furniture plwood model at 1:10.
A very snowy site at our extension & conversion to grade B listed Trinity House. Thankfully the large internal changes mean it is not slowing up the contractor, Wilkie Construction, too much as they can get on with internal works. Externally the standpipe is frozen every morning and the concrete freezes in the mixer after 20 minutes. The foundations were cast just in time according to the contractor, though I don’t know when they will be able to cast the ground bearing slab.
Published in January edition of self build magazine Build It pictures by Douglas Gibb.
We just found out that we didn’t win the Loreto Sports Hall competition in Dublin. We are disappointed but also a bit irritated with the competition process.
Demolition on a sunny morning at Trinity House, Edinburgh. I find this picture artistic even though it is a progress ‘snap’ of a new opening. There is something vaguely ominous in it.
Working on a tiny project for a study which we are proposing as a plywood insert with its own shoji screen.
We are very proud to officially welcome our new employee Fraser McQuade. Fraser won the EAA medal as best 3rd year student at ECA which Kieran presented back in June (news 10/06/2010).
Our alteration and extension of the listed Trinity House (Edinburgh) starts on site with some speedy demolitions.
Our extension in Scotstoun (Glasgow) added to the projects list.
Invited by Edinburgh University Student Architecture Society to give a talk on Japan and our Japanese House on Friday 29th October 2010 18:30.
Archello publish our information and a story about the Japanese House here.
Japanese House published by Wallpaper* Magazine as reason number for 5 for being in the UK, very proud and nice words by Caroline Ednie.
Informed by a client that we had been published by RBS Sense magazine, weird thing was no-one had gotten in contact with us to discuss in advance. Editor was very apologetic but truth is this is good publicity for us. Just cleaned out our junk mail and spotted e-mail from journalist in July.
Site visit for one of our early projects that sailed out of the office last year. Note to self: no more of these “stop at Stage E” projects.
Doors Open Day 2010 was a great success. Estimates vary but we think around 1,500 people visited our little house (it was very busy). To all who attended, thank you for your patience, kind words and good humour.
Special thanks to Maggie Spalding from the Cockburn Association without whom we would have been swamped and to Neil, Fraser, Nancy, Clare & Paul for their help and support.
Please CLICK HERE to support the Cockburn Association.
We also saw 55.02 by Sixteen Makers at Kielder (My old friends Nick Calicott, Phil Ayres and Bob Sheil). An amazing piece of architecture – Makiko loved it for it’s Japanese-ness and I for it’s complexity of construction; I wish we had access to making skills and technologies like these.
Link to Bob Sheil’s proto architecture manifesto on Leopold Lambert’s blog.
Spent the weekend at Kielder looking at art and architecture including James Turrell’s Sky Space.
New Business Cards with 1:1 scale image of the Big Black Pillar; with the unexpected effect that when you hold up the card against the pillar the card disappears.
First draft of the photos (in the rain) of the Bath Street window by David Clark.
Trinity extension receives planning permission and listed building consent.
The Cockburn Association Edinburgh Doors Open Day brochure arrives and we have a page to ourselves. See press page for more info. Now all we have to do is open up on the day – we have been told to expect between 500-1000 people.
Saltire awards shortlist announced in RIAS Quarterly magazine.
Our client for the Borders House sent us this image of the cladding now well under way.
David finishes off his placement with some revised images of the Portobello Long House.
Snagging the Bath Street window today.
Konishi Gaffney architects are participating in the 2010 Architect In The House scheme which offers homeowners a one hour consultation with an architect in return for a donation to homeless charity Shelter.
Shortlist for Saltire Award announced. A Flickr set with images of all the projects shortlisted in 5 categories.
News Link Housing Today.
Homes & Interiors Scotland magazine publish a 6 page article on the Japanese House.
Konishi Gaffney architects are joined by student architect David Clark for a few weeks over summer.
Konishi Gaffney architects are joined by talented young architect James Falconer. Welcome aboard James.
Japanese house shortlisted for a Saltire Housing Award, judges are visiting on Thursday 24th June 2010.
Kieran Gaffney presents EAA JR McKay medal to Fraser McQuade, the best 3rd year student at Edinburgh Collge of Art 2010. See EAA website article.
We have moved into our new space – a shared arts studio in “Out of the Blue” in Dalmeny Street. However, our main address is still the Japanese House in Bellfield Lane.
Kieran judged the EAA “JR McKay” medal with Robert Black and Angus Eitel at the Edinburgh College of Art, very interesting.
Construction continues on the Bath St Window as the main glass panels are installed.
The Japanese House featured with a 6 page article in the Scotland on Sunday, At Home magazine.
Aaron Britt from Dwell Magazine visits us for breakfast during his Scotland tour and sends a postcard back to the magazine.
Boys day in Japan. Construction continues on the Bath St Window.
Kieran will give a short talk as one of the EAA award winners for 2010 on the Japanese House, at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, from 17:30.
The japanese House featured in the Green Homes issue of Homebuilding and Renovating Magazine.
Kieran invited to review 5th year diploma projects at Strathclyde University in Glasgow.
Our project Bath St Window on site; the big opening has been formed and project should be finished in 3-4 weeks.
Kieran and Makiko invited to review project work and portfolios for 2nd year architecture students at the Edinburgh College of Art.
Press article in Building Design.
Konishi Gaffney architects win EAA small projects award.
“The Small Projects Award was made to Konishi Gaffney architects for their Japanese House. Designed for a Scottish-Japanese family, the house incorporates several Japanese themes and provides a light-filled and comfortable family home in Portobello.”
Makiko and Kieran received the award at the Balmoral Hotel (on April Fool’s day).
EAA Website news
Press article in New Practices column of the Architects Journal Unfortunately subscriber only content. Click here for a jpg of the article.
Japanese House shortlisted for EAA small project award 2010.
Submission made for EAA small project award 2010.
Many thanks to Alan Craigie who took some great new photographs.
Kieran was placed 11th in the 2009 Zumtobel photographic competition from 2,000 entries with the top 22 invited for lunch in Nottinghill on February 12th 2010. The pictures were all taken using fixed lens throwaway cameras so we haven’t even seen the images yet, should be fun.
Update: images published in Building Design.
Kieran and Makiko are showing some work at Pecha Kucha Night Edinburgh. 17th December 2009 7:30 – 9 pm.
Pecha Kucha Night was devised in Tokyo in February 2003 as an event for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public. Drawing its name from the Japanese term for the sound of “chit chat”, it is based on a simple idea: 20 images x 20 seconds with each talk lasting around 7mins.
At Inspace (the Informatics Building at Edinburgh University) 1 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB
The event is free but needs advance booking www.pecha-kucha.org/night/edinburgh/6
Kieran was invited critic for 3rd year architecture students at Edinburgh College of Art.
Revised image for Bath Street Window.
1000 postcards printed for distribution in Portobello.
Attended the Royal Society of Edinburgh Discussion Forum ‘Engineering Scotland and Japan: Past, Present and Future’.
Amazing drawing made to represent the construction process for a very interesting little exhibition project in California College of Arts. The project is most interesting for it’s use of 3D modelling and parametrics to auto-create this complex structure. LIFT ARCHITECTS
Planning Permission and Listed Building Consent granted for our Bath Street Window project; a grade B listed building in a Conservation Area. Consent was granted following consultation in 6 weeks and without contention.
Borders House construction started – timber kit erected in three weeks.