Bespoke Illustrations for a Wedding

Studio 425 are pleased to present these bespoke illustrations for a wedding party. The hand drawn illustrations describe the table names for the wedding breakfast.

Each image was developed following in depth conversation with the bride and groom about table arrangements and common interests between the guests.

Using Photosynth Desktop to Create DIY Streetviews

Photosynth Desktop allows you to stitch together photographs from many viewpoints and move between them in real time. In theory, this could be used to create home-made, DIY versions of Google's Streetview. This article looks at Studio 425's attempt to create a home made Streetview of Watney Market, in East London.

Photosynth Desktop builds on the panorama software and smart-phone apps, reviewed by Studio 425 in February 2013. The Desktop software create 'synths' composed of multiple 2 dimensional photographs. The software creates a virtual model of the photographed scene and displays the whole scene as a series of overlapping images.

Road Testing the Photosynth Panorama App

Microsoft's Photosynth Panorama App is a mobile phone app that lets you capture 360 degree panoramic photos. These can be viewed as swipable panoramas on your iPhone, iPad or Windows Phone, shared online or exported as simple jpgs.

The Most Useful Maps for Architects

Online map services like Google Earth and Streetview have revolutionised the way architects collect information on development sites. But they are just the tip of the iceberg. This article looks at how internet giants like Google and Bing have created the ‘virtual site visit’, while smaller, niche services provide other vital information, like flood risk zones, post codes and relevant planning policies.

Sketchup Model of Remodelled Tudor Mansion

Following a number of recent visualisation commissions, Studio 425 are pleased to present a virtual model of a Tudor mansion and private home in the Hertfordshire borough of Broxbourne.

London Buildings Grow, Change and Disappear on Google Street View Video

Studio 425 are pleased to present the short video ‘Time Travel with Google Street View’, in which London’s buildings appear to grow, change their façades and disappear completely, thanks to the quirks of Google Street View.

Free Sketchup Models – a High Quality Furniture Collection

The Trimble Sketchup 3D Warehouse showcases thousands of free Sketchup models available for download and is an invaluable resource for Sketchup users of of all abilities. However, finding the right component for use in your own Sketchup model can be laborious as the quality of free models ranges wildly. With that in mind, Studio 425 have created the Designer Furniture collection, a high quality collection of designer furniture pieces, ready for download and ideal for use in design models and animations.

Virtual Model of a Home and Garden

Studio 425 recently prepared a virtual 3D model of a private home and garden in the London Borough of Merton. The site, a single family home in an affluent area near Wimbledon Park, slopes dramatically and includes a number of terraces, embankments and retaining walls. The site topography made it hard for the home owners to visualise how to make best use of their available space.

Planning for Localism; a Community Workshop in Elmbridge

The Coalition’s flagship Localism Act 2011 aims to make planning decisions more democratic and more efficient by involving local communities in local planning policy.

Elmbridge Borough Council, in affluent North Surrey, recently hosted a community workshop event to ask residents of Molesey what sort of development they’d like and where the council should be investing money from the Community Infrastructure Levy, or CIL.

Flood Risk Planning Policy Explained in Plain English

‘Flood Risk’ sounds dangerous. Two words suggesting disaster and uncertainty might be enough to put off all but the most seasoned designers and developers. 

In fact, much of what you need to know about developments in areas at risk of flooding can be found in a simple table within the Technical Guidance to the National Planning Policy Framework.

Architectural Perspectives of a Domestic Rear Extension

 We are pleased to present these perspective views of a domestic rear extension for a family home in the London Borough of Richmond. Working with an architect's general arrangement plans and elevations, supplied in DWG format, John Inglis produced these artists' impressions as part of the architect's design development and design communication process.

3D Walkthrough for Bathroom Interior

Studio 425 is pleased to present this 3D walkthrough for a high-end bathroom interior for a domestic extension. The walkthrough lets anyone with a web browser enter a virtual 3D model and explore the bathroom design from eye level.

Using simple controls you can walk around, look up, down, left and right and switch to pre-prepared views.

Road Testing the Sketchup Web Exporter

Google Sketchup’s 3D Web Exporter allows you to generate web-based 3D views of your Sketchup models, that can be rotated and viewed from 360 degrees. We took the Sketchup Web Exporter plugin for a test drive to see how easily it can be used.

Hand Drawn Architectural Illustrations from Owen Pomery

A new website, Analogue Vision presents the distinctive architectural illustrations of Owen Pomery, a freelance illustrator based in London. 

The site showcases Pomery’s architectural sketches and includes a new image of Studio 425’s proposal for Greenpeace’s Airplot in the village of Sipson.

Extension Wins Planning Permission in Elmbridge

Studio 425 architect John Inglis recently gained planning permission for a large residential extension to a private home in Elmbridge, Surrey. 

Feasibility Sketch for a Residential Extension

Studio 425 is pleased to present this sketch proposal for an extension to a suburban home in the London borough of Sutton.

If you are interested in extending your home and would like to talk about gaining extra living space, a new open plan kitchen or adding value with extra bedrooms please feel free to contact us. 

You can email studio425@london.com or find John Inglis on twitter as @johnsketches

Understanding Lux and Light Levels

Light levels or illuminance can seem complicated. The human eye can cope with a huge range of light levels, from less than 1 lux (lx) to nearly 10,000 lx. The graphic opposite looks at light levels in lux and what numbers relate to common environments such as reading desks or supermarket aisles.

Thames Gateway Population Projection Graphics

We are pleased to present these original graphics representing the future population of East London and the Thames Gateway.

The figures are based on population projections produced by the Office of National Statistics and were produced by John Inglis.

Recommended Reading: 'The Transition Handbook – From Oil Dependency to Local Resilience' by Rob Hopkins

In his 2008 book, Rob Hopkins argues that peak oil and climate change are inextricably linked, will have a massive impact on all aspects of modern life and an outlines how this 'transition' can be used as an opportunity to improve the economy, our lifestyles, diet, health, and the resilience of local communities.

The Peak Oil theory sensibly states that as there is only so much oil available on this planet, eventually its supply will peak and decline, causing energy costs to rise. Some people argue that this peak in production has already been reached. While the date of the peak is debatable, the inevitability of the peak itself is undeniable and the sooner we prepare for rising energy costs, the better prepared we will be.

Big Building, Little Building – A gallery of contrasting scales in architecture

When discussing new buildings with planners, local councillors or neighbours, people often assume that a new building should not be any taller than its immediate neighbours. Many people assume that a change in scale, say from two storeys to four is inevitably insensitive and damaging to the older buildings.

While this view is popular, it isn't particularly traditional and is arguably a modern manifestation of NIMBYism. It is also very damaging, as the world be a very bland place if every building had to be the same height as its neighbours.

With this in mind we have drawn together an image gallery of buildings that show how little and large buildings can happily sit side by side. We've intentionally concentrated on older buildings, often in desirable or affluent areas of London.

Open Big Building / Little Building in a new tab

View Big Building / Little Building in a larger map

Open Big Building / Little Building in a new tab

RPAs - Planning and Building Near Trees with Root Protection Areas

If you are planning to build near to existing trees, you will need to protect their roots throughout construction and occupation of the building. This is simply done by designating a Root Protection Area around the tree into which the new building does not intrude and contractors do not enter during construction. This article introduces the rules of thumb behind Root Protection Areas (RPAs), how they can be estimated at an early stage.

Outerspace UK nominated for Landscape Institute Award

Outerspace UK Landscape Architects have been nominated for an award by the Landscape Institute.



The nomination recognises Outerspace's work on the Ancient Market Area in Kingston-upon-Thames. Outerspace worked with animators Room60 to produce the short film 'The Spell of the Ancient Market Area', which we are pleased to present, above.

The film combines 3D modelling, historical images, bespoke hand-drawn illustrations, photography and audio recordings from Kingston's lively food market. The film describes Outerspace's design approach to refurbishing the market area and was submitted to the Royal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames as part of an invited competition.

How to add yourself to the Illustrator Map - Simple Instructions

To add yourself to the Illustrator Map follow three easy steps

1 - Add your location
Open bit.ly/illustratormap in a new tab or window.
Click on 'Save to My Places' to save the map to your google places.
Click on 'Edit', which should be top right in the side bar.
Find your location on the map and right-click.
You should see 'Add a Placemark' in the right-click menu.
Select 'Add a Placemark' and give the title as your Twitter @handle.

Outbuildings and Permitted Development Rights

Most houses in England and Wales benefit from permitted development rights that allow homes to be extended without applying for planning permission. Whilst loft conversions and conservatories are the most popular forms of extension under permitted development rights, the General Permitted Development Order 2008 or GDPO is actually most generous where outbuildings are concerned. This article looks at how to get the most out of permitted development rights for outbuildings, garden rooms, summerhouses, garden sheds and home offices.

The Colour Green – Jargon-busting the NPPF

The Coalition Government's proposed* changes to national planning policy have received a lot of attention recently. In particular the National Planning Policy Framework's 'presumption in favour of sustainable development' has been criticised as a builder's charter that will allow greedy developers to concrete over the English Countryside. 

Public perception of the NPPF and planning policy in general is not helped by the often bewildering interpretation of apparently straightforward language. In particular I am thinking of the word 'green' which is key to our understanding both policies and places.


This article looks at the policy-specific meaning of the word 'green' and how this tallies (or otherwise) with what you might expect it to mean.

The Illustrator Map

Studio 425 are looking for illustrators to add themselves to the Illustrator Map. Anyone can add themselves and use the map to network with other illustration professionals or just browse to see some great work.

To add yourself, visit http://bit.ly/illustratormap


View Illustrators on Twitter in a larger map

Recommended Reading: 'How Bad are Bananas? - The Carbon Footprint of Everything' by Mike Berners-Lee

In this highly accessible read, Tim Berners-Lee aims to demystify the world of carbon footprints and give the reader an 'instinct for carbon', similar to most peoples' instinct for money. In the same way that you know that a car costs a lot more to buy than a chocolate bar, Berners-Lee sets out how everyday objects and activities relate to each other in terms of their global warming impact, commonly described as carbon footprints.

Green Belt Planning Policy – PPG2 Explained in Plain English

Architects, landowners and developers are often wary of Green Belt sites as they think it cannot be built on. In fact, keys parts of local and national planning policies actually encourage development of Green Belt sites, so long as it is the right kind of building, supporting the right kind of use. 

This article looks at how the key planning policies promote Green Belt development and how you can use them to guide your scheme towards gaining planning permission.

Click and Print - Space Standards for Flats and Houses

Click and Print Guide to Target Areas for Flats and Houses

Simply click and print image opposite for a handy reminder of space standards for new housing, based on the London Plan, July 2011


For guidance on interpreting space standards, see 'Size Guide for Homebuyers, typical internal areas for Houses and Flats'

Size Guide for Homebuyers, typical internal areas for Houses and Flats

Most estate agents' websites include plans of the houses and flats they advertise. These often include the gross internal area, also known as square footage, square meterage or GIA. But how do you know if the number quoted is good or bad or the type of property? You can check it against other properties in the area, but this will only tell you how it compares locally, not whether it is a good size property.

This article looks at residential space standards and should help you interpret the vendor's plans and measurements before you visit a property.