Dolphin Square, London’s most iconic riverside address, is being transformed for a new generation of residents. As architect and lead designer for Phases 2 and 3 of the complex restoration programme, Hewn is refurbishing over 1,000 apartments as well as communal areas, a retail offering, and ground floor spaces across the Grade II-listed estate. The design honours Dolphin Square’s art deco craftsmanship while bringing clarity, generosity, and light to a wide spectrum of homes ranging from compact studios to six-bedroom family flats. Delivering against key sustainability objectives, additional improvements to the building envelope, sensitive upgrades, and thoughtful retrofits aim to enhance resident experience and support modern living alongside an elevated material palette.

An elegant material palette of soft neutral tones, warm concrete, refined timber accents, and recycled stone finishes elevate apartment interiors and compliment the building’s distinctive art deco character. Layouts have been reconfigured to prioritise natural light and achieve cleaner sightlines between rooms, aided by carefully modulated ceiling heights that introduce a sense of openness. This design philosophy continues into communal areas, where warm concrete, bronze detailing, generous planting, and glazed lobby fronts form a seamless transition between the large communal garden and private dwellings, reinforcing a sense of coherence and ease across the estate.

A fabric-first approach to strengthening environmental performance aims to enhance comfort, reduce energy use, and support long-term resilience across the estate. Improvements to insulation, roofing, and windows significantly reduce heat loss, while new services infrastructure—including air source heat pumps, photovoltaic panels, and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery—enable a transition toward efficient, low-carbon operation. Durable, long-life materials were selected to minimise future waste and ensure interior finishes perform well within a high-use residential environment. Phase 2 achieved BREEAM Excellent as a result, establishing the standard for subsequent works, with Phase 3 targeting the same certification.