A selection of our recent projects across residential, commercial, and civic spaces.

The Sherwood Library project is a major regeneration initiative in Nottingham, led by Nottingham City Council to replace the outdated library with a new flagship building, serving the community with both a library and a supermarket. ARC Design Studio supported the developer in winning the project through a competitive tender process, which included redeveloping 1.4 acres of former council land within Sherwood. ARC has since guided the project through all RIBA work stages, providing design, planning, technical services, and on-site support during construction.

The building follows a fabric-first approach, designed to operate on 100% renewable energy through solar panels and air source heat pumps. ARC collaborated closely with Nottingham City Council, engaging local councillors, the public, and stakeholders throughout the design and planning phases.

The library was completed in late 2023, with the interior fit-out scheduled for 2024. The residential component of the masterplan has been approved and is currently under construction.

Stratford One Eighty represents a major project for student operator Unite.

Unite purchased the building in 2022 with the intention of extending its accommodation offer to young professionals and retain them as customers as they move on to the next stage in their lives. This would be the first move for the student operator into the BTR sector.

The project involved the complete strip out and refurbishment of all 26 floors with the creation of new, modernised, accomodation untis suited to young professionals & post graduates. Alongside the accomodation works, the lower two floors of the building were retrofitted with extensive new amenity space and a bespoke office fitout which has since been let to a prime operator.

The resulting design is well catered for post graduates looking to move on from their traditional student accomodation. The range of modern, well lit flats provide various options to young professionals whilst the extensive amenity and coworking space ensure their lifestyles are supported.

East Court is a central London residential building that underwent extensive regeneration to create luxury student living and associated workspaces. ARC Design Studio collaborated closely with other consultants providing design management on behalf of the principle contractor and delivering the bespoke joinery design for all interior areas.

The design focused on crafting a range of premium amenity spaces, including lounges, bars, cinemas and creative coworking areas, serving both students and the public. Natural materials were prioritized wherever possible, enhancing the sense of warmth and quality throughout the interiors. One of the standout features is the bespoke timber grid partition system installed in the building’s double-height atrium. This framing system broke down the overly large atrium to create an eclectic mix of intimate and cosy workspaces that are more conducive to creativity.

Acting as Design Manager, ARC oversaw the project from concept to completion and ensuring that all finishes and details were delivered in line with the original vision. By focusing on the seamless integration of functionality and luxury, East Court now offers a blend of comfortable, creative spaces that reflect the unique needs of its residents while creating an inviting atmosphere for visitors.

The Ropewalk is a proposed mixed-use residential development in Nottingham’s Ropewalk Conservation area, situated next to the historic Canning Circus junction. The project will carefully restore and re-purpose part of the original building façade, preserving the site’s original stonework while incorporating a modern material palette.

Beneath the site lies an extensive cave network, which will be transformed into a distinctive ground-floor bar and hospitality venue. The rest of the development will be divided between short-stay accommodation and Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA), supporting local tourism and nearby educational institutions.

When revitalizing disused urban spaces, especially in city centers, it is essential to take a diverse and thoughtful approach. This ensures that projects not only enhance the existing community but also accommodate increasing occupancy demands. By densifying accommodation in city centers, we promote economic sustainability, create vibrant 24-hour activity, and foster connections between people’s work, life, and leisure. This, in turn, encourages chance encounters and strengthens social integration.

The Old Pump House is a good example of adaptive reuse. Constructed in the Victorian era, the building has had a long history serving the local community as an aquifer before becoming redundant. We felt that the most sensitive approach to this former Victorian structure was to tastefully convert the space into a bespoke family dwelling utilising as many of the original features as possible. By repurposing the building in this way, we were able to reduce the carbon footprint of the construction process whilst preserving the history of the site for generations to come.

The original building had been adapted over years of misuse with original windows damaged or removed along with the original roof structure. Our intervention restored all of the original features, weaving in contemporary features and on site energy generation to create a sustainable family dwelling.

Taking a fabric-first approach, the design incorporated solar panels, electric boilers, underfloor heating, and drainage attenuation to ensure a sustainable, energy-efficient home that harmonises with its greenbelt setting. This sensitive intervention preserves the heritage of the site for future generations while creating a modern, sustainable living space

Spondon Street in Sherwood, Nottingham, is a residential regeneration site which is focussed on remediating a former car park and creating a vibrant new family housing community. The development has been carefully deisgn to combine the Victorian vernacular with modern features including electric boilers and solar panels.

This project addresses the local demand for family homes and apartments, offering 12 dwelling houses and 22 apartments for young professionals in Sherwood, a well-established community in Nottingham.

Phase 1 included the construction of a new library, supermarket, and café, creating a community hub at the site’s entrance. These additions can be viewed in our Sherwood Library portfolio section.

Our masterplan prioritised the infrastructure needed for the growing community before starting the residential construction. The new supermarket is now open, and the homes are scheduled for completion by Summer 2024. This development will not only provide much-needed family housing but also contribute to the vitality and sustainability of Sherwood by ensuring young professionals have the ability to get onto the property ladder locally.

This new assisted living development in Nottingham provides specialist housing for vulnerable individuals, addressing the care sector's need for high-quality residential properties tailored to a variety of needs, from mental health support to physical disabilities.

The design promotes social integration while maintaining privacy through self-contained accommodation. To foster community interaction, the development includes well-designed amenity spaces alongside dedicated staff areas, ensuring residents have access to support at all times.

A fabric-first approach was adopted to ensure long-term cost-effectiveness and accessibility. The latest multifoil insulation layers were integrated throughout the building, boosting energy efficiency and minimizing operational costs.

As part of the national roll out of critical infastructure projects across the UK, we have been involved in the masterplanning and development of several key Data Centre sites in a number of undisclosed locations.

Data centres host and support the digital infrastructure that underpins modern life – from patient records and emails to product data and financial systems. They are critical to nearly all economic activity and public services, and were designated as critical national infrastructure in 2024, putting data centres on an equal footing as water, energy and emergency services systems.

The Queens Drive PBSA scheme in Nottingham is a mixed-use development designed to bridge the gap between academia and industry. Strategically located near the University of Nottingham's new city centre campus this proposal fosters a deep integration of student life with the professional world, supporting the university’s focus on Research, AI, Data Science, and FinTech.

Comprising 717 student beds and 2,627 square meters of commercial space, the development is arranged around a central landscaped courtyard, creating an active, permeable environment that encourages interaction between students, professionals, and the wider community. The three blocks, with retail and commercial spaces at ground level and residential units above, have been carefully designed to provide a mix of live/work spaces where students can engage directly with industry through coworking areas and digital labs. These facilities are envisioned to support real-time collaboration with local businesses, enabling students to gain practical, hands-on experience within their fields of study.

The Sherwood Library project is a major regeneration initiative in Nottingham, led by Nottingham City Council to replace the outdated library with a new flagship building, serving the community with both a library and a supermarket. ARC Design Studio supported the developer in winning the project through a competitive tender process, which included redeveloping 1.4 acres of former council land within Sherwood. ARC has since guided the project through all RIBA work stages, providing design, planning, technical services, and on-site support during construction.

The building follows a fabric-first approach, designed to operate on 100% renewable energy through solar panels and air source heat pumps. ARC collaborated closely with Nottingham City Council, engaging local councillors, the public, and stakeholders throughout the design and planning phases.

The library was completed in late 2023, with the interior fit-out scheduled for 2024. The residential component of the masterplan has been approved and is currently under construction.

Stratford One Eighty represents a major project for student operator Unite.

Unite purchased the building in 2022 with the intention of extending its accommodation offer to young professionals and retain them as customers as they move on to the next stage in their lives. This would be the first move for the student operator into the BTR sector.

The project involved the complete strip out and refurbishment of all 26 floors with the creation of new, modernised, accomodation untis suited to young professionals & post graduates. Alongside the accomodation works, the lower two floors of the building were retrofitted with extensive new amenity space and a bespoke office fitout which has since been let to a prime operator.

The resulting design is well catered for post graduates looking to move on from their traditional student accomodation. The range of modern, well lit flats provide various options to young professionals whilst the extensive amenity and coworking space ensure their lifestyles are supported.

East Court is a central London residential building that underwent extensive regeneration to create luxury student living and associated workspaces. ARC Design Studio collaborated closely with other consultants providing design management on behalf of the principle contractor and delivering the bespoke joinery design for all interior areas.

The design focused on crafting a range of premium amenity spaces, including lounges, bars, cinemas and creative coworking areas, serving both students and the public. Natural materials were prioritized wherever possible, enhancing the sense of warmth and quality throughout the interiors. One of the standout features is the bespoke timber grid partition system installed in the building’s double-height atrium. This framing system broke down the overly large atrium to create an eclectic mix of intimate and cosy workspaces that are more conducive to creativity.

Acting as Design Manager, ARC oversaw the project from concept to completion and ensuring that all finishes and details were delivered in line with the original vision. By focusing on the seamless integration of functionality and luxury, East Court now offers a blend of comfortable, creative spaces that reflect the unique needs of its residents while creating an inviting atmosphere for visitors.

The Ropewalk is a proposed mixed-use residential development in Nottingham’s Ropewalk Conservation area, situated next to the historic Canning Circus junction. The project will carefully restore and re-purpose part of the original building façade, preserving the site’s original stonework while incorporating a modern material palette.

Beneath the site lies an extensive cave network, which will be transformed into a distinctive ground-floor bar and hospitality venue. The rest of the development will be divided between short-stay accommodation and Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA), supporting local tourism and nearby educational institutions.

When revitalizing disused urban spaces, especially in city centers, it is essential to take a diverse and thoughtful approach. This ensures that projects not only enhance the existing community but also accommodate increasing occupancy demands. By densifying accommodation in city centers, we promote economic sustainability, create vibrant 24-hour activity, and foster connections between people’s work, life, and leisure. This, in turn, encourages chance encounters and strengthens social integration.

The Old Pump House is a good example of adaptive reuse. Constructed in the Victorian era, the building has had a long history serving the local community as an aquifer before becoming redundant. We felt that the most sensitive approach to this former Victorian structure was to tastefully convert the space into a bespoke family dwelling utilising as many of the original features as possible. By repurposing the building in this way, we were able to reduce the carbon footprint of the construction process whilst preserving the history of the site for generations to come.

The original building had been adapted over years of misuse with original windows damaged or removed along with the original roof structure. Our intervention restored all of the original features, weaving in contemporary features and on site energy generation to create a sustainable family dwelling.

Taking a fabric-first approach, the design incorporated solar panels, electric boilers, underfloor heating, and drainage attenuation to ensure a sustainable, energy-efficient home that harmonises with its greenbelt setting. This sensitive intervention preserves the heritage of the site for future generations while creating a modern, sustainable living space

Spondon Street in Sherwood, Nottingham, is a residential regeneration site which is focussed on remediating a former car park and creating a vibrant new family housing community. The development has been carefully deisgn to combine the Victorian vernacular with modern features including electric boilers and solar panels.

This project addresses the local demand for family homes and apartments, offering 12 dwelling houses and 22 apartments for young professionals in Sherwood, a well-established community in Nottingham.

Phase 1 included the construction of a new library, supermarket, and café, creating a community hub at the site’s entrance. These additions can be viewed in our Sherwood Library portfolio section.

Our masterplan prioritised the infrastructure needed for the growing community before starting the residential construction. The new supermarket is now open, and the homes are scheduled for completion by Summer 2024. This development will not only provide much-needed family housing but also contribute to the vitality and sustainability of Sherwood by ensuring young professionals have the ability to get onto the property ladder locally.

This new assisted living development in Nottingham provides specialist housing for vulnerable individuals, addressing the care sector's need for high-quality residential properties tailored to a variety of needs, from mental health support to physical disabilities.

The design promotes social integration while maintaining privacy through self-contained accommodation. To foster community interaction, the development includes well-designed amenity spaces alongside dedicated staff areas, ensuring residents have access to support at all times.

A fabric-first approach was adopted to ensure long-term cost-effectiveness and accessibility. The latest multifoil insulation layers were integrated throughout the building, boosting energy efficiency and minimizing operational costs.

As part of the national roll out of critical infastructure projects across the UK, we have been involved in the masterplanning and development of several key Data Centre sites in a number of undisclosed locations.

Data centres host and support the digital infrastructure that underpins modern life – from patient records and emails to product data and financial systems. They are critical to nearly all economic activity and public services, and were designated as critical national infrastructure in 2024, putting data centres on an equal footing as water, energy and emergency services systems.

The Queens Drive PBSA scheme in Nottingham is a mixed-use development designed to bridge the gap between academia and industry. Strategically located near the University of Nottingham's new city centre campus this proposal fosters a deep integration of student life with the professional world, supporting the university’s focus on Research, AI, Data Science, and FinTech.

Comprising 717 student beds and 2,627 square meters of commercial space, the development is arranged around a central landscaped courtyard, creating an active, permeable environment that encourages interaction between students, professionals, and the wider community. The three blocks, with retail and commercial spaces at ground level and residential units above, have been carefully designed to provide a mix of live/work spaces where students can engage directly with industry through coworking areas and digital labs. These facilities are envisioned to support real-time collaboration with local businesses, enabling students to gain practical, hands-on experience within their fields of study.

The Sherwood Library project is a major regeneration initiative in Nottingham, led by Nottingham City Council to replace the outdated library with a new flagship building, serving the community with both a library and a supermarket. ARC Design Studio supported the developer in winning the project through a competitive tender process, which included redeveloping 1.4 acres of former council land within Sherwood. ARC has since guided the project through all RIBA work stages, providing design, planning, technical services, and on-site support during construction.

The building follows a fabric-first approach, designed to operate on 100% renewable energy through solar panels and air source heat pumps. ARC collaborated closely with Nottingham City Council, engaging local councillors, the public, and stakeholders throughout the design and planning phases.

The library was completed in late 2023, with the interior fit-out scheduled for 2024. The residential component of the masterplan has been approved and is currently under construction.

Stratford One Eighty represents a major project for student operator Unite.

Unite purchased the building in 2022 with the intention of extending its accommodation offer to young professionals and retain them as customers as they move on to the next stage in their lives. This would be the first move for the student operator into the BTR sector.

The project involved the complete strip out and refurbishment of all 26 floors with the creation of new, modernised, accomodation untis suited to young professionals & post graduates. Alongside the accomodation works, the lower two floors of the building were retrofitted with extensive new amenity space and a bespoke office fitout which has since been let to a prime operator.

The resulting design is well catered for post graduates looking to move on from their traditional student accomodation. The range of modern, well lit flats provide various options to young professionals whilst the extensive amenity and coworking space ensure their lifestyles are supported.

East Court is a central London residential building that underwent extensive regeneration to create luxury student living and associated workspaces. ARC Design Studio collaborated closely with other consultants providing design management on behalf of the principle contractor and delivering the bespoke joinery design for all interior areas.

The design focused on crafting a range of premium amenity spaces, including lounges, bars, cinemas and creative coworking areas, serving both students and the public. Natural materials were prioritized wherever possible, enhancing the sense of warmth and quality throughout the interiors. One of the standout features is the bespoke timber grid partition system installed in the building’s double-height atrium. This framing system broke down the overly large atrium to create an eclectic mix of intimate and cosy workspaces that are more conducive to creativity.

Acting as Design Manager, ARC oversaw the project from concept to completion and ensuring that all finishes and details were delivered in line with the original vision. By focusing on the seamless integration of functionality and luxury, East Court now offers a blend of comfortable, creative spaces that reflect the unique needs of its residents while creating an inviting atmosphere for visitors.

The Ropewalk is a proposed mixed-use residential development in Nottingham’s Ropewalk Conservation area, situated next to the historic Canning Circus junction. The project will carefully restore and re-purpose part of the original building façade, preserving the site’s original stonework while incorporating a modern material palette.

Beneath the site lies an extensive cave network, which will be transformed into a distinctive ground-floor bar and hospitality venue. The rest of the development will be divided between short-stay accommodation and Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA), supporting local tourism and nearby educational institutions.

When revitalizing disused urban spaces, especially in city centers, it is essential to take a diverse and thoughtful approach. This ensures that projects not only enhance the existing community but also accommodate increasing occupancy demands. By densifying accommodation in city centers, we promote economic sustainability, create vibrant 24-hour activity, and foster connections between people’s work, life, and leisure. This, in turn, encourages chance encounters and strengthens social integration.

The Old Pump House is a good example of adaptive reuse. Constructed in the Victorian era, the building has had a long history serving the local community as an aquifer before becoming redundant. We felt that the most sensitive approach to this former Victorian structure was to tastefully convert the space into a bespoke family dwelling utilising as many of the original features as possible. By repurposing the building in this way, we were able to reduce the carbon footprint of the construction process whilst preserving the history of the site for generations to come.

The original building had been adapted over years of misuse with original windows damaged or removed along with the original roof structure. Our intervention restored all of the original features, weaving in contemporary features and on site energy generation to create a sustainable family dwelling.

Taking a fabric-first approach, the design incorporated solar panels, electric boilers, underfloor heating, and drainage attenuation to ensure a sustainable, energy-efficient home that harmonises with its greenbelt setting. This sensitive intervention preserves the heritage of the site for future generations while creating a modern, sustainable living space

Spondon Street in Sherwood, Nottingham, is a residential regeneration site which is focussed on remediating a former car park and creating a vibrant new family housing community. The development has been carefully deisgn to combine the Victorian vernacular with modern features including electric boilers and solar panels.

This project addresses the local demand for family homes and apartments, offering 12 dwelling houses and 22 apartments for young professionals in Sherwood, a well-established community in Nottingham.

Phase 1 included the construction of a new library, supermarket, and café, creating a community hub at the site’s entrance. These additions can be viewed in our Sherwood Library portfolio section.

Our masterplan prioritised the infrastructure needed for the growing community before starting the residential construction. The new supermarket is now open, and the homes are scheduled for completion by Summer 2024. This development will not only provide much-needed family housing but also contribute to the vitality and sustainability of Sherwood by ensuring young professionals have the ability to get onto the property ladder locally.

This new assisted living development in Nottingham provides specialist housing for vulnerable individuals, addressing the care sector's need for high-quality residential properties tailored to a variety of needs, from mental health support to physical disabilities.

The design promotes social integration while maintaining privacy through self-contained accommodation. To foster community interaction, the development includes well-designed amenity spaces alongside dedicated staff areas, ensuring residents have access to support at all times.

A fabric-first approach was adopted to ensure long-term cost-effectiveness and accessibility. The latest multifoil insulation layers were integrated throughout the building, boosting energy efficiency and minimizing operational costs.

As part of the national roll out of critical infastructure projects across the UK, we have been involved in the masterplanning and development of several key Data Centre sites in a number of undisclosed locations.

Data centres host and support the digital infrastructure that underpins modern life – from patient records and emails to product data and financial systems. They are critical to nearly all economic activity and public services, and were designated as critical national infrastructure in 2024, putting data centres on an equal footing as water, energy and emergency services systems.

The Queens Drive PBSA scheme in Nottingham is a mixed-use development designed to bridge the gap between academia and industry. Strategically located near the University of Nottingham's new city centre campus this proposal fosters a deep integration of student life with the professional world, supporting the university’s focus on Research, AI, Data Science, and FinTech.

Comprising 717 student beds and 2,627 square meters of commercial space, the development is arranged around a central landscaped courtyard, creating an active, permeable environment that encourages interaction between students, professionals, and the wider community. The three blocks, with retail and commercial spaces at ground level and residential units above, have been carefully designed to provide a mix of live/work spaces where students can engage directly with industry through coworking areas and digital labs. These facilities are envisioned to support real-time collaboration with local businesses, enabling students to gain practical, hands-on experience within their fields of study.