Sonia Browse Architects

02/11/2026

Is it time to rethink the 1930s bungalow?

With a housing crisis and continued pressure to build on greenfield land, shouldn’t we be thinking more ambitiously about how we adapt and densify the housing we already have?

Edinburgh has swathes of 1930s bungalows. Modest houses on generous plots, routinely extended with box dormers that add considerable building envelope for relatively little usable space, or rear extensions that compromise daylight to existing rooms.

These models explore whether reshaping the existing roof and footprint, rather than simply adding to them, could create more generous family homes with a more efficient building envelope while retaining the gardens that make these houses so appealing.

Perhaps it’s time to rethink the typology rather than keep adding to it.

15/10/2026

A sneak peek at our Beldi project coming to life. More to come!

With SF Structures Scotland Ltd, SJR Contracts and Matthew Robertson

01/09/2026

Planning approved for the reworking of this nineteenth-century townhouse in south Edinburgh.

While much of the original house works beautifully, the rear is a fragmented arrangement of spaces, disconnected from one another and from the garden beyond.

Our proposals centre on one carefully targeted intervention at the junction between the original house and outshoot, unlocking the whole rear of the house. A new light-filled connecting void draws daylight deep into the plan, resolves the changes in level, opens up views and movement between the different spaces, and reconnects the house to the garden.

A relatively modest intervention that allows the existing spaces to work together in an entirely new way.

With SF Structures Scotland

25/06/2026

We’re proud to share that our has been awarded Silver in the Low-Cost Project Schemes category at this year’s .

A sincere thank you to our fantastic clients and the wider project team for their trust, collaboration and dedication throughout. This recognition reflects the collective effort behind the project, the value of a thoughtful design process, and the relationships that helped bring it to life.

With Elena Magliveras, SF Structures Scotland Ltd, PT Glazing and SJR Contracts

20/05/2026

Overlap House has been shortlisted for a Scottish Design Award in the Low-Cost Project Schemes under £250k category.

This project takes a typical 1930s bungalow in Edinburgh and with careful shifts, pulls and adjustments the building becomes a series of unfolding, overlapping spaces that become greater than the sum of their parts.

To be recognised alongside our peers and to see the variety and quality of design and architecture in Scotland on display is a real joy.

Sending congratulations to all finalists and a huge thank you to our brilliant clients, consultants and contractors for being such a great team.

With SF Structures Scotland Ltd, SJR Contracts and

19/05/2026

Each project starts with looking and listening.

These diagrams show the initial analysis for a new home in North Berwick, recently granted planning permission. They are part of an early process of understanding the character of a place and testing what it might become.

Before ideas take shape, we spend time observing what is already there. Through careful observation, connections begin to emerge and a direction for the project slowly reveals itself.

12/05/2026

02/05/2026

Looking forward to showing people round Overlap House next weekend. Please follow the link if you’d like to join us!

We are so grateful to the owners of EAA Building of the Year, Overlap House, who are welcoming small groups for tours of their home, alongside Sonia Browse Architects.

Tours will last an hour, and be on the hour between 1pm and 5pm on Saturday 9th May.

To book your tour of this beautifully thought out family home, please visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/spotlight-on-overlap-house-x-sonia-browse-architects-tickets-1988473088536?keep_tld=true.