51 architecture

51 architecture 51 is an AIA and RIBA award winning London based practice providing a full range of architectural and urban design services.

We have considerable experience working in historic and listed environments, on sites of special scientific interest and areas of outstanding natural beauty, both in the UK and abroad. We enjoy working with artists and arts organizations, as well as private clients. We aim to deliver excellence through our close attention to detail and collaborative, iterative working practice, often with large co

nsultant teams. Clients, fellow consultants and end users work as part of the design team to ensure the final product is beautiful, efficient and fit for purpose. As stewards of the natural environment and our client’s resources, we are committed to creating thoughtful and responsible buildings. We deliver highly crafted solutions on time and on budget and are known for providing innovative solutions where budgets are tight or sites constrained. We shape each project with empirical environmental knowledge and energy modeling resulting in sustainable strategies that artfully respond to each site’s unique character. Our projects often take non standard forms and have diverse teams. Clients choose us because they require the high degree of lateral thinking that we can bring to any project.

The Yard’s workshop and communal dining area are at the heart Cubitts’ new spectacles manufactory in the backlands of Ki...
26/07/2026

The Yard’s workshop and communal dining area are at the heart Cubitts’ new spectacles manufactory in the backlands of King’s Cross.

The brief was to work together under one roof - a unique vision that challenged us to interrogate individual processes for seamless flows of people and spectacles on two levels of the original stable yard that gave The Yard its name; a yard repurposed to become again the working heart of the building.

Over time, much of the building’s original character had been concealed; a monumental concrete staircase, translucent barrel vault, Italian light track and air handling ducts converted the stable yard into an enclosed lobby in the 1980s. In keeping with its practical purpose and our environmental ethos, 51 architecture’s design keeps everything that serves a practical purpose - the stair, the lighting, the ducting and the structure - snd strips the building back to reveal the raw materials of the original stable yard, the retrofit, the new custom cabinetry in the workshop and the refectory furniture.

Link in bio to a beautiful expanded text by Cubitts

Project team: Peter Thomas, Alice Bates, Gordon Au-Yeung, Catherine du Toit. Structural engineering: Price & Myers. Custom workshop cabinetry: Lozi. Air Conditioning rehabilitationColours by Simon March of Colourville.

Thanks to Felix Speller and Moeez Ali for the fabulous photographs

Entering the Yard - Cubitts new manufactory housed in a pair of 1880’s stable blocks. In the 1980’s a monolithic concret...
10/07/2026

Entering the Yard - Cubitts new manufactory housed in a pair of 1880’s stable blocks. In the 1980’s a monolithic concrete stair and postmodern atrium was added to enclose the mews yard. 51 architecture reconnects with the original spirit and fabric of the building in the industrial backlands of King’s Cross.

Once inside, the Yard is a sequence of revelations. Colour and material become atmosphere; spaces are for working in, stripped back and raw and dedicated to the making, repairing, fitting, learning and life of spectacles.

Link in bio to the history of the building 🩵

Project Team: Peter Thomas, Alice Bates, Gordon Au-Yeung, Catherine du Toit. Structural Engineering: Price & Myers. Colours by Simon Marsh of Colourville.

Thank you and fantastic the team Cubitts for putting your trust in us and to and for the beautiful photographs.

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1A Cobham Mews
London
NW19SB

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