2025 A Year in Review

We knew at the outset 2025 would be a tough year and nothing has happened to disprove that.  Whilst the outlook for 2026 suggests that interest rates may fall, and there are signs build costs may become more attractive, the economic and political uncertainty that have dominated politics undoubtedly makes it feel like it’s not going to get any easier for business owners. Nevertheless, Stiff+Trevillion have achieved a lot in 2025, and we have plenty of things to celebrate. 

Five projects have completed:

• The Fitzrovia for M&G/CO-RE
• TBC. London for The Fore Partnership
• Woolgate For Cathay/Stanhope
• 41 Lothbury for Pembroke
• 50 Berkeley Street for BEAM

Among the projects that are due to finish next year, we look forward to 21 Bloomsbury, Kova KX, City Road, New Cavendish Street, Finsbury Dials and The Method Westbourne Grove reaching completion.

This year many of our recent projects have been recognised with awards.

• Arding & Hobbs won a National Civic Trust Award and the Revo award for Best Repurposing and Placemaking project.
• TBC. London is shortlisted for next year’s Civic Trust awards; to add to the numerous awards it has picked up since completion including recently the Archello Adaptive Re-use award.
• Saluhall San Francisco and Maida Vale Studios were both Shortlisted at the World Architecture Festival and KOVA KX (105 Judd Street) was recently Commended in the 2025 NLA Awards

There is plenty to look forward to, and 2026 will see a tranche of projects starting on-site including:

• 50 Stratton Street
• Red Lion Square
• Cannon Bridge House
• 20 Old Broad Street
• 108 Old Broad Street
• Maida Vale Studios

We continue to work on a range of private houses in and around London, and 2025 has been a year of on-site works. We look forward to seeing more completed projects in 2026 including a Grade 1 Listed country House in Kent, several central London rebuilds and refurbishments and a replacement coastal house in West Sussex. We have also launched Stiff+Trevillion Homes on Instagram to showcase the quality of work we do in this sector.

Kerb Berlin Food Hall opened in May to great acclaim, reworking the redundant Imax cinema in the heart of Helmut Jahn’s Sony centre building in Potsdamer Platz. 

We designed and oversaw the installation of six global Art Fairs this year. In a rapidly changing art market, the architectural design of the fair has an even bigger role to play in enhancing the visitor experience.

The London property market’s latest trend seems to be hotel use and we have been working on three planning applications in the City and Camden. Our proposal for 20 Old Broad Street continues the work we have been doing on the Tower 42 Estate over the last 10 years, with a 154-room hotel that reworks and enhances the public realm between the street and Fountain Court.

It is the third year that we have supported the Reading Rome initiative organised by the Architecture Faculty at the British School at Rome. This September Beth Hicks-Johns enjoyed an inspirational week in the city lead by Niall McLaughlin and Yeoryia Manolopoulou.

The studio’s social activities came to a head with a trip to Cambridge in the summer, in part hosted by the Department of Architecture at the University of Cambridge.

Looking ahead, 2026 will mark the 45^th year since the formation of Stiff+Trevillion. 1981 seems like a world away, a year remembered for the Brixton riots and a Royal wedding. The studio has evolved and transformed in that time and is a very different organisation today. There is never a good time to set up a business, but starting in a recession certainly gave us the tools to cope with the roller coaster ride that is architectural practice. However, nearing a half century gives us an excuse to celebrate, and our event planning is well advanced.

To conclude, the local and global economic and political environment means that 2026 is almost certainly going to be another very tough year for our industry, however, from Stiff+Trevillion’s perspective I get the feeling that it will be a busy, creative and one we can look forward to.

We wish all our colleagues, friends and clients a peaceful and restful break, and a prosperous new year.