Founded in 2015, SPASE is an award-winning, cross-sector architecture practice based in Dorset with a UK-wide portfolio. Led by founder Stefan Pitman, the studio has cemented a reputation for expertly bringing some of the UK’s most historic homes and estates into the 21st century. The expert SPASE team thrives in the face of architectural challenges and relishes the opportunity to combine traditional practices with innovative and often environmentally progressive design solutions.
Now a team of 10 RICS and RIBA chartered architects and surveyors, SPASE’s capabilities span pre-acquisition support to project-wide services in architectural design, planning permission, listed building consent and technical design. Alongside heritage and Grade I estates, SPASE’s body of work spans contemporary new-build residential developments and barn conversions alongside commercial projects including wineries and biodiverse farms.
"SPASE is guided by its core values – quality, integrity, innovation, collaboration and value. Each brief is deeply considered and bespoke to the individual client, ensuring that every project, regardless of its scope, reaches its full potential. Whether small or large, SPASE utilises sustainable materials in keeping with the local architectural vernacular where possible and works with a black book of highly regarded local partners and craftspeople to bring its schemes to life."
"This year, SPASE completed work on Athelhampton Manor in Dorset, which underwent a pioneering two-year transformation to become an operationally carbon-neutral building, the first of its kind in the UK to achieve this accolade. SPASE’s brief saw the sympathetic modernisation of this protected historic site, resulting in the elimination of approximately 100 tonnes of CO2 per year and saving the client approx. £100,000 in annual energy bills. Alongside liaison with Historic England, SPASE ensured that the building’s protected features were meticulously protected and integrated alongside a suite of new eco-solutions, including the largest powerwall installation in the UK.
The team has now unveiled its latest residential project, Barnston Manor, widely considered the oldest house in southern England. The Grade I listed medieval building required intricate planning applications and thorough knowledge of heritage specifications. Here, SPASE provided a full-service package, including architectural design, planning permission guidance, and extensive heritage conservation skills to deliver a sensitive design scheme which maintained the existing character and charm of this extraordinary private home.
Most recently, SPASE’s specialist conservation skills have been utilised on the restoration of The Sherborne, a 13th-century ‘heritage building at risk’, which has been transformed into a community arts hub and cultural destination. This complex, multi-year project involved the meticulous renovation of the Georgian mansion and Medieval wing and the construction of a striking new, glulam spruce pavilion. Now open to the public, The Sherborne is home to Dorset Visual Arts HQ and produces a regularly changing exhibition, display and events programme, alongside co-working and hospitality spaces."
