We seek projects which allow exploration and experimentation. We have worked, for example, with artists Matt Hale and Frank Watson on our Venus project, and with Kirsty Brooks at Cargo Fleet. These works became an integral part of the architecture. We also explore new materials, and materials used in new ways. Venus pioneered the use of a post-patination compound on copper cladding. We researched rusting steel in Finland for our project Cargo Fleet. Our work is not just about space, or the qualities of materials, but about what they evoke or express. Chance de Silva is best known for one-off residential projects – particularly individual houses. These include both pure residential and live-work homes. Our projects have often resulted from creating an opportunity from scratch, by site-finding and acting as enablers or developers, sometimes in partnership with others. We also carry out larger residential schemes – of apartments or mixed use – and community and healthcare projects. We have developed a specialty in obtaining difficult planning permissions, especially of marginal sites, and of bold contemporary additions in historic or conservation areas. This is in all locations: urban, suburban and rural settings. Chance de Silva’s work has been featured on TV in the UK and France, and radio in the UK, published in the national press and in books in France, Spain, China and the UK.
