Mailen Design

06/02/2026

We’re !⁠
⁠
Mailen Design is on the lookout for an enthusiastic and detail-driven Architect/Part II with a minimum of two years’ post-Part II experience in a UK practice to join our studio. ⁠
⁠
🔗 Link in bio for more info and to apply.⁠
⁠

06/02/2026

We’re !⁠
⁠
Mailen Design is on the lookout for an enthusiastic and detail-driven Architect/Part II with a minimum of two years’ post-Part II experience in a UK practice to join our studio. ⁠
⁠
🔗 Link in bio for more info and to apply.⁠
⁠

14/04/2025

We are delighted to share that our residential project Lee Terrace has been featured in ELLE DECOR Spain, spotlighting the strength of site-specific, materially driven architecture that quietly elevates the everyday.

Designed on a former garage infill plot within London’s Blackheath Conservation Area, the project underscores the potential of underutilised urban sites to deliver thoughtfully crafted homes that respond sensitively to their context. For our studio, this recognition affirms the value of design that is collaborative from the outset, deeply considered in detail, and rooted in the character of place.

Read the feature here: https://bit.ly/3G6JXy1

Photos by Alex Dormon
Styling by Emily Farbrother

Inspirada en las casas de caballerizas y buscando reflejar su propia personalidad dentro de un entorno de casas victoriana, Lee Terrace es una reinterpretación muy texturizada de una casa histórica pero moderna.

19/03/2025

What makes a house feel like home? Beyond form and function, materiality plays a defining role in shaping atmosphere—the weight of stone underfoot, the texture of timber, the way light interacts with brick and concrete. These choices are not just aesthetic; they influence how a space feels to occupy, how it evolves over time, and how it connects to its surroundings.

In our latest blog, we explore how three of our recent residential projects—Lee Terrace, Weald House, and Harley Place—use materiality to create homes that feel grounding, tactile, and enduring. From board-marked concrete to blackened timber, herringbone parquet to pre-cast stone, each project tells a story of texture, longevity, and spatial experience.

Read the full piece here: https://bit.ly/4bZIzsW

What materials resonate most with you in residential architecture? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

A home is not defined by its walls alone, but by the way those walls feel. Materiality is central to this experience.

17/03/2025

How do we deepen our awareness of architecture beyond the projects we design? How do we sharpen our understanding of space, materiality, and atmosphere?

To explore these questions, we’ve launched our own internal Design Forum—a bi-weekly space for discussion, reflection, and collective learning. It’s an opportunity to step away from daily project work and engage with architecture in a broader context, strengthening the way we think, critique, and create.

For our most recent session, the Mailen Design team explored the National Theatre—a building that continues to divide opinion, yet reveals something new with every visit. We weren’t there to critique or analyse in the abstract but to experience, absorb, and reflect. What resonated most was the generosity of the space—the way it welcomes occupation without expectation—and the level of craft embedded in every surface, from the weight of a handrail to the grain of board-marked concrete.

This visit sparked conversations about the emotional weight of materials, the importance of spatial generosity, and the way subtle details shape our experience of a place—ideas that will continue to inform our own work.

Read more about our reflections here: https://bit.ly/41QXMI5

What buildings have stayed with you long after you’ve left them? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

The way we engage with architecture shapes the way we design. To sharpen this awareness, we’ve launched a new bi-weekly Design Forum.

05/03/2025

For over a century, Fenwick Newcastle has been a landmark on Northumberland Street, shaping the city’s retail landscape. Yet over time, its shopfront—once an open and engaging threshold—has gradually become more closed off, limiting its connection with the street and the people who pass by every day.

As part of our ongoing collaboration with Fenwick Newcastle, we’ve been exploring how to restore this lost permeability, creating a design that reconnects the store with the city. Our team built a timber and acrylic model to visualise how the shopfront has evolved—from its ornate curved glass of the 1880s to its more enclosed present-day form—and present our vision for a more open, transparent façade that welcomes people in.

By centralising entrances and introducing curved glass, our proposal seeks to reinstate the shopfront as a permeable threshold, bringing back a sense of dialogue between Fenwick and Newcastle.

See the model and explore our design approach in our latest blog: https://bit.ly/4h3dXI0

26/02/2025

As retail continues to evolve, the role of architecture is becoming more integral to how brands engage with their audience. It's no longer just about selling products—it’s about creating immersive environments that reflect identity, enhance interaction, and respond to the surrounding urban context.

Our work on Fenwick Newcastle’s storefront, Domus Campus, and Selfridges' Designer Studio explores these shifts firsthand. From reconfiguring a department store’s connection to the street to crafting adaptable showroom spaces, each project responds to the changing demands of retail architecture. These spaces blur the boundaries between product, experience, and environment, offering more than a transaction—they create an ongoing dialogue with those who move through them.

But what does it take to shape these transformative spaces? How do architecture and design principles redefine retail in an ever-changing urban landscape?

Read our latest blog to explore how these projects engage customers beyond the moment of purchase—and what that means for the future of retail architecture: https://bit.ly/4hXgYLo

Where do you see retail architecture heading next? Let’s continue the conversation.

Fenwick Domus Group Selfridges

Retail architecture is undergoing a transformation. As expectations shift, stores must offer more than just a place to browse and purchase.

11/02/2025

Very pleased to have had our latest residential project, Lee Terrace, featured by Aucoot.

06/02/2025

We’re thrilled to announce that Weald House has been nominated for the ArchDaily 2025 Building of the Year Awards – and we need your support!

Voting is open until 12 February. Click here to support us in the Houses category: https://bit.ly/40OTDE2

Designed in collaboration with Peter Bradford Architects, Weald House is a contemporary, low-lying home that blends seamlessly into the Kentish landscape. It reflects our focus on sustainability, thoughtful craftsmanship, and creating spaces that are deeply connected to their surroundings.

This nomination is a reflection of the creativity and dedication that went into the project, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to have Weald House recognised alongside some of the best architecture from around the world.

Thank you for taking the time to vote. Your support means a lot!

Photo by Peter Landers