Huge congratulations to ED’s clients Brisco Loran and Arrant Industries, whose recently completed project – Costa’s Barbers – is on a winning streak. In addition to their win at the 2024 Architect’s Journal Architecture Awards, they received double recognition at the RIBA Awards, winning both 2025 RIBA London Award and 2025 RIBA London Small Project of the Year
Costa's Barbers started life as a barber’s shop on a high street in South London's Battersea. Thanks to a collaborative partnership between developer Arrant Industries, client/architect Brisco Loran and structural engineers ED, it has been skilfully and creatively converted into a flexible space for working, living and trading with some expert observers declaring it no less than a potential model for the revival of the much-diminished Great British High Street. The Architect’s Journal judges were 'keen to recognise a brave, ambitious and joyful scheme with a lot of heart and soul in it'.
We acted as structural design consultants throughout the project. A key challenge was the proposed extruded box window openings at the rear of the building. To maintain overall stability, creative problem-solving was required: how to re-support existing steelwork onto new structural steel frames around the window openings. We were happy to work with Arrant Industries once again, having previously collaborated with them on another winning project – Red House – whose intelligent, space maximising design and streetscape-enhancing aesthetics was much awarded and much admired.
Architect Brisco Loran
Developer Arrant Industries
Photography Jim Stephenson
