Architecture & interiors · since 2011

Buildings shaped by their site, light and the people who use them

Atelier Obra designs homes, cultural buildings and workplaces, from the first site visit to the last snag. Eighteen architects and interior designers in one studio.

Hillside House · a family home cut into a south-facing slopeResidential · Ridgeback Valley · Completed 2026
Projects

Recent work

AllResidentialCulturalWorkplaceInteriors
Courtyard entrance, Saltworks Gallery
Cultural1,850 m²Retained structure

Saltworks Gallery

A disused salt store turned into four top-lit galleries and a public courtyard. The original brick walls stay, a new sawtooth roof brings north light into every room.

Read the project
  1. 01

    Hillside House

    Residential · Ridgeback Valley
    2026
  2. 02

    Saltworks Gallery

    Cultural · Harbour Quarter
    2025
  3. 03

    Timber Yard Offices

    Workplace · Canal Basin
    2025
  4. 04

    Fenwick Street Library

    Cultural · Fenwick
    2024
  5. 05

    Orchard Flat

    Interiors · Old Town
    2024
  6. All 64 projects
On site now
Quay Street HousingComplete spring 2027
42 homes around a shared garden
Marlow Primary SchoolComplete autumn 2027
Four classrooms and a timber hall
The practice

How we think about a building

“Start with the site. Keep what is already there if it still works. Spend the budget where people touch the building every day.”

Site first

We walk the site at different times of day before drawing anything, and the plan follows the light and the slope.

Reuse before rebuild

More than half our projects keep an existing structure. It is usually cheaper and always lower in embodied carbon.

Details people touch

Handles, stairs, window seats. The parts you use every day get the most drawing time.

Services

From feasibility to handover

Appoint us for one stage or the whole project. Fees are quoted per stage, so you can pause after planning.

12–4 weeks

Feasibility

Site visit, brief and what the budget can realistically buy.

  • — Site & planning review
  • — Massing options
  • — Cost range
24–6 weeks

Concept

Two or three directions, drawn and modelled, narrowed to one.

  • — Sketch models
  • — Concept drawings
  • — Initial cost plan
38–14 weeks

Planning

Detailed design and the planning application, with consultants.

  • — Planning drawings
  • — Design statement
  • — Neighbour liaison
46–10 weeks

Technical

Construction drawings, specification and builder tender.

  • — Tender package
  • — Builder shortlist
  • — Contract set-up
5Project length

Build & handover

Site visits through construction, then snagging and a one-year review.

  • — Fortnightly site visits
  • — Valuations
  • — 12-month review
Model table, Ropewalk studio
Studio & recognition

A working studio in an old rope factory

Founded by Marta Ibáñez and Kwame Asante in 2011. Every project is led by a director and run by the same architect from first sketch to handover.

64
completed buildings
23
projects published in design journals
18
architects & interior designers
58%
of projects reuse an existing structure
Meet the team
Start a conversation

Tell us about your site

An address and a rough idea is enough. We reply within three working days and the first site visit is free within 40 miles of the studio.

Ropewalk Studios
3 Cordage Yard, Harbour Quarter
studio@obra.example
(555) 019-6630 · Mon–Fri 9–6
What to expect
First site visitFree within 40 miles
Fee proposalWithin 10 working days
Typical fees9–13% of build cost
Just an ideaOwn the siteHave planning