Mailen Design Year in Review: 2025 Highlights

This year has been one of steady growth, evolving relationships and expanded ambition. Across sectors and typologies, Mailen Design has continued to develop work that is rooted in place, shaped by collaboration, and enriched by the relationships that support it. 2025 saw the evolution of long-term projects, the start of new ones, and a growing team whose collective expertise continues to inform the way we design. Underpinning it all is a commitment to architecture that is thoughtful, responsive, and enduring. As we reflect on the past year, we’re reminded of the value of care—both in process and outcome—and the role it plays in shaping meaningful, lasting work. 

AWARDED PHASE 3 OF DOLPHIN SQUARE 

In August, we were unanimously appointed as Architect and Lead Designer for Phase 3 of Dolphin Square, a significant milestone in our ongoing relationship with the estate and a powerful endorsement of the quality, consistency, and vision that our team brings to complex multi-residential projects. Phase 3 builds upon two years of intensive involvement with Dolphin Square, where our work has spanned technical delivery, compliance monitoring, and strategic advisory roles. Initially awarded the role of Architect and Lead Designer for Phase 2, our involvement grew to include delivering additional spaces in Phase 1, transforming the ground floor retail offering, proposing a reimagined design for the estate’s former petrol station site, and an ongoing role as compliance monitoring team.  As work progresses on Dolphin Square, our priority is to ensure that its legacy is secured for generations to come, and we look forward to sharing further updates as this landmark project moves forward. 

CONSTRUCTION BEGINS AT KIELDER CASTLE 

Construction commenced at Kielder Castle in September, signalling a major milestone in the transformation of this Grade II listed former hunting lodge into a dynamic, year-round multi-use visitor and community destination. Our design for Kielder Castle’s renewal aims to elevate the structure from a functional visitor facility to a lasting civic landmark within the forest. By embedding flexibility, accessibility and social value throughout, we will ensure the building can adapt to changing needs whilst remaining a focal point for community life. The regenerated castle will serve as a place of gathering, learning and recreation, strengthening local identity and supporting the wider ambitions of the forest park. In doing so, it secures a sustainable future for the building and reinforces its role as a hub of pride, participation and connection for generations to come.  

RECOGNITION FOR LEE TERRACE  

Lee Terrace is a three-bedroom home transforming a former garage infill site into a contemporary residence that responds sensitively to its historic surroundings. Located within the Blackheath Conservation Area, the project references the traditional relationship between mews houses and the grander terraces they once served, integrating seamlessly into a streetscape of Grade II-listed Victorian buildings. With a carefully composed material palette and fabric-first approach to sustainability, Lee Terrace demonstrates how careful design can transform a constrained urban plot into a calm and light-filled home—one that engages respectfully with its heritage context whilst embracing modern living. We were proud to see this project celebrated by Elle Décor Spain and Aucoot, among others, affirming both our approach to contemporary architecture within sensitive contexts and the architectural potential of infill sites when approached with care, rigour and creativity. 

CONTINUED SUCCESS IN HISTORIC CONTEXTS  

We oversaw an extension, conversion, and full interior refurbishment at Virginia Lodge, a handsome early Victorian home set on a generous, split-level plot in Berkshire. Our brief was to transform the house into a forever home for a young family raising two children—one that felt rooted in its historic fabric, but functioned effortlessly for modern living. We worked closely with our trusted collaborators at One Oak Construction to ensure the quality of execution matched the ambition of the design. In Surrey, we received planning permission for Beehive, a carefully developed rear extension to a Grade II listed home layered in architectural and cultural history. Originally a 17th-century coaching inn, the building evolved over centuries into two distinct, disjointed halves that eventually functioned as separate dwellings, each with its own entrance, kitchen, and living quarters. The current owner sought to reunite the house as a single, cohesive home that honours its layered history whilst re-establishing a sense of architectural and domestic continuity. Both projects reflect our practice’s considered design approach and ability to work confidently with heritage assets whilst navigating the intricacies of conservation policy and planning consent. 

THIRD DAN DAN LOCATION OPENS IN LONDON BRIDGE 

Our third collaboration with Dan Dan restaurant opened in London Bridge in early 2025. Located in Southwark, this newest location builds on the material language established at Dan Dan Goodman’s Fields and Dan Dan Wimbledon, adapting familiar elements to a new set of operational and contextual demands. Delivered as a value-engineered refurbishment of an existing restaurant unit, the design balances atmosphere with efficiency, referencing and refining core elements of the brand’s visual identity to deliver a space that is bold, cohesive, context-sensitive and commercially resilient. The outcome demonstrates how strategic design thinking can elevate a brand whilst responding intelligently to site, context and operational needs. Every intervention was designed to work hard—visually, spatially, and commercially—resulting in a space that advances the brand whilst setting a strong precedent for future locations. 

WELCOMING NEW TALENT 

As our portfolio of projects grew in scale and complexity this year, so too did our studio. We were pleased to welcome several new members to the team, including Laura, Amir, Elizabeth, Yasemin, Jubel, Mel, Mauro, and Adrian, each bringing a depth of experience across a range of project types and a shared commitment to thoughtful, detail-driven design. Their arrival marks an important moment in the evolution of our studio, broadening our collective expertise and strengthening our ability to deliver projects of increasing ambition. As our team grows, so does our capacity to engage more deeply with the technical, spatial, and contextual challenges that define our work. It is this shared investment in design quality, collaboration, and curiosity that continues to shape the way we practice. 

LOOKING FORWARD TO 2026 

Reflecting on the past year, we’re encouraged by the direction in which the practice is growing, both in the scale of projects we’re delivering and the ideas that underpin them. Our expanded role at Dolphin Square and the start of construction at Kielder Castle mark a continued shift towards more complex, long-term work, while Fulwell Farmhouse, Virginia Lodge and Beehive reflect an ongoing commitment to sensitive heritage residential work. With the opening of Dan Dan London Bridge, our hospitality portfolio continues to develop with clarity and confidence, and the recognition of Lee Terrace has affirmed the value of site-specific, materially driven residential architecture. Welcoming new team members this year has brought fresh perspectives and strengthened our ability to deliver thoughtful, well-crafted projects across a broadening range of typologies. As we look to 2026, we remain focused on designing with care, building lasting relationships, and advancing a practice that is collaborative, grounded and resilient.