VDF studio profiles: Transit Studio is a multidisciplinary design practice that eschewed developing a house style in order to build a diverse and attractive portfolio of spaces.
The London-based studio was founded in 2017 by Ben Masterton-Smith – winner of the inaugural RIBA Norman Foster Travel Fellowship – and specializes in both architectural and interior design services.
Covering architecture and interiors, the studio offers a holistic design approach that has led them to work with international clients in a variety of industries and scales over the past three years.
Transit Studio takes pride in their creative process, which begins by dissecting both the client brief and the team’s initial reaction to the site and the context in which they work.
In this way, the studio refuses to conform to trends and avoids sticking to one particular style, which has helped give birth to a distinctive portfolio.
“Although traditionally many architects work closely in an industry, we didn’t want to be labeled, we hope we can bring something different to every project,” Masterton-Smith explained.
“Every project is unique – we listen to the customer, then start to research how we can help them,” he continued. “We don’t have a house style, we want every project to be relevant and a direct response to every client brief.”
Transit Studio’s work portfolio is largely made up of interior revisions of existing buildings, but it has recently invested more in new building commissions where it has been responsible for both architectural and interior design.
One of his most notable projects is the Exit Here funeral home in Chiswick, which he developed with Oliver Peyton to have “the eclectic feel of home” to help clients become more comfortable with the concept. of death. As part of the project, the studio also designed a coffin inspired by the Day of the Dead.
Elsewhere in its hometown of London, the studio has completed the Royal Academy of Arts RA cafe and interiors at the EartH arts venue in Hackney.
Earth is designed to pay homage to its setting in an abandoned art deco cinema, and alongside the introduction of contemporary spaces, the process has seen the studio remove its layers to expose its original features.
Transit Studio’s current projects include the design of three houses in a rural site in Sicily, located on the slopes of Mount Etna. The main house of the project consisted of reworking an existing building on site and incorporates traditional winemaking facilities and a chapel.
He is also due to build a bar and event spaces on the second floor of the Groucho Club, and is developing his masterplan for pedestrianizing Soho during the summer.
The photograph is by Agnese Sanvito, unless otherwise indicated.
Studio: Public transport studio
Website: transitstudio.fr
Contact address: hello@transitstudio.co.uk
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