Practice – Beasley Dickson Architects

About

Melissa Beasley and David Dickson met while studying at Newcastle University and established their practice in 2014 to work on projects that have enduring architectural ambition. Their approach is both practical and poetic. The studio works on a diverse portfolio of projects, specialising in housing and creative clients, at a wide range of scale. The studio works collaboratively and enjoy a process that values the many hands that make a building and a work ethic that takes pleasure in the process, collaborating within the studio, their clients and craftspeople.

The work is driven by a strong conviction in the critical design process, with every project tailored to the needs of the client. A rigorous exploratory approach is taken, to create architecture anchored in the specifics of brief, site and social context while revealing new and surprising relationships. The practice believes architecture is a physical condition, interested in the experiential and poetic qualities of space alongside the practical and functional. The practice has a passionate interest in materials and crafts, enjoying the detail and construction of each project.

Beasley Dickson Architects see architecture as an ongoing conversation that looks to past influences and considers future phases of development. The studio has successfully worked with listed buildings, in Conservation Areas and within complex planning areas such as AONBs. A full range of services is offered, inclusive of urban design, product design and interior design.

Team

Melissa Beasley, director

David Dickson, director

Ben Shaw, associate

Yuka Koizumi, architect

Merick Hennrie, architectural-assistant

Ed Paisley, architectural-assistant

Samuel Rees, architectural-assistant

Melissa founded Beasley Dickson Architects in 2014. She enjoys working across a range of projects with particular specialisms in private houses, heritage sites and workplace. She manages new business and relationships, alongside close creative involvement in the development of all projects from inception to completion. Melissa places great value on successful, long-lasting relationships with clients and collaborators recognised as intrinsic to realising outstanding architecture. She studied architecture at Newcastle, Bath and Westminster Universities, and is a registered architect. After graduating she worked for Peregrine Bryant Architecture and Building Conservation, Russell Jones and Studio Octopi.

Melissa Beasley, director

David founded Beasley Dickson Architects in 2014. His experience spans a broad mix of building types and scales, with completed projects in the workplace and residential sectors. His directorial role is in the creative direction of the practice, closely involved in the development of all projects from inception to completion. He studied at Newcastle University, the Bartlett and Westminster University, and he is a registered architect. Before establishing his own practice David gained experience in housing and hospitality while working with Wilkinson Eyre, Niall McLaughlin and Tom Dixon’s Design Research Unit.

David Dickson, director

Ben Shaw studied at Kingston and Westminster Universities, subsequently working in design practices in Australia and London. Ben joined Beasley Dickson Architects in 2016 and has been an Associate since 2021. His experience spans a broad range of building types and scales, with completed projects in the commercial, retail and residential sectors. He takes a lead in the practice’s technical knowledge, with a keen understanding of developing details with intrinsic rigour and craft. At BDA he has been project architect for several key residential projects including Vine House and Aldeburgh House. He is currently leading the construction at Carlton House in Ealing and new build Grayswood House in Haslemere.

Ben Shaw, associate

Yuka studied at The Mackintosh School of Architecture and Tokyo University of the Arts, before qualifying at Westminster. She previously worked at Yashima Architects in Japan, followed by seven years at Karakusevic Carson Architects, where she worked on a number of public housing developments. Yuka is an accomplished architect with particular expertise in residential projects at varying scales. Her experience in Japan has fostered a meticulous and precise way of working to achieve high quality design. At BDA she is Project Architect for the extensive Carlton House refurbishment and extension in Ealing, London.

Yuka Koizumi, architect

Merick studied at the University of Nottingham. He was awarded the Portfolio Prize for his final-year project, ‘Conditions of Construction’. He subsequently practiced at Jonathan Hendry Architects and Adam Khan Architects, working on a number of historic and listed buildings in both the cultural and private residential sectors. Merick has a particular interest in the craft of placemaking and its inherent relationship to construction. At BDA, he is currently leading the refurbishment and extension of a substantial Edwardian villa in Hampstead.

Merick Hennrie, architectural assistant

Ed studied at the University of Sheffield and the Royal College of Art, spending an additional year at Aalto University in Finland on the Wood Program. His work reflects a thoughtful approach to design rooted in context, craft, and materiality. Alongside his studio practice, Ed remains engaged with hands-on construction, most recently building a private sauna in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, a project that embodies his interest in making, detail and the relationship between landscape and shelter. At BDA, Ed is leading the construction of a new-build garden studio and the refurbishment and extension of a townhouse in Islington.

Ed Paisley, architectural assistant

Samuel is a graduate of the Royal Danish Academy’s School of Architecture, where he specialised in Cultural Heritage, Transformation and Conservation, and studied on exchange at the Kyoto Institute of Technology. He has a particular interest in holistic sustainability, low-tech solutions, and the stewardship of cultural heritage buildings. He comes from a previous career as a professional ballet dancer, graduating from the Royal Ballet School, Covent Garden, and working at the Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen. At BDA, Sam is leading the conversion and extension of the attic quarters of a Victorian villa, and the refurbishment and extension of a Highbury family home.