There are a few identifiers within the work of ONA; the eponymous Perth-based practice of architect Nicholas Ashby, if you know what to look for
The Drift
Suffolk CO10
£1,200,000
Tales of the unexpected with architect Nicholas Ashby
Architecture
29/06/2026
One of them is the unexpected. What can feel like a familiar scene on first experience becomes a stamp of recognition upon closer inspection of details, materials and their pairings, motifs and captured views. Every inch feels special, restrained, refined, and within his projects it seems that no off-cut plays second fiddle; everything has a purpose and a character.
In the weeks leading up to the launch of Hemingway+K, Nicholas got in touch with us about the flat he designed in Brixton. Though not a natural price point for us, being fans of some of his previous works in Hackney, one of which was for the designer James Shaw, we were naturally excited to see the space. Without exaggeration, it was one of the most beautifully designed homes either of us had ever seen, and that being said in the context of our combined twenty years selling often seminal architecture from myriad periods and all across the country.
What stood out in Brixton was the delicateness in material choice and tone, the gentle juxtapositions of bare timber partitions against lime plaster, the finger-block oak that amplifies the floorspace, the playful motifs of tiles and decorative punctuations, the brave (and effective) use of eucalyptus ply as a shower wall and the naturalistic sensation that creates.
Looking back at ONA’s ‘Many Rooms’ project in Hackney Downs after experiencing Brixton led to a greater understanding of the currents that run through his work. Permanence seems to be an important factor and a purposeful reference. In Many Rooms the use of concrete and other external treatments have a classical monolithism, and those rough surfaces are met with crisp, flat, unfussy elements like thin-framed glazing and graceful balustrades that become even more elegant in their context.
And, back to the James Shaw project, close to Columbia Road and its bustling flower market. Here, Ashby’s spatial ingenuity is best read, secreting a one-bedroom home within a limited plot, but emerging with a substantial feeling space, largely underground and without the sense of compromise that can come with subterranea. Again, it is that embrace of the natural structural forms against surprising materials like burr-oak veneer or the whimsical hand rail that ascends with the spiralling staircase. What in other hands might feel like an oppressive space, feels contained and private, light and intimate. Perhaps we all need a courtyard with a plunge pool.
