Erbar Mattes is a London-based architecture practice founded by Demian Erbar and Holger Mattes in 2015.
Our practice is dedicated to creating elegant projects that are firmly rooted in context, aiming to enhance and rebalance the essential qualities of a place, shaping purpose- and characterful buildings that truly belong.
Erbar Mattes has gained a reputation for its multi-faceted, sensitive and carefully crafted work and been recognised through UK and international publications and awards, including a 2023 RIBA London Award for Blockmakers Arms and Architect of the Year at the British Homes Awards 2023.
We are passionate about creating more truly affordable homes in low-carbon / low-energy design and are actively investigating new materials and methods of construction. An innovative timber frame house with ground source heat pump and ventilation system with heat recovery has recently been completed in Wimbledon.
We have launched research projects exploring natural stone as lower-carbon alternative to clay brickwork and how to build low-energy homes on top of existing mid-20th century apartment buildings.
What we can do for you
Our team has experience working across a wide range of sectors, scales and budgets and we offer prospective clients a free initial consultation to understand their needs and circumstances.
Our practice provides a value-driven, proactive and personal architectural service from concept to completion.
We are highly skilled at transforming ordinary situations into unique places, using our sensitity for light, scale and material.
Starting with an analysis of the existing situation and the brief, our practice follows a well-structured process based on the RIBA's Plan of Work for UK projects
(show more).
Erbar Mattes' caring and hands-on approach to resolving challenges and delivering high-quality results has helped us build trust and lasting relationships.
Over the years we have gained extensive knowledge obtaining planning approval within conservation areas and for listed buildings in England. Our practice has developed a restrained and sympathetic architectural language that mediates between modern and historic contexts, successfully addressing these particular planning conditions.
All projects are developed with 3D building information modeling software (BIM) to create a digital twin of the building, allowing us to share virtual walk-through models, explore options, resolve complex spatial questions, and produce well-coordinated construction information.
We collaborate with a network of experienced consultants for planning and construction reports. This allows us to provide early guidance to our clients on the necessary requirements, enabling them to budget effectively.
Team
Erbar Mattes' co-founders, architects Demian Erbar and Holger Mattes, together have over 40 years of experience in leading the design and construction of highly acclaimed buildings in the United Kingdom and abroad. These include the purpose-built public art galleries The Hepworth Wakefield in Yorkshire and Turner Contemporary in Margate, and the housing-led regeneration projects Agar Grove in Camden and Brentford Lock West II in Hounslow, which have been exceptionally transformative for their communities.
Demian Erbar
Holger Mattes
Architectural Collaborators
Sketches, architectural drawings, images and three-dimensional models enable us to test and carefully calibrate the quality of space, light, proportions and materials. This design-led process is supported by highly talented architects, architectural assistants, image and model makers, as required. We are extremely grateful to our current and past collaborators who have contributed to shaping Erbar Mattes' body of work:
Igor Almeida
Maria Amador
Megan Ellis
Philippine Radat
Elin Soderberg
Alex Tucker
We are connected with architects around the world who can support the delivery of designs as local architects and welcome enquiries from abroad.
Our wider team comprises experienced external consultants who deal with a variety of specialist tasks, such as structure, civil and building services engineering, cost management, energy and carbon analysis, heritage assessments, and arboricultural and biodiversity reports.
Back To Top
Testimonials / Awards / Press
Private Homes
Housing and Other Projects
+44 (0)20 3865 8066
Erbar Mattes is a London-based architecture practice founded by Demian Erbar and Holger Mattes in 2015.
Our practice is dedicated to creating elegant projects that are firmly rooted in context, aiming to enhance and rebalance the essential qualities of a place, shaping purpose- and characterful buildings that truly belong.
Erbar Mattes has gained a reputation for its multi-faceted, sensitive and carefully crafted work and been recognised through UK and international publications and awards, including a 2023 RIBA London Award for Blockmakers Arms and Architect of the Year at the British Homes Awards 2023.
We are passionate about creating more truly affordable homes in low-carbon / low-energy design and are actively investigating new materials and methods of construction. An innovative custom-build timber frame house with ground source heat pump and ventilation system with heat recovery has recently been completed in Wimbledon.
We have launched research projects exploring natural stone as lower-carbon alternative to clay brickwork and how to build low-energy homes on top of existing mid-20th century apartment buildings.
What we can do for you
Our team has experience working across a wide range of sectors, scales and budgets and we offer prospective clients a free initial consultation to understand their needs and circumstances.
Our practice provides a value-driven, proactive and personal architectural service from concept to completion.
We are highly skilled at transforming ordinary situations into unique places, using our sensitity for light, scale and material.
Starting with an analysis of the existing situation and the brief, our practice follows a well-structured process based on the RIBA's Plan of Work for UK projects
(show more).
Erbar Mattes' caring and hands-on approach to resolving challenges and delivering high-quality results has helped us build trust and lasting relationships.
Over the years we have gained extensive knowledge obtaining planning approval within conservation areas and for listed buildings in England. Our practice has developed a restrained and sympathetic architectural language that mediates between modern and historic contexts, successfully addressing these particular planning conditions.
All projects are developed with 3D building information modeling software (BIM) to create a digital twin of the building, allowing us to share virtual walk-through models, explore options, resolve complex spatial questions, and produce well-coordinated construction information.
We collaborate with a network of experienced consultants for planning and construction reports. This allows us to provide early guidance to our clients on the necessary requirements, enabling them to budget effectively.
Team
Erbar Mattes' co-founders, architects Demian Erbar and Holger Mattes, together have over 40 years of experience in leading the design and construction of highly acclaimed buildings in the United Kingdom and abroad. These include the purpose-built public art galleries The Hepworth Wakefield in Yorkshire and Turner Contemporary in Margate, and the housing-led regeneration projects Agar Grove in Camden and Brentford Lock West II in Hounslow, which have been exceptionally transformative for their communities.
Demian Erbar
Holger Mattes
Architectural Collaborators
Sketches, architectural drawings, images and three-dimensional models enable us to test and carefully calibrate the quality of space, light, proportions and materials. This design-led process is supported by highly talented architects, architectural assistants, image and model makers, as required. We are extremely grateful to our current and past collaborators who have contributed to shaping Erbar Mattes' body of work:
Igor Almeida
Maria Amador
Megan Ellis
Philippine Radat
Elin Soderberg
Alex Tucker
We are connected with architects around the world who can support the delivery of designs as local architects and welcome enquiries from abroad.
Our wider team comprises experienced external consultants who deal with a variety of specialist tasks, such as structure, civil and building services engineering, cost management, energy and carbon analysis, heritage assessments, and arboricultural and biodiversity reports.
Back To Top
Private Homes
Housing and Other Projects
+44 (0)20 3865 8066
Client Testimonials
Noblefield Heights
"Erbar Mattes carried out this brief with great precision and very thorough drawings. They went beyond our expectations by having the vision to recreate our living room area and kitchen into a beautiful bright space that has been the centrepiece of our home and a joy to be in."
Hill House
"Thanks for all you have done to get us through the planning hoops again!"
Awards & Nominations
British Homes Awards 2024
'House of the Year' – Shortlisted
RIBA House of the Year 2023 – Longlist (one of twenty)
British Homes Awards 2023
'Architect of the Year' – Winner
'Home Transformation of the Year' – Winner
Erich Mendelsohn Award 2023 for Brick Architecture – Winner Gold
RIBA London Award 2023 – Winner
Manser Medal 2022 – Finalist
Architectural Review House Awards 2022 – Finalist
Architectural Record New York,
Design Vanguard 2022 – Winner
BD Architect of the Year Awards 2022 – Finalist
BDA Brick Awards 2022 – Finalist
Architects' Journal Retrofit Awards 2022 – Finalist
Haringey Design Awards 2018 – Winner
Dezeen Hotlist 2017
BD Architect of the Year Award 2017 – Finalist
Don’t Move, Improve! 2017 Special Prize – Winner
RIBAJ Microarchitecture Award 2015 – Finalist
A sense of permanence and identity
"The former pub ‘Blockmakers Arms’ in London ... has been transformed by the architects into an outstanding example of reconstruction ... The project expresses how reconstruction works: not with a loud, grand gesture, but in a very sensitive way."
Erich Mendelsohn Award 2023 Gold winner - Jury Statement
Press & Publications
Dezeen, 31 July 2023, by Nyima Murry
Erbar Mattes creates "expansive feel" for brick house in London
Dezeen, 10 August 2023, by Lizzie Crook
RIBA names top 20 British homes of 2023
Baunetz Wissen, June 2022
Umbau eines Wohnhauses in London
Architectural Record, New York, 1 June 2022, by Chris Foges
Design Vanguard 2022: Erbar Mattes
db deutsche bauzeitung, 10 March 2022, by Tanja Feil
Wohnhaus in London
The Modern House Journal
How to convert a period home – five architecture studios share their advice
A limitless microcosm (TEC21, September 2017)
"In this seminal house, a whole array of apparently modest but actually very powerful and effective design strategies are at play, at many different levels. Their cumulative “gestalt” impact, although subliminal at first, is felt immediately."
Colin Fournier, Emeritus Professor, Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London