Practice Statement
DIVE is a forward looking architectural practice with a growing portfolio. We look for alternatives through challenging the conventional and stereotypical thinking. Our desire is to make architecture accessible and to build good quality buildings, to create for longevity, to create an environment that grasps the complexity and diversity of the society, the collective as well as the individual.

Our design process relies on close collaboration with the client providing a hands on approach. We believe our role is to engage and enthuse all members of the project team to maintain a momentum from idea to reality that makes not only the process but also the result a pleasure. DIVE is a Swedish-English collaboration founded by Andy Nettleton and Ia Hjärre.

Brighton Road
DIVE has gained planning permission to replace an existing two-storey house on Brighton beach with two three-storey houses. The buildings are a response to site and location; they make reference to the rooflines of some of the surrounding buildings, picking up the repetitive pattern of the adjacent beach huts. A large ramp divides the two houses from the street down to beach level with landscaping between. Both new houses are to be clad primarily in timber with rendered sections to exposed parts of the basement construction and car park. The material choice aims to intensify the relationship between beach and houses. The silver grey quality of the Western Red Cedar has been chosen for the cladding not only to create a subtle contrast from the reflective water and pebbly beach but also for its efficient and sustainable properties.

Parade and Drive
DIVE was shortlisted by Urban Splash to submit a proposal for the redevelopment of two former council blocks in Leeds. The site consists of a total of seven blocks of flats, five of which are social housing. Our proposal aims to create an Urban Village within the city. A folded landscape becomes the village green, a space where the inhabitants come together in different zones; play, rest, social - smell, shade, flowers. The proposal seeks to bring together the whole estate avoiding boundaries between old and new. The folded landscape integrates the borders necessary for security without creating something that feels physically divided. These folds are continued through to the parking area as an extension of the landscape and also inform the architecture where a series of angled projections have been inserted into the existing fabric of the building. This not only increases the floor area but it also reinvigorates and infuses new life into the Saxton Gardens Estate.


Clink Street
The flat is located within a former warehouse building on the Thames, next to London Bridge. The existing space combined old beams and columns, exposed brick, low ceiling heights and small windows. Colour and light became a vital part of the scheme. The main space is composed of soft and subdued colours and all light fittings are concealed, the purpose being to create abstract planes, giving the space a transparent and ethereal feel. We also aimed not only to use direct sunlight from the exterior but also the more fragile light created by the reflections into the Thames of city lights at night. The internal bathroom is enclosed by a cavity wall of translucent glass with concealed dimmable light strips inside which blur the edges between wall and floor. This soft and ambiguous light is contrasted with the solidity of some of the other elements, in particular the concrete bathtub, washbasin and floor all case in situ.

The Glasshouse
Two artists bought a live-work unit in a former factory in Bermondsey. They wanted to create a house/gallery where they could live as well as exhibit theirs and other artists work. Their criteria were to have lots of storage and lots of open space. By dissecting the apartment with a `thick' wall containing all practicalities such as kitchen, bathroom and storage the space was arranged to house living and dining on one side and sleeping and working on the other. We called this the social divide. Work-sleep versus play-fun. Storage is housed within the main dividing wall and above where the ceiling was lowered to create airline style lockers, clearing the floor space to give large living areas. The open plan spaces can be closed off by large doors, their size corresponding to their significance to the rooms they enclose. The selection of bright colours was very much a response to the clients desires, the selection of simple, budget materials made the fit out economical and still allowed for luxuries such as under floor heating. In the centre of the living space, a large perspex light box is continually adapted simply as a light source or to exhibit work.