Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands


Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands is a practice of architects, urban designers and masterplanners established in 1986 and practising out of London.

History

Alex Lifschutz and Ian Davidson met working on the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank Headquarters for Foster and Partners, and formed Lifschutz Davidson in 1986. The practice became resident in Richard Rogers' Thames Wharf Studios in 1989 having collaborated on the roof extension, and became well known in the 1990s for work on London's South Bank with the Coin Street Community Builders, including the OXO Tower and Broadwall social housing.
After the death of Ian Davidson in 2003 the practice became Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands with Paul Sandilands as Director. It moved to the former Island Records home in St Peter's Square, Hammersmith, purchasing the building from the then owners of Island, Universal Music, and converting the former Royal Laundry to a large open-plan studio.
In 2013, the practice finalised designing a new auction house for Bonhams in London, and has also collaborated with the auction company in New York and Hong Kong. Additionally, it worked on a new sustainable suburb at Kidbrooke in South London, and a high-profile residential tower with public swimming pool and leisure centre on the South Bank for Coin Street Community Builders.
The practice was part of Team Populous, the official overlay architecture services provider for the London 2012 Olympics, led by Populous and comprising a consortium made up of Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands and Allies and Morrison.
In August 2011 Delancey and Qatari Diar, working with Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands, beat rival developers to purchase the 2,800-home London 2012 Olympics Athletes’ Village in Stratford.
In May 2017 the firm completed the University of Birmingham Sport and Fitness building that went on to win a national RIBA award.
Ongoing projects range from a masterplan for 11,000 homes at Barking Riverside, to the first building for UCL in East London and a public art project lighting 15 Thames bridges with the American artist Leo Villareal.

Notable projects

The practice has won many awards for architecture and design, including: