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The studio

Six people, one long table

Pell Varga is a small architecture and interiors studio in a converted rope works by the river in Kelderby. We take on eight to ten projects a year, so we can see each one through ourselves.

Inside the studio: a long whitewashed hall under steel trusses and roof lights, work tables with white models and drawings pinned up, two people working at the far end

What we believe

  1. The site comes first

    We spend time on the site before we draw anything: the light, the slope, the trees, the street. The best ideas are usually already there.

  2. Fewer, better materials

    Timber, stone, concrete, lime and glass, chosen to age well and be repaired, not replaced.

  3. Low energy without fuss

    Good orientation, a well-insulated airtight shell and a small heat pump: houses that are cheap to run without being a laboratory.

  4. Straight answers

    On cost, on planning, on what we'd do in your place. If a project isn't a good idea, we'll tell you before you spend money on it.

The team

Everyone in the studio draws, and everyone goes to site.

  • Ada Pell, a woman in her fifties with short grey hair and a linen shirt, against a concrete wall

    Ada Pell

    Director, chartered architect

    Ada founded the studio in 2011 after ten years designing houses and schools in London. She leads the new homes and still draws the first sketch of every one.

  • Jonah Varga, a bearded man in his forties in a navy jumper, against a concrete wall

    Jonah Varga

    Director, interiors

    Jonah trained as a furniture maker before he became an architect. He leads the interiors and extensions, and every piece of joinery we draw.

  • Mira Osei, a woman in her thirties with curly hair and a denim shirt, against a concrete wall

    Mira Osei

    Associate, chartered architect

    Mira runs our planning work and the conversions. She has steered more than forty applications through the councils of the Kell valley.

  • Felix Brandt, a man in his thirties with round glasses and an olive overshirt, against a concrete wall

    Felix Brandt

    Chartered architect

    Felix leads technical design and the energy modelling, and is happiest on site with a set of drawings and a tape measure.

Awards and press

  • 2025Kell Valley Design Awards, House of the YearMeadow House
  • 2024Kelderby Civic Society, CommendationGranary Loft
  • 2023Kell Valley Design Awards, Best ConversionChapel at Underhill
  • 2023Northern Homes Review, Twenty Houses to WatchChapel at Underhill
  • 2021Regional Timber Awards, Small ProjectThe Boathouse, Saltersgate

Questions

Can we visit the studio?

Yes, gladly: the first consultation can be here, among the drawings and models. Saturday mornings by appointment too.

Are you hiring?

Occasionally, and we take a student each summer. Send a short portfolio to the studio email any time.

Pell Varga

Ask the studio

Services, fees, the process and the studio

Hello! Ask me what we do, roughly what it costs, how a project runs or whether we work where you are.

Accent

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