Slab Design Union Ltd

Slab Design Union Ltd Alan Morrissey. ARB Registered Architect | Director at Slab Design Union, an RIBA Chartered Practice.

Slab Design Union is Alan Morrissey, an ARB registered architect with over 20 years of professional experience.
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Alan studied at the Birmingham School of Architecture and the Oxford Brookes School of Architecture, where his thesis project was nominated for the RIBA Silver Medal. Alan became a registered architect in 2010.
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​At Slab Design Union, Alan works closely with clients, consultants, cont

ractors, and end-users to fully understand and analyse each project, creating beautiful, functional architecture that is environmentally and socially responsible. Slab Design Union encourages a collaborative, proactive, hands-on approach to design.
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Slab Design Union's project experience includes housing for the Peabody Trust in London, a new entrance and reception building for St. Mary's School in Cannock, a bridge crossing the River Irwell in Salford and private residential projects in Birmingham.

Lovely image (by Design Pad Illustration) of a little extension and refurbishment project for a great client in Leamingt...
26/02/2026

Lovely image (by Design Pad Illustration) of a little extension and refurbishment project for a great client in Leamington.

All rather marvelous really 😊👍

Ending the week with some photos of a recently completed model by the brilliant David Yarwood of our extension and refur...
05/12/2025

Ending the week with some photos of a recently completed model by the brilliant David Yarwood of our extension and refurbishment project to a Grade 2 property located in a conservation area. The proposed design is small but deceptively complex and as with many of our projects, we’re increasingly using physical models to communicate design intent and explore the spaces from a physical and tactile perspective.

The design was developed as a careful response to context and heritage whilst creating better links from the property to the garden and improving the thermal efficiency and fabric of the existing house. Additional upgrades include removing internal plaster and repairing the original masonry external walls, and installing new doors between the kitchen/ diner and the new extension which will become a multi-use space.

A refined palette of materials includes matching imperial gauge masonry, steel framed windows and doors, zinc roofing/ detailing and a zinc canopy that includes metal filigree soffit panels with period motifs and patterns. If you have a project you’d like to talk to us about please get in touch, we’d love to hear from you!

New week, new project announcement. Since Easter we have been developing a truly unique residential scheme located in th...
24/11/2025

New week, new project announcement. Since Easter we have been developing a truly unique residential scheme located in the Calthorpe Estate Conservation Area in Birmingham. A brilliant client with a laser focus on design quality from day one has created a design that pushes the boundaries of how we have previously approached residential and heritage works.

The existing grade two listed property will be refurbished and opened up at ground floor with a new single storey ‘pavilion’ and terrace sat under a canopy that draws inspiration from Victorian glasshouses and conservatories. A refined palette of brick and white metal glazing sits adjacent a white steel and glass canopy covering a new terrace and access to the garden.

The project focused on key themes during design development. Heritage, legacy, brevity, sustainability, and the integration of technology into a historic building to create a family home fit for this and future generations. We worked closely with Donald Insall Associates (heritage impact and assessment), Cappture (pre-application visual) and Studio Stravaig (pre-application report visual) to understand the building, treat it with respect, minimise interventions within the historic fabric and represent it with honesty and rigour. The project has just been submitted for pre-application consultation, and we can’t wait to develop the design further for planning and construction in 2026! 🤓👍

Updated physical model for a residential project that we’ve been working on since last summer, showing the revised roof ...
06/11/2025

Updated physical model for a residential project that we’ve been working on since last summer, showing the revised roof geometry, internal layout and connections to the existing property. We continue…

Following on from having recently submitted an entry for the Portobello Promenade competition, a brilliant initiative or...
29/10/2025

Following on from having recently submitted an entry for the Portobello Promenade competition, a brilliant initiative organized by Community Competitions and Konishi Gaffney Architects, we’ve revisited the project and got around to sorting a visual of our entry that we didn’t have time to include before the deadline!

The brief was focused around finding interesting design solutions for an existing toilet block and activating a prominent beachfront site with a new mix of facilities.

Coastal sites are beautiful and challenging. Stunning views and connectivity to the elements are countered by a variable climate that requires a robust response to foster a new community space offering a range of year-round functions.

Our proposals for Portobello Promenade imagines a ‘ribbon’ development that creates a natural buffer to the elements whilst opening the promenade to a range of uses, promoting economic, cultural and community benefits. Simple robust structures introduce an activated beach frontage with improved connectivity between the site and the locality, and an emphasis on bringing people together for sporting and social pursuits.

The promenade is reimagined an interactive public art installation with colourful paving to encourage play, planters to encourage growing and cultivating, and spaces for sculptures that form a backdrop to dance, drama and music performances.

The new interventions are playful, tactile and collaborative. A new meeting place for the community, a new employment area and a new destination, reinterpreting the former glory of promenades, reactivating an important urban node, and reminding people why the ‘do like to be beside the seaside’ (and the backdrop of Arthur’s Seat is not to be missed)!

Big thanks also to AKOM Creative Ltd for the brilliant visual of our proposals!

What a difference a year makes! It’s now a whole year since I became fully self-employed as a sole practitioner, and her...
17/10/2025

What a difference a year makes! It’s now a whole year since I became fully self-employed as a sole practitioner, and here we are, still moving forward, still learning, and still loving it!

The last year has been a massive learning curve, with many highs and lows, and a whole lot of experience gained in-between. We give thanks to all the friends, colleagues, collaborators and supporters who have been part of this journey so far (too many to name here), it has not been easy and there have been many times when I’ve had to dig very deep to keep going, but we move into year two with many exciting opportunities, collaborations and projects on the books that we look forward to sharing soon.

Advice? Here’s one you can have for free that I’ve learned this year… ‘Don’t pour water on dead plants.’ I’ll leave you to interpret that in you own way 😉

Here’s a snapshot of some of the projects that have kept us busy in the last 12 months, with more to come…

Clockwise from top left -

1 and 2 - Kenilworth Road, Leamington
3 - Moseley Shoals, Birmingham
4 - Minerva Tower, Punta della Campanella, Sorrento Peninsula
5 - Elsenham Community Centre, Essex
6 - Kiosk for the Furure, Ljubljana
7 and 8 - Scholars Close, Birmingham
9 - Serpentine Road, Birmingham
10 - Portobello Promenade, Edinburgh
11 and 12 - Church Road, Birmingham
13 - Deeley Close, Birmingham

Images 1-4, 6, 9, 11 and 12 - Studio Stravaig
Image 5 - Akom Creative
Image 7 and 10 - Aston Oakes
Image 8 - David Yarwood
Image 13 - Slab Design Union Ltd

With Handsworth having been in the news this week, now seems a good time to share a new image of a project we have been ...
10/10/2025

With Handsworth having been in the news this week, now seems a good time to share a new image of a project we have been working on with a brilliant homeowner client in this part of Birmingham for the last year.

I have a long association with Handsworth, from having attended many house parties there as an undergraduate, to several times during my training and career where I have worked on projects in this and neighbouring areas including Aston, Newtown and Perry Barr. The opportunity to return to Handsworth last year to be involved in a very unique and challenging residential project was too good to miss!

The site is an end of terrace late-80's corner plot that is heavily constrained, with a railway bordering the west boundary, a 60's office building and car park to the north boundary, an adjacent 3-storey property to the east and a park to the south, not to mention some very challenging site levels and topography!

Our initial proposal of a total refurbishment and large scale front and rear development was met with 'resistance' by the local authority at pre-app stage, which prompted a rethink and a new strategy of a phased development. The new design is a replacement garage block that uses the topography to connect the new extension to the existing house and proposes the 'reinstatement and upgrading' of the existing double garage. A palette of matching materials and cascading roof geometry connects the buildings, repairs a fragmented site boundary and establishes a proper 'full-stop' to the terrace.

The project is a driver for design quality, something that has been consistently championed by the client from day one. A palette of matching materials and brick detailing responds to the existing built form and provides a subtle intervention into the landscape. We look forward to submitting our revised design for pre-app consultation and having the opportunity to promote high quality design.

Thanks again to Aston Oakes at Design Pad Illustration for another brilliant image!

Fun. Sustainable. Generous. Community-focused. Civic-minded. Welcome to Portobello Promenade!We submitted an entry for a...
03/10/2025

Fun. Sustainable. Generous. Community-focused. Civic-minded. Welcome to Portobello Promenade!

We submitted an entry for a competition where the brief was focused around finding interesting design solutions for an existing toilet block and activating a prominent beachfront site with a new mix of facilities.

Coastal sites are beautiful and challenging. Stunning views and connectivity to the elements are countered by a variable climate that requires a robust response to foster a new community space offering a range of year-round functions.

Our proposals for Portobello Promenade imagines a ‘ribbon’ development that creates a natural buffer to the elements whilst opening the promenade to a range of uses, promoting economic, cultural and community benefits. Simple robust structures introduce an activated beach frontage with improved connectivity between the site and the locality, and an emphasis on bringing people together for sporting and social pursuits.

The promenade is reimagined an interactive public art installation with colourful paving to encourage play, planters to encourage growing and cultivating, and spaces for sculptures that form a backdrop to dance, drama and music performances.

The new interventions are playful, tactile and collaborative. A new meeting place for the community, a new employment area and a new destination, reinterpreting the former glory of promenades, reactivating an important urban node, and reminding people why the ‘do like to be beside the seaside’ (and the backdrop of Arthur’s Seat is not to be missed)!

Big thanks also to Design Pad Illustration for the beautiful image of our proposals!

We recently responded to a competition brief for the Reuse the Watchtower Initiative, which sought a reimagining of Torr...
03/10/2025

We recently responded to a competition brief for the Reuse the Watchtower Initiative, which sought a reimagining of Torre Minerva as an artists’ residence.

The building was to accommodate individual artists or small groups wishing to spend time immersed in the extraordinary landscape of Punta Campanella, with its panoramic views of the promontory and the island of Capri.

The tower, a land- mark overlooking a protected marine area, was envisioned as a place of artistic retreat and a coastal reference point. Our immediate response was that a beautiful site demands a beautiful building. The coastal location is the perfect opportunity for a building that signals its’ presence, makes a statement, and creates a destination that is both landmark and landscape.

A precision sculpted silhouette rises from the existing stone base taking the form of a lantern, containing accommodation for up to 16 artists with shared bathroom facilities and a communal kitchen, bar and lobby on the ground floor. A structural glass floor provides visual connectivity to the existing stone ruin below that is left preserved and untouched.

The upper floors are accessed by a feature glass staircase to allow natural light to illuminate the interior. Wrap-around full height glazing to all elevations offers unrivalled views of the coast, creating a truly inspiring and creative environment.

The building is clad in Corten steel to create a subtle counterpoint with the rugged coastal landscape. Terraces are lined with glazed balustrades and solid oak flooring, with interiors of plywood and oak to create warm rich tones that respond to natural daylighting and create a robust, protective enclosure, with the open central stairwell and rooflight ‘crown’ allowing light to pe*****te deep into the plan.

Thanks once again to Ryan at Studio Stravaig for another killer visual, and to for organizing the competition!

Last year we responded to an ITT for a new multi-purpose community building in the parish of Elsenham, Essex. We’ve fina...
25/06/2025

Last year we responded to an ITT for a new multi-purpose community building in the parish of Elsenham, Essex. We’ve finally got around to having a visual of the building done, courtesy of Akom Creative.

The layout strategy placed all sports/ changing facilities and building servicing, ancillary and back-of-house accommodation at the north of the plan, providing direct access to the playing fields whilst maintaining the maximum distance from the adjacent housing to minimise noise and disruption.

Shared council and community facilities are located to the south of the plan to benefit from optimal solar orientation and proximity to the existing car park. The main hall and reception area are directly accessed from the accessible vehicle parking and cycle parking located under an ETFE canopy.

A community run café and kitchen are located to the south of the site, to maximise daylighting and ensure there is no overshadowing to the courtyard. The café provides an acoustic buffer between the café courtyard adjacent housing, offers views towards the playing fields and provides access to/ from the car park.

Sadly, our scheme was not selected from the 39 entries received but the exercise allowed us to develop new connections with experienced industry consultants and establish new links with others that we hope to have the opportunity to work with on future projects. You can find out more at https://slabdu.co.uk/elsenham-community-centre/

Revisiting a project from a few years ago, and continuing our obsession with timber (Siberian Larch this time), here’s a...
25/06/2025

Revisiting a project from a few years ago, and continuing our obsession with timber (Siberian Larch this time), here’s a new visual of our Kiosk for the Future project in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana by the marvellous Studio Stravaig as part of our retail and civic projects portfolio.

The kiosk was designed as a replacement for the iconic K67 kiosk and continues the theme of curves that defined the original’s form and presence, conceived as a mobile structure that could be placed in locations across the city, redefining urban activity.

A steam bent laminated plywood structure clad in locally sourced larch with a naturally ventilated plywood clad interior and recycled cork flooring created a building that weathers over time and responds to changes in temperate conditions. The dual canopies over the serving hatches are supported on solid timber haunches, painted red to refer back to the original K67 kiosk colour scheme.

Mounted on wheels, it is easily transportable and can be securely stored in a garage when not in use.

Threes a charm! Today we have submitted a new planning application for our revised and enhanced extension and refurbishm...
24/06/2025

Threes a charm! Today we have submitted a new planning application for our revised and enhanced extension and refurbishment project in Harborne, Birmingham.

We have worked closely with our client since last year to develop a scheme that responded to its context, acknowledged the development history of the existing property, and created a new diagram of legible spaces and connectivity to unlock the potential of the scheme.

Looking forward to commencing technical design and getting this one on site later in the year, and thanks to Studio Stravaig for yet another killer visual!

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