Upstairs Architects was established by Directors Alan Holloway and Jessica Kinast. The practice gained its name from our first project, adding an additional storey to a property in Islington. We have since continued to grow our portfolio and have now undertaken over 100 commissions.

Alan studied at the Canterbury School of Architecture where he received the Diploma School Prize and the RIBA (Canterbury) Prize for his final year design work for a library of abstract art. Alan’s interest in abstract art is the source of his approach to architectural design. Alan was a Partner at Penoyre & Prasad Architects, before deciding to establish Upstairs Architects. Alan is a member of Design South East’s design review panel, has been a member of the RIBA’s Housing Group and became a qualified Code for Sustainable Homes assessor.

Jessica is a UK and German qualified architect. She received the Mendelsohn Prize for her university final year design work. However she considered one architectural qualification was not enough, and Jessica moved to London to complete another at the University of North London. After working on a range of projects at a major architectural practice, Jessica specialized as a residential design coach for the practice, before taking the step to establish Upstairs Architects.