Studio Bua’s London-based architecture and interior design practice is grounded in a human-centred approach to creating spaces that hold a quiet gravitas.
Founded by Mark Smyth and Sigrún Sumarliðadóttir in 2017, Bua (meaning ‘to inhabit’ in Icelandic) believes in making sensitive observations of existing environments and how our clients wish to thrive within them. This leads to collaborative projects that form a harmony with their surroundings through impeccable craftsmanship and sustainable materiality.
Working on cultural, commercial and private buildings, as well as interior, landscape and exhibition design, we respect the cultural heritage of each context while introducing a sophisticated language that delights in its unexpected details. This enduring dialogue between the grand and the intimate, the raw and the refined, the ancient and the modern, results in thoughtfully told stories that confirm our belief that how we live – and where we inhabit – is nurtured by robust, honest design.

Sigrún Sumarliðadóttir
Director
Born into an artistic and academic family in Iceland, Sigrún Sumarliðadóttir’s childhood was spent drawing and making. Hands on clay and pencils. She attained her MA in visual arts from IUAV Venice and MSC in architecture from TU Delft, learning six languages along her path. At Oslo studio LMR Arkitektur, Sigrún worked as a project architect where she gained valuable experience in the design, procurement and construction of major public buildings across Norway. Since then, she’s elevated residential refurbishments with her intuitive interior designs. Studio Bua is the natural culmination of her multidisciplinary worlds and contemplative approach to the theatre of space.
Mark Smyth
Director
Mark Smyth grew up in Northern Ireland helping out at his family’s plant nursery. Hands on soil and wood. He graduated from the Glasgow School of Art before attaining his MSC in architecture from TU Delft. As an associate director at The Manser Practice in London, he became an expert in the rigours of developing listed dwellings and commercial new builds in both rural and urban locations throughout the UK. With Studio Bua, Mark gives full flight to his research-driven and deeply sympathetic point of view on building, interior and landscape design and knowledge of contemporary conservation.

Team
Juan Ruiz
Architect
Dimitri Savitchev
Part II Architectural Assistant
Jack Osmond
Part II Architectural Assistant
Collaborators
Giambattista Zaccariotto
Associate Professor at The Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO) International Master Landscape Architecture (IMLA)
Accolades
Architectural Digest’s AD100 2023
Finalist - Icelandic Design Award 2023
Winner - Dezeen Award for Residential Rebirth Project of the Year 2022
Commended - AR House Award 2021
Finalist - AJ Small Projects Awards 2021
Winner - AIA UK 2020 Excellence in Design Awards - Emerging Practice

Address
Unit B3, Sutherland House
London E17 6BU