2026 is shaping up to be another busy year for OCA Studio, with a range of exciting projects both in development and about to start. We are delighted to be featured in the current Generation exhibition at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh, alongside some illustrious company, and are pleased to share further details about A Life in Architecture, the new publication celebrating our founder, Oliver Chapman.
RSA Generation Exhibition
We are honoured to be exhibiting three OCA Studio projects as part of Generation at the Royal Scottish Academy. The exhibition explores architectural lineage and the idea of an “architectural family tree,” bringing together practices led by architects who began their careers at Richard Murphy Architects.
For us, Generation is both a moment of reflection and of looking forward — acknowledging the legacy of our founder Oliver Chapman (1969–2024), while continuing to develop new work grounded in craft, sustainability, and community.
Generation runs until 8 March 2026 at the RSA, Edinburgh. Entry is free. You can find us in the Finlay Room (Lower Galleries).
Book publication
'Oliver Chapman: A Life in Architecture' by Professor Richard Weston has recently been published.
Combining biography with detailed studies of selected works, the book offers an insightful account of OCA Studio founder Oliver Chapman’s life, practice and projects,. It serves as a quiet manifesto for an architecture of modest scale, careful detailing, and a strong commitment to people and place. For those relatively new to architecture, the book also makes an excellent introduction to both the subject and the profession.
The book will be available to purchase online and from the RIAS bookshop - we look forward to sharing more details very soon.
Our new team member
We’re pleased to welcome Rachel to OCA Studio, who joined the practice last year as Project Architect. Rachel is currently working across a range of community projects and private homes. She brings experience from cultural, civic, residential, education, and workplace projects, with a particular interest in balancing conservation with contemporary architecture and craftsmanship.
Current projects
We are currently working with Coulter Community Trust to develop restoration proposals for Coulter Library, a much-loved and historic building at the heart of the village. At St Margaret's House in Dunfermline's Heritage Quarter, we are enjoying getting stuck into proposals for the future of this beautiful building, working Fife Historic Buildings Trust and Munro Allison conservation architects.
We have recently submitted planning applications for a sensitive extension to a Category C-listed croft house in Brechin, as well as for the reconfiguration and extension of a semi-detached Victorian property in the Blacket Conservation Area in Edinburgh, and we look forward to progressing both projects in the coming months.
Works are due to commence on site next month for our loft conversion at Morningside Park. Construction is now well underway at St Giles Street in Edinburgh’s Old Town, where we are renovating an apartment within a Category B-listed Scots Baronial tenement. Completion is anticipated in summer 2026. Work is also ongoing on home renovations in the New Town, Trinity and the Broxburn conservation area, where we are at the early stages of a deep retrofit designed to the ambitious EnerPHit standard, which will use renewables and Passivhaus methodology to reduce operational carbon emission and heating bills to almost zero.
Images above: Developing proposals for Coulter Public Library, Coulter
Image above: Pearse Croft, Brechin, courtyard extension
Image left: Developing proposals St Margaret’s House, Dunfermline, Image right: Photograph St Giles Street Scots Baronial tenement [1930s] ©HES
Looking ahead
We are delighted to be working with Laggan Church Partnership on a high-level feasibility study exploring potential future uses for the Category B-listed Laggan Church. Alongside this, we are excited to be developing a future vision for Livingston Free Church, supporting the church’s future through increased worship capacity, improved community facilities, and safer, more usable outdoor amenity.
Early design work is also underway at Newbyth Walled Garden, East Linton, where we are exploring the conversion of existing stables into a unique family home.
Image left: Photograph Laggan Church © Crown Copyright / The National Archives Image right: Newbyth Walled Garden, Whitekirk. Oblique aerial photograph © HES (Aerofilms Collection)