It was both time to jump ship or to reinvent their north London townhouse. Following nearly 40 many years of dwelling less than the exact same leaky roof, Russell Vandyk and Alan Martin Day, each retired, daringly chose the latter. The pair employed Studio Ben Allen to add a two-story extension on to the again of their terraced Victorian. The ask came with a reward each individual style workforce longs for: they were being encouraged, suggests Allen, to “use the venture as a testbed for concepts.”
In reaction, the architects, led by Allen and Omar Ghazal, took the possibility to “push the boundaries of off-website fabrication, something we felt was missing in small-scale household assignments.” Specially, they made use of prefabricated pigmented concrete on both equally the exterior and inside, as structural aspects that are also attractive many thanks to Studio Allen’s bold use of colour and curves. The addition now houses a double-peak new skylit kitchen with a mezzanine that connects to the present primary stair and potential customers to a incredibly memorable new bathtub. And there’s additional: Vandyk and Working day in essence attained an totally new dwelling that however retains highlights of the original—and has gained a great deal of appreciation from the United kingdom style and design community. Dubbed The Residence Recast, the rework was named “best new household improvement project” of 2021 in the NLA’s once-a-year “Don’t Move, Strengthen!” contest. Sign up for us for a tour.
“There used to be a smaller galley kitchen area with only just one window and a dining desk squidged up towards it, and the backyard garden was just a scrappy little bit of land,” Vandyk advised The Modern-day Property. “It’s not as if we have been indifferent or sloppy,” additional Day. “The property just was not definitely at the centre of our universe. When we have been younger, we experienced distinctive priorities. A good deal of our daily life was outside. Now, it is about house comforts.”
Of late, there’s been a good deal of problem in the style globe about the high-carbon cost of developing concrete. Eco-friendlier versions—aka “green concrete”—are now surfacing, but Allen says that this project unfortunately predated the existing dialogue.
The design and style was encouraged by architect Omar Ghazal’s Jordanian heritage, and by Middle Japanese references in Victorian architecture, this kind of as at Leighton Residence, the Holland Park residence of painter Sir Frederic Leighton.
“Alan’s argument was, if we restrict them, we’re not heading to conclusion up with just about anything really fascinating,” Vandyk commented to The Fashionable Dwelling. Extra Working day: “There was a extremely close collaboration in the consultations, but we hardly ever challenged anything…We’re so pleased that we didn’t start off tutting and stating no…We have the feeling of rootedness due to the fact we have been right here considering the fact that 1980, and still one thing so imaginative has been accomplished.” For far more, check out the NLA’s Do not Go, Increase! video clip on the task.
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