APARTMENT BLOCK
An impeccably hand-crafted, two-storey apartment, designed as a solid piece of joinery ‘inserted’ into a Grade II listed building
Apartment Block’s main living and circulation spaces have been carved out of over 30,000 individually cut and laid cross-section blocks made of European Oak. They maximise the sense of openness, light and spatial quality by cleverly reconfiguring the existing mezzanine over the huge double-height living room.
The new timber blocks create a granular richness of delicate light. They were individually hand cut and laid and now cover most of the space, including flooring in the living room, kitchen, and flexible dining room on the ground floor, and the office space on the mezzanine level.
Behind the living area sits a contemporary kitchen and a flexible dining room, which can be converted into a second bedroom when necessary. A staircase, which has been moved to the side of the plan for efficiency, ceremonially leads up to a study area that looks back over the double-height space and is screened off from the master bedroom behind sliding screens.
REVEALING A HISTORIC SPACE
The existing flat was dark and cramped with a convoluted floorplan and there was no celebration of the spaces’ original Victorian features. Our work reveals the past, including windows, glazing and cornicing, while celebrating the potential of this as a modern home.
FEATURE WINDOWS
The three-metre-tall original sash timber windows now are featured in the main living space, with ornately crafted opening shutters lined with translucent linen to allow light in whilst still maintaining privacy.
AN ORCHESTRA OF SHADOWS
The shutters filter sun from the south-facing windows during the day and streetlamp light by night, casting an orchestra of shadows on the walls of the double height living space, ever-changing and moving throughout the day.
FLEXIBLE SPACES
A sliding pocket window panel to the kitchen can be closed off as needed to offer privacy to a flexible dining room/ snug area.
CLOSED / OPEN
Japanese-inspired sliding screens separate the bedroom from the desk area and double height space. They can be left open to let light in across the mezzanine or closed to provide privacy with blackout fabric.
LOCATION
London, UK
SIZE
915 sqft
STATUS
Completed in 2019
CLIENT
Private
AWARDS
/ Don’t Move, Improve Materiality and Craftsmanship Prize — won