It was both time to leap ship or to reinvent their north London townhouse. After nearly 40 a long time of residing underneath the same leaky roof, Russell Vandyk and Alan Martin Day, both equally retired, daringly selected the latter. The few hired Studio Ben Allen to include a two-story extension on to the again of their terraced Victorian. The ask came with a bonus every design workforce longs for: they ended up inspired, claims Allen, to “use the challenge as a testbed for concepts.”
In response, the architects, led by Allen and Omar Ghazal, took the opportunity to “push the boundaries of off-web page fabrication, some thing we felt was lacking in small-scale residential assignments.” Specially, they applied prefabricated pigmented concrete on equally the exterior and inside, as structural components that are also attractive many thanks to Studio Allen’s daring use of coloration and curves. The addition now houses a double-peak new skylit kitchen area with a mezzanine that connects to the present principal stair and prospects to a quite memorable new bath. And there’s much more: Vandyk and Day essentially gained an entirely new dwelling that however retains highlights of the original—and has earned a whole lot of appreciation from the United kingdom style neighborhood. Dubbed The House Recast, the transform was named “best new property advancement project” of 2021 in the NLA’s once-a-year “Don’t Move, Increase!” contest. Sign up for us for a tour.
“There employed to be a small galley kitchen with only 1 window and a dining table squidged up versus it, and the backyard garden was just a scrappy little bit of land,” Vandyk explained to The Present day House. “It’s not as if we ended up indifferent or sloppy,” extra Working day. “The household just was not really at the centre of our universe. When we ended up youthful, we experienced various priorities. A lot of our everyday living was outside. Now, it is about dwelling comforts.”
Of late, there is been a lot of problem in the style world about the higher-carbon value of developing concrete. Eco-friendlier versions—aka “green concrete”—are now surfacing, but Allen claims that this task sadly predated the latest discussion.
The design was influenced by architect Omar Ghazal’s Jordanian heritage, and by Center Japanese references in Victorian architecture, these as at Leighton Residence, the Holland Park home of painter Sir Frederic Leighton.
“Alan’s argument was, if we limit them, we’re not going to conclude up with something very fascinating,” Vandyk commented to The Fashionable House. Extra Working day: “There was a pretty shut collaboration in the consultations, but we under no circumstances challenged anything…We’re so joyful that we did not get started tutting and saying no…We have the feeling of rootedness mainly because we have been right here since 1980, and still a thing so imaginative has been performed.” For much more, observe the NLA’s Do not Go, Improve! online video on the job.