16 Uxbridge Street, London W8 7SY
A House for Bibliographies
This project re-models a 107 sqm GIA three storey terraced house in Notting Hill, London. The client, a couple who are bibliophiles, have lived in the house for 20 years. We converted the house for them when they first bought it. More recently, wanting to stay in the house, they decided to re-model it, to reflect their changed requirements, and with the benefit of the familiarity of twenty years habitation. This was a huge pleasure for us, to work with design orientated clients with so much experience of the house, to reinterpret their needs.
Our client had experientially developed a deep understanding of the house’s positive characteristics and key limitations, and of the spaces, their orientation, outlook, and aspect, and of the importance of the interconnectedness of all the spaces up through the house. The new design builds on this, and also how our clients have moved forward in their lives, and in particular how they had developed their passion for collecting books, accumulating more than six thousand volumes, including rare first editions. They wanted space to store the books, with spare capacity, if possible, using a discrete system of cupboards on all three levels, with high quality bespoke joinery.
This is a scheme, therefore, solely for themselves, without being concerned about creating value or a market product. In addition to the highly focused design, this project is innovative in that it demonstrates a reengagement with spaces, orientations and views that are familiar, whilst facilitating the creation an entirely new and fresh relationship between the occupants and the building. It is a reimagining of the lived experience of the house.
The accommodation was simplified to one bedroom, a shower room, and a guest toilet, replacing two bedrooms and two wet rooms, allowing the lower ground floor to be opened up, incorporating sufficient space at the rear for some living and working. The first floor remained as a living space, benefitting from the light at the top of the house. The raised ground floor – the entrance level – remained as a kitchen and dining area. The kitchen is contained entirely within a monolithic island unit, set out on the long axis of the house, and measuring 1m x 4m. This giant piece of furniture houses all the kitchen appliances and equipment and offers one continuous worktop that can be accessed from three sides.
The design establishes a sequence of serene contemporary domestic spaces in a 19th shell. The character of the house is open and warm. The pale hues selected for the primary materials of joinery, terrazzo, and timber flooring establish a subtle relationship throughout the interior. The materials palette thereby enhances the spaces, emphasising the integrated sequence up through the section. An ethereal glass staircase, barely there, allows light from the enlarged rooflight to flow down into the lower ground floor. The interiors are interwoven by this flow of natural light. Complemented by the play of light from the highly transparent glass staircase, and from the rooflight above the stairs, the palette unifies the interior, opening it up, and providing an experientially seamless movement through the building.
This project, in effect a hybrid – an historic shell and a modern structural and spatial intervention – illustrates what is possible in design terms for a new home when working with an existing building. The expansive character achieved for the interiors demonstrate that it is not always necessary to demolish and build anew. Here, a mid-nineteenth century terrace house provides, in a contemporary upgrade, a home, a library and workspaces, with a much-improved energy performance.
The project also illustrates what can be achieved when working in close cooperation with a client, one that has extensive experience of the house, and one who has a strong appreciation of design, and the importance of the attention to every detail.
Sustainability and Energy Strategy
The sustainability strategy was targeted at improving the thermal performance of the building, and making the fabric more airtight, thereby reducing heat loss and making more efficient use of the heating system. The front and rear external walls and the party walls up through the whole building are lined with insulation set within a timber framework. All fenestration is new. The new sash windows are double glazed and incorporate seals between the sashes and the box frame. All the modern glazing comprises low iron glass with solar control coating on the outer layer.
The completed scheme achieved a B rating for the EPC certificate.
