Image Credit : Stale Eriksen - Photographer
Project Overview
Located in Central London, in close proximity to Whitechapel and Brick Lane, Spitalfields House can be seen as a triumph of interior design and renovation that has completely transformed a prosaic and outmoded urban dwelling into a multi-functional and minimalistic haven. The resulting property is very much a tale of two opposing worlds, with the simple yet refined residential exterior fabric belying a hidden oasis within the confines of the unassuming two up two down end-of-terrace house.
When viewed from the surrounding streetscape the project's refined but modest exterior conceals a rich inner life. The project brief called for a complete overhaul of the property with open plan family spaces at ground and basement levels respectively that would allow for maximum adaption in future family use patterns. The scheme design consists of a warm palate of raw materials, and has been designed to promote flexibility and to remain clutter-free in practice despite the day-to-day requirements of family life.
Importantly, the extensive renovation and interior design works have allowed the client to achieve their dream lifestyle, spatial and functional brief, whilst remaining in close proximity to elderly relatives and friends rather than needing to move to a new location.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Juan Guilmar Baldoni - Project Architect
Tuga Contractors Ltd - Main Contractor
Studio Idealyc (Phase 1 Contractor)
Project Brief
The project had a highly challenging brief that called for the extensive renovation of a mundane two-up-two-down end-of-terrace property to almost double the usable floor area of the host building and provide both a fully functioning family home with extensive open plan family space over two levels. It needed to simultaneously provide and a haven for relaxation, calm repose and prayer, all with a highly minimalist aesthetic that would need to remain fully clutter free in use and operation.
Storage and built-in appliances are key to achieving a minimal space that remains minimal in practice despite the day-to-day requirements of family life. Extensive built-in storage (and appliances at ground and basement levels) features at all levels of the building and is formed from sustainably sourced timber in a variety of flat panel and articulated motifs.
As well as providing a beautiful interior for our client, the design also needed to maximise passive environmental features, healthy and low embodied energy materials, and Low energy fixtures and fittings, whilst achieving an exception level of finish and highly minimal lifestyle space for the client and their family. These have been adopted as standard internally, and materials with a low embodied carbon level such as timber and limestone have been utilised throughout. Facing blockwork is used extensively at ground and basement level; this has a great acoustic performance, fire resistance, and thermal mass, which helps provide a stable year-round temperature.
Project Innovation/Need
Rather than move away from family and friends, who live in the same street, the client opted to commission an exceptional ambitious scheme; Inherent to the project brief was a vision of the client to achieve overlapping spatial narratives that could at once promote relaxation and repose, space for reverence and prayer, combined with minimal and clutter free living, and inherent flexibility for future changes of use pattern and growth of the family.
The resulting home very much serves as a beacon of possibility for domestic interior design and renovation where a client’s family can achieve a holistic and dramatic transformation in lifestyle and functionality whilst not needing to move away from their surrounding family and community. Overall we believe that Spitalfields House stands as a testament to the client’s vision and dedication to dramatically re-imagine their dream home within the confines of their existing property despite the inherent challenges posed by the 1980's end-of-terrace host building.
Light and access to exterior space are fundamental tenets of the building’s design philosophy at all levels, and the ground and basement levels intermingle with the rear relaxation garden and a series of pocket terraces to create visual connectivity and to harness an abundance of natural light and visual access to small but bio-diverse spaces. The upper floors are intimate and warm and comprise three large en-suite bedrooms with extensive hardwood timber joinery and exterior balcony features, including a playful secret ‘pocket-hatch’ onto the master bedroom.
Design Challenge
The project had a highly challenging brief that called for the extensive renovation of a mundane two-up-two-down end-of-terrace property to almost double the usable floor area of the host building and provide both a fully functioning family home with extensive open plan family space over two levels, and a haven for relaxation, calm repose and prayer, all with a highly minimalist aesthetic that would need to remain fully clutter free in use and operation.
Storage and built-in appliances are key to creating a minimal space that can remain minimal in practice despite the day-to-day requirements of family life. Extensive built-in storage (and appliances at ground and basement levels) features at all levels of the building and is formed from sustainably sourced timber in a variety of flat panel and articulated motifs.
As well as providing a beautiful interior for our client, the design also needed to maximise passive environmental features, healthy and low embodied energy materials, and Low energy fixtures and fittings, whilst achieving an exception level of finish and highly minimal lifestyle space for the client and their family. These have been adopted as standard internally, and materials with a low embodied carbon level such as timber and limestone have been utilised throughout. Facing blockwork is used extensively at ground and basement level; this has a great acoustic performance, fire resistance, and thermal mass, which helps provide a stable year-round temperature.
Sustainability
Our approach to sustainability was two-fold, encompassing both lifetime flexibility on the one hand, and on the other, extensive energy efficiency considerations, use of healthy materials, and application of measures to prevent future climate change.
The former approach sought to creating an extensive sequence of spaces that the client and their family could grow in to, whilst inviting in pockets of biodiversity in playful ways, allowing space for repose and prayer, homeworking and creating spaces that could be flexible, and catering for a wide variety of large family events. This design, planning and strategic approach sought to indemnify the development's usefulness well into the future.
The latter approach encompasses a wide range of sustainable measures, including:
- Facing blockwork is used extensively, including internally; this has a great acoustic performance, fire and flood resistance, and thermal mass, which helps provide a stable year-round temperature.
- Accoya was selected for all window and doors frames as is non-toxic and 100% recyclable and has exceptional lifespan
- Water attenuation is created in the rear garden via use of a pond that collects rain water
- Natural daylighting and cross-ventilation throughout, including at basement
- Roller blinds have been incorporated to every window to reduce solar glare, and a tree has been planted in the back garden to provide long-term passive shading to the living space.
- Thermal Bridging reduction and high-performing thermal insulation
Interior Design - Residential
This award celebrates innovative and creative building interiors with consideration given to space creation and planning, furnishings, finishes and aesthetic presentation. Consideration also given to space allocation, traffic flow, building services, lighting, fixtures, flooring, colours, furnishings and surface finishes.
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