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London architecture studio Daab Design has turned a former art storage vault in Marylebone, London, into a two-bedroom apartment full of Georgian period features that were restored with the help of an archaeologist. More
Structural ash and pine joinery – including a staircase, mezzanine and double-height storage wall – delineate the space within this refurbished, open-plan apartment in London by EBBA Architects.Located in an old matchstick factory in the city’s East End, the one-bedroom, 80-square-metre apartment belongs to a young professional couple, who asked the emerging local firm to “completely reimagine” its layout.
The apartment features a bespoke wooden staircase, top image, and a double-height shelving unit, above
The former plan featured subdividing walls, which created a small kitchen and lounge area, and a dark bedroom upstairs. An enclosed staircase took up almost a quarter of the floor space.
EBBA Architects began by removing most of the walls and the large, existing staircase to provide a more functional and flexible living space.
A dining area is tucked under the mezzanine
The remodelled apartment is split across a ground floor and mezzanine level, both finished in a palette of subdued neutrals. A double-height living area is located downstairs alongside a dining room and kitchen, which are tucked under the mezzanine.
Upstairs, a bedroom and en-suite bathroom sit next to a desk area, dressing room and a snug that doubles as a guest bedroom and can be sectioned off with a curving curtain.
The staircase is made from white-stained ash
“Key to the brief was extending the mezzanine to add space upstairs and rearrange the bedroom from the dark corner of the flat,” EBBA Architects founding director Benni Allan told Dezeen.
“The need to extend the floor upstairs prompted us to imagine the new stair and mezzanine as a large, functional piece of furniture.”
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Made from a slender framework of white-stained ash, the staircase helps to prop up the new joists to the mezzanine, which the architects left exposed.
The apartment’s bespoke joinery also includes a double-height shelving unit made from white-stained pine that helps to emphasise the height of the main living space.
The shelving system stands next to the open kitchen
“We looked at the brief as a way of questioning how to provide a mix of spaces in the compact plan, including places to rest and work,” added Allan.
“Budget was tight, so we maximised the potential to express features in the project through the joinery and exposing all the timber.”
White-stained pinewood was used to create the storage unit
According to the architects, the white-stained ash serves as a “soft background to the apartment”, which is in harmony with the interior’s other neutral-toned materials.
This spans everything from the cement floor to the kitchen counter – a terrazzo-like slab made of translucent aggregate and fine black basalt – and is complemented by simple, unobtrusive lighting fixtures.
Other interiors where furniture merges with structure include the Spinmolenplein penthouse in Ghent by Jürgen Vandewalle, where a “bed-cabinet”, kitchen island and boxed-in bathroom help organise the floor plan.
Photography is by Benni Allan.
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From a mini-fridge to a folding desk and a concealed make-up mirror, this compact London apartment designed by local firm MWAI features a variety of space-saving solutions.Commissioned by a busy, professional client who works internationally, the architects were asked to transform a 37-square-metre, one-bedroom apartment in a Mayfair mansion block into a minimalist “pied-à-terre”.
Top image: an open-plan area includes the kitchen, living room and workspace. Above: neutral colours were used throughout
“We thought accommodating sleeping, living, dining and working in a 37-square-metre apartment while also delivering the feel of a spacious interior was a very challenging brief,” said the practice.
“We decided we should not look at it like a residential project but rather like a hotel suite, where all functions are carefully and discreetly planned to provide a functional response to business and leisure travelling needs.”
The apartment’s built-in storage includes a folding desk
Finished in a palette of natural materials like wood and stone, the apartment features an abundance of bespoke, built-in storage.
According to MWAI, the main challenge was to maximise the limited amount of useable space in the apartment. Restricted by sloping ceilings, the apartment had a poor existing layout and was in need of renovation.
Walls in the bedroom are painted grey
In order to create a more efficient footprint in the London apartment, the practice began by removing and replacing all of the walls, floors and ceilings.
Particular attention was paid to minimising the footprint of the bathroom and kitchen by placing them into the centre of the plan, sandwiched between the living room and bedroom.
The bathroom walls are finished in waterproof cement
A wet room is now accessed from the bedroom, with a pivoting flush door used to separate the rooms.
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The bathroom walls are clad in a waterproof cement polymer render, providing a textured finish that is enhanced by recessed lighting. Sleek industrial fixtures and sanitaryware were chosen to offset the textured walls.
The kitchen conceals appliances and features sleek hardware
To maximise floor space in the kitchen, the architects concealed units and equipment, including a mini-fridge, behind panels in the wall lining.
A kitchen island accommodates the hob and oven and also doubles as a dining table.
Light flooring runs throughout the apartment
A wall of bespoke storage is built into the bedroom, including a make-up cabinet with a concealed mirror and clothes steamer.
In the living room, custom-made cabinets with an integrated folding desk are installed along one wall and furnishings are kept to a minimum. A simple fireplace made from Vicenza stone acts as a focal point for the space.
The stone fireplace is a focal point
Other architecture firms that have created clever, space-saving solutions for compact apartments include Ukrainian firm Ater Architects, which hung curtains in place of walls in a Kyiv flat.
In Madrid, Spanish studio Husos Arquitectos designed a 46-square-metre plywood-lined apartment that features a vertical garden and sleeping pod.
Photography is by Billy Bolton.
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Artworks by Olafur Eliasson informed architect Ben Allen’s revamp of his two-storey maisonette in London’s Bethnal Green, which features mirrored furniture elements.The maisonette is set inside Keeling House, a 16-storey residential block that was designed by English architect Denys Lasdun in 1957.
Reflective artworks by Olafur Eliasson are presented in the home’s stairwell
The founder of Studio Ben Allen and his wife decorated their home’s interior with an array of personal possessions so that it looks like a cabinet of curiosities.
Amongst these possessions are a number of optical artworks gifted by Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson, whom Allen worked for over a 10-year period.
Oval mirrored side tables have been placed beside the bed
Several of the artworks are crafted from glass or mirror, and this prompted Allen to incorporate reflective elements in other spaces throughout the home.
The architect was also inspired by the round convex mirrors that appear in London’s Sir John Soane Museum, which playfully skew how visitors perceive the exhibition rooms.
The bedroom’s vanity table is also mirrored
A pair of oval mirrored side tables feature in the bedroom that’s located on the maisonette’s upper floor.
Another mirrored panel has been mounted on the wall to form the backing of a vanity table, which boasts a semi-circular brass ledge where jewellery, perfume bottles and other trinkets can be displayed.
The bedroom has otherwise been simply finished with white-painted walls, larch wardrobes and exposed-wired lighting fixtures.
More mirrors have been affixed to the bathroom’s cabinet and walls
In the bathroom, half-moon-shaped mirrors have been affixed to the doors of a storage cabinet, which sits directly above a bespoke green-concrete sink.
The image of the sink is repeated in an arched mirror on an adjacent wall.
The bathroom’s hardware is made from gold-hued brass
Surfaces are clad with jade-green tiles, while taps, spouts and the tubular shower head are made from brass. Perforated shutters have also been installed in front of the windows to allow just a little amount of natural light to seep through from the outdoors.
“We wanted the bathroom to be purposefully darker to contrast with the brightness of the rest of the flat and to imbue it with a sense of refuge,” Allen explained.
Studio Ben Allen makes Room for One More inside Barbican flat
At this level of the house, there’s additionally a study that has a green cushioned daybed and a larch work table.
A study with larch-wood joinery is on the home’s upper floor
Most of Eliasson’s art pieces can be seen in the maisonette’s stairwell, displayed alongside arched mirror shelves that hold candles or tiny architectural models.
Steps lead down to the lower floor, where Allen has exclusively applied a selection of “robust” materials which are meant to age well over time.
“[Materials] have also been chosen to give a sense of tactile warmth both when the flat is flooded with daylight, as well as on overcast days and at night,” added Allen.
Downstairs is the kitchen, which features a green-concrete counter
The kitchen, for example, has oak cupboards and a green-concrete countertop. A grey-tile splashback is dotted with brass pegs where crockery or cooking utensils can be hung.
Just opposite there’s a book-lined sitting room complete with a black leather sofa and a cosy oak seating nook that doubles-up as a storage box.
A tall shelving unit separates the kitchen from the sitting room
To loosely divide these two spaces, Allen and his team have erected a trellis-style shelving unit that stretches from floor to ceiling. A small work desk can be pulled out from the blue fibreboard drawers that sit at the unit’s base.
The presence of the unit acts as a small homage to architect Lasdun, who had originally designed the flats inside Keeling House with galley kitchens that were separate from the sitting rooms.
This was changed in the 1990s when, at risk of demolition, the building was completely revamped to feature minimal, open-plan living areas.
The sitting room includes a cosy window nook
Expansive panels of glazing look through to the maisonette’s balcony, where Allen has added a planter filled with wild grass and a Rhus Typhina tree. Beyond lies views of Hampstead Heath park and the city of London.
Allen established his self-titled studio in 2014 and has since gone on to complete a number of projects. Just last year, the studio created an artichoke-shaped garden room for a home in southwest London, and renovated a Barbican flat to include colourful fold-out furniture.
Photography is by French + Tye.
Project credits:
Architects: Studio Ben Allen (Team: Ben Allen and Marco Nicastro)Main contractor: Sullivan and CompanyBalcony and window planting scheme design: Todd Longstaffe-Gowan
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London studio Archmongers has renovated a duplex flat in one of the city’s most influential housing estates, using shades of red, yellow and blue to complement the modernist materials palette.The three-bedroom home is located within Hatfield House on the Golden Lane Estate, a complex designed and built in the 1950s by Chamberlin, Powell and Bon, the same architects responsible for the Barbican.
The renovation celebrates the original design of the Golden Lane flat
Archmongers’ refurbishment is designed to celebrate the flat’s key features – the bright and open living spaces, the efficient organisation of spaces, and material details like the terrazzo stairs and tiled surfaces.
Referencing historic photos of original Golden Lane flats, architects Margaret Bursa and Johan Hybschmann sought to reinstate details that had been removed or covered over in an earlier remodelling, which they described as “mundanely neutral”.
Wooden frames create subtle separation between kitchen and living spaces
The architects added chunky wooden frames to recreate separation between the kitchen and lounge space, without losing the visual connection.
Bespoke steel storage cabinets were installed, while original hardwood window frames and parquet flooring were uncovered.
Details are picked out in primary colours
“The biggest change was, in many ways, bringing it back to what it once was,” Hybschmann told Dezeen. “Not because we had to, but because it made a lot of sense.”
“The original palette of materials felt very modern and we wanted any new element or surface to be as relevant for many years to come.”
These bright colours also feature in the bedrooms
Bursa and Hybschmann chose to apply primary colours to various details in the renovated flat, referencing some of the historic exterior details on the Golden Lane Estate.
Shades of red and yellow highlight the front door and entrance area. The same hues feature in the first floor bedrooms and bathroom, along with blue tones – the idea was to give every room its own colour, in a high-gloss finish.
Each bedroom has its own colour
“We’ve tried as best as possible to colour match the red, yellow, blue and dark blue exterior panels of each of the blocks making up the estate,” explained Hybschmann.
“They work very well together and it’s a nice reference to bring into the interiors of the building.”
The colours reference details on the building’s exterior
Other material details also help to tie spaces together. The granite surfaces in the kitchen echo the terrazzo of the staircase, while the new black quarry tiles in the kitchen match up with those in the external hallways.
Studio Ben Allen makes Room for One More inside Barbican flat
The bathroom was given an upgrade too, to make it more suitable for modern living. It now includes a Japanese-style bath and a walk-in shower, with a new internal window that allows more daylight in.
The home is brought to life by the addition of the clients’ midcentury furniture and large book collection.
The bathroom was updated with a Japanese-style bath and walk-in shower
Archmongers has previously worked on other modernist refurbishments, in the Barbican and The Ryde in Hertfordshire, along with various council houses in London. The architects’ ongoing aim is to show the inherent potential in these midcentury buildings.
“Being able to work on another of London’s iconic modernist estates was a privilege,” added Bursa.
“Our experience helped us to deliver spaces sympathetic to the original vision while also creating a home that will intrigue, invite exploration, and provide opportunities for people to discover, enjoy, and deepen their engagement with modernist architecture.”
Photography is by French + Tye.
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A spinning porthole offers shifting views of living spaces inside this London apartment, which Surman Weston has finished with bespoke decor elements. The 54-square-metre apartment is set within Makepeace Mansions, a 1920s residential block in the Highgate neighbourhood with a mock-Tudor facade. In the past it had undergone a “piecemeal” renovation that left behind a […] More
Intervention Architecture has installed shapeshifting furniture in a Barbican apartment in London, allowing it to transform from a home into a dance studio. Barbican Dancer’s Studio is a compact studio flat in the Barbican Estate, owned by a professional ballerina. With very little space on offer, the challenge for Intervention Architecture was to create generous […] More
Monochrome interiors create a minimal backdrop to artworks by William Klein, Ellen von Unwerth and Bill Viola inside this renovated loft in central London. Designed by architecture studio Originate, Regent’s Park Loft serves as a pied-a-terre for a family of four who are based in Israel, but frequently travel to the UK for business. The 185-square-metre residence […] More
