Mid-century renovations

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      Archmongers uses primary colours to revive a home in the modernist Golden Lane Estate

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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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      Retroscena is a colourful apartment renovation by La Macchina Studio

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      Italian architecture office La Macchina Studio has renovated a 1950s apartment in Rome, revealing original terrazzo floors and adding bold colours.Set in the Italian capital’s Appio Latino quarter, the mid-century one-bedroom apartment already had Venetian stone floors.

      The original terrazzo floors have been restored
      La Macchina Studio uncovered them and enlisted local craftsmen to restore the terrazzo, while the apartment was transformed into a “surreal set where reality and fiction coexist in a quasi-theatrical scene”.
      “With Retroscena, we wanted to enhance the irreverent and surreal nature of the architectural story,” said studio founders Gianni Puri and Enrica Siracusa.
      “It is inextricably linked to its photographic alter-ego by playing with colour contrasts, graphic motifs and unexpected incursions.”

      Pops of primary colour stand out against white walls

      Walls and certain elements have been painted bright white, to create a neutral backdrop for the graphic pops of colour.
      An arched doorway and a low, midcentury-style cabinet in the living area are painted a matching bright blue.

      A blue-painted wooden doorway leads to the bedroom
      A pair of zesty lemon-yellow fabric curtains can be pulled across to separate the living area from the kitchen diner and screen off the door to the balcony.
      The arching doorway juts out almost a metre from the wall, screening the kitchen furniture from the view of the hallway. The blue-lacquered wood marks the entrance to the bedroom.

      Yellow curtains can screen the living room off
      A red wall-hanging placed above the sofa marks another splash of primary colour.
      Another doorway set flush to the wall opens to reveal the two-room bathroom. In the first room, a bath and shower are all surrounded by square ceramic white tiles, set in dark grouting to create a graphic check mosaic.

      White square tiles form a check mosaic in the bathroom
      A pointy arched doorway leads to the second half of the bathroom, where a toilet and a bidet face each other across a sink, which is framed by the arch.

      Studio Strato creates cosy reading den in renovated Rome apartment

      Peacock-blue enamelled walls and a dimmable ring light mirror above the sink add to the theatrical styling of the bathroom.

      An arched doorway frames the sink
      In the bedroom, the floor has a ruddy hue, the result of a brick-red micro cement treatment applied by La Macchina Studio. A low-hanging orb-style pendant light and peach velvet curtains create a softer aesthetic.
      Pinkish cement flooring also differentiates the entryway. Built-in white wardrobes in the hallway conceal a hidden room that is used as a study.

      The bedroom has a micro cement floor
      La Macchina Studio was founded by Puri and Siracusa in 2013 and is based in Rome.
      More exciting Roman apartment renovations include a flat with terracotta-coloured walls and an apartment with a reading den visible through a porthole-style cutout.
      Photography is by Paolo Fusco.

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      Debaixo do Bloco Arquitetura remodels 1960s Brasília apartment

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      Brazilian studio Debaixo do Bloco Arquitetura has opened up the layout of an apartment in Brasília built in the 1960s to meet a family’s contemporary requirements.The remodelled apartment is located in residential building 308S in Brasília’s model superquadra, one of the first completed apartment blocks of the urban design scheme conceived by architect Lucio Costa and landscape architect Burle Marx.

      Local studio Debaixo do Bloco Arquitetura reconfigured the apartment’s standard layout, which split the main living areas into two separate spaces.

      In the updated floor plan the exposed concrete walls are cut open to form a single, shared space for the family to gather.

      The studio was careful to preserve modernist design elements in the apartment, including its granilite flooring and white cobogo screens.
      “The project is summed up in an exaltation of the Brazilian architecture lighting what is most typical in the city’s residences and buildings while joining the modernist and contemporary office technologies and references,” said the studio.

      Black cabinetry with corrugated glass doors contrasts with the white countertops in the kitchen. Natural light passes through the square cut-outs on the cobogo wall to brighten the narrow space.
      In the living room low-lying wood shelving units wrap around the space forming a bench in front of the large windows and a surface for storing objects along the interior wall. The lounge is furnished with a grey couch and wood tables.

      Bloco Arquitetos reconfigures 1960s Brasília apartment with translucent walls

      In the dining area and library, a massive wooden bookshelf is stacked with books and audio equipment.
      Three doorways that lead to the bedrooms and bathroom are concealed within the unit, which the studio custom-built.

      In the master bedroom, the backside of the shelf forms a decorative wall of wood panelling. Opposite the large windows, a row of black doors creates a closet that doubles as a doorway to enter the bathroom situated between the two bedrooms.
      Walls in the shared bathroom are clad with vertically-laid green tiles. A large rectangular mirror hangs above the wood vanity, which is topped with two circular sink basins.

      The existing cobogo screen and concrete wall from the kitchen continue into the second bedroom. In this bedroom the closet is covered with a series of mirrors that reflect the space’s wood furnishings and the decorative window treatment.
      Several of the wood furniture pieces in the apartment are designed by Debaixo do Bloco Arquitetura architect Clay Rodrigues. The studio also cut a hole into the cobogo wall so the client’s cats could access their litter box.

      Brazilian studio Bloco Arquitetos also renovated an apartment on the same building block in Brasília. As part of the remodel the studio added sliding translucent glass walls.
      Other projects by Debaixo do Bloco Arquitetura, which translates to English as Under the Block, include an abandoned hospital transformed into a contemporary art gallery.
      Photography is by Joana France.

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      Stayner Architects restores modernist Wave House in California

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      Los Angeles practice Stayner Architects has restored a 1950s house in Palm Desert, California, which was designed by modernist architect Walter S White to feature a wave-shaped roof. The dwelling was completed in 1955 for artist Miles C Bates and is named Wave House after its roofline. White, who patented the design of the structure, […] More

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      SHED updates mid-century modern home with “strong bones” in Seattle

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      An early 1950s dwelling in the Pacific Northwest that was originally built for cartoonist Irwin Caplan has received a sensitive refurbishment by American firm SHED. The house sits on a sloped site in Seattle’s Laurelhurst neighbourhood, with quick access to public transportation and the Burke-Gilman Trail. Dating to 1951, the home was possibly designed by […] More