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      The Mint List brings mid-century influences to north London family home

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      Interior design studio The Mint List has brought light, space and warmth to this Edwardian house in London with multiple extensions, a hidden playroom and plenty of tactile materials.

      The renovated end-of-terrace house in Kensal Rise belongs to a film-industry couple that wanted a cosy family home with mid-century elements, in particular referencing the work of designers Charles and Ray Eames.
      The Mint List has renovated and extended an Edwardian house in north London”The clients had a leaning towards mid-century style but they didn’t want that to overwhelm the scheme,” The Mint List founder Camilla Kelly told Dezeen.
      “The Eames House was a good mid-century reference in terms of encompassing warm, repurposed textures, a sense of scale and an abundance of light.”
      A new rear extension houses the home’s kitchen and dining spaceThe brief was to open up this formerly dark and “unremarkable” home and create an improved sense of flow.

      As well as adding two bedrooms and a small study in the newly converted loft, The Mint List created a rear extension to house the kitchen-dining space and absorbed the property’s former garage into the house, providing a mudroom, pantry and playroom.
      The custom-built kitchen island has two levelsThe playroom is cleverly concealed behind a bank of new storage in the hallway, which has also been enlarged by opening it up into the former porch.
      “There was huge importance given to light in the design,” said Kelly. “Wherever possible, we created tall windows benefiting from the south-facing aspect.”
      Bookshelves act as room dividers to form a hybrid library and snugThe house is full of custom-designed features and finishes at the request of the client.
      The floor uses unusually slim lengths of oak, laid at right angles to each other in huge grids, while the thresholds were distinguished with slender fins of brass that add subtle visual interest.
      The children’s playroom is hidden inside a wall of storage in the hallwayDrawing on the design language of mid-century furniture, the kitchen was completely custom-built for the space with a clean-lined, yet playfully asymmetric design.
      “We centralised the assembly and used high windows on either side of the cabinets to emphasise the cubic nature of the design,” said Kelly. “The asymmetric cubes that form the cabinets were built using walnut, with cream-painted doors for the covered storage.”

      The Mint List fits out London office with mid-century-style movable furniture

      The material mix includes walnut veneer, reeded glass, olive-coloured door fronts and antique brass detailing, as well as concrete and reclaimed iroko wood worktops.
      “I’m averse to keeping things all in one colour,” the designer said. “It’s a missed opportunity to bring texture, colour and character to a space.”
      The children’s bedroom is located on the first floorThe kitchen island was designed to account for the owners’ love of entertaining, with a section of the worktop raised to bar height to draw guests away from the cooking area.
      “The island is even more asymmetric, with different levels, drawers, shelves and openings that served to show how the geometry of a design can sometimes be off-kilter and still look neatly intentioned, as long as it sits correctly within the scale of the space,” Kelly said.
      A small study now occupies the loft alongside a primary bedrooms suiteThe curved bar provides a visual link to the rounded steps that lead down into the kitchen area, as well as to other curved elements throughout the house.
      “I like to include some curves in my projects through room openings, joinery and countertops,” Kelly said. “They help to soften spaces and improve flow from one area to the next.”
      The main bathroom is held in pale blue and green tonesAdjoining the kitchen is a hybrid library and snug, which is partially enclosed with oak shelving finished in glass and raffia, that double up as room dividers and nod to the Eames House in California.
      “We didn’t want this to be a dead space,” Kelly said. “It’s a quiet spot where you can curl up with a book or listen to music. And when the couple is entertaining, this is a soft space where you come to catch up with someone.”
      Four bedrooms are spread across the home’s upper levels, including a shared children’s bedroom with bunk beds on the first floor and two added bedrooms in the converted loft.
      A baby pink sink provides a pop of colourSince founding The Mint List in 2011, Kelly has completed a number of interior projects in London.
      Among them are the headquarters of music management company Everybody’s in Highbury, which she kitted out with mid-century-style movable furniture.
      The photography is by Dave Watts.

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      Ember Locke hotel channels Kensington’s decadent heyday

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      Warm saturated colours and maximalist touches are combined inside Locke Hotels’ latest outpost in west London, designed by local studios Atelier Ochre and House of Dré.

      Occupying an imposing Victorian mansion block in Kensington, the Ember Locke hotel was designed as a homage to some of the area’s historic architecture.
      Atelier Ochre and House of Dré have designed the Ember Locke hotelAmong the references brought in by the designers were the art deco Kensington Roof Gardens and the now-defunct Biba department store, which rose to popularity in the Swinging Sixties.
      “We wanted to create interiors that are an extension and interpretation of the neighbourhood, a space that reflects the cultural heritage of Kensington but also somewhere that shows the area’s evolution over time,” Atelier Ochre founder Pauline Dellemotte told Dezeen.
      “We wanted to delve into the world of bold patterns, rich colours, eclectic furniture and art deco details, to tap into the sense of opulence that once dominated the Kensington scene.”

      The hotel accommodates 121 serviced apartmentsInstead of traditional guest rooms, Ember Locke accommodates 121 serviced apartments over eight floors, alongside a bakery, restaurant and conservatory cocktail bar, a stage for live performances, a co-working space, a gym and a garden.
      Its interiors were designed to offer a contrast to the hotel’s location on bustling Cromwell Road – home to three of London’s most important museums including the V&A and the Natural History Museum.
      Velvet banquettes in the rooms are trimmed with ultra-long fringingThe building’s original arch-topped windows are mirrored in the arches and curves found in each room, from tubular-backed banquettes and chairs to the sculptural meandering clothes rail of the deconstructed wardrobe.
      “The curved edges of the banquette, the rotating mirror and the wardrobe rail are attempts to combine the unlikely trio of playfulness, comfort and practicality,” said House of Dré founder Andreas Christodoulou.
      “We’ve introduced some bold furniture and sculptural objects to spark a sense of curiosity and playfulness, and to allow guests to interact and reflect themselves within the space,” Dellemotte added.
      Each apartment also has a small kitchenetteThe velvet banquettes are trimmed with ultra-long fringing, echoed by the fringed pendant lights that hang low above the circular table in each room to zone the seating area.
      Brass detailing across coat hooks, wall lights and clothes rails adds to the sense of opulent modernity.

      Fettle designs Schwan Locke Hotel in homage to early German modernism

      An intense colour palette, which layers red, orange and mustard tones, is offset by the deep green of the apartment kitchenettes, highlighting the more practical nature of this area.
      “With the fringing and warm earthy colours, the rooms flirt with maximalism but still possess the calm and contemporary sophistication that one would expect from a Locke hotel,” said Christodoulou.
      The bed is separated from the kitchen via a cotton curtainHeavy recycled-cotton curtains in a claret colour, custom-created by London textile company Yarn Collective, track around the walls and create a flexible room divider, separating the bed and kitchen areas when needed.
      Many of the communal spaces feature art by local and up-and-coming artists alongside specially created works by House of Dré.
      Striped shower curtains jazz up the bathroomsThe project was a close creative collaboration between Dellemotte and Christodoulou.
      “We are old friends who met at a previous practice,” said Dellemotte. “Our friendship grew to include exciting collaborations across hospitality projects, where we combined our passions for design and art.”
      “At Ember Locke, we’ve been given the opportunity to blend the interior aesthetics and art curation of the spaces with the overall branding of the hotel in a holistic way.”
      Surfaces are finished in a salmony peach colourLocke Hotels already has a number of other outposts in London. Among them is one in Bermondsey – with interiors designed by Holloway Li to echo sunny California deserts – and one near St Paul’s Cathedral that is housed in a converted 1970s office block.
      The photography is by Kensington Leverne

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      Daytrip creates calm broken-plan interior for Edwardian home in west London

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      Warm, tactile materials and rich colours are balanced with a newfound sense of openness in this early 20th-century house that architecture studio Daytrip has renovated and extended in London.

      Queen’s Park House is a double-fronted Edwardian property – set in the titular west London neighbourhood – which Daytrip has taken from a series of run-down and characterless bedsits to a calm, contemporary home for a TV producer and his family.
      An understated foyer leads into Queen’s Park HouseAs the house had lost many of its Edwardian features, the studio devised contemporary takes on these details.
      Among them are the cherry wood “portals” by London carpenter Studio Manolo, which have replaced the architraves that once surrounded doors throughout the house.
      Daytrip extended the home with a bold new double-height volume to the rear, accommodating a hybrid kitchen-dining-living space and an open gallery housing a small study. In addition, the studio created a new principal bedroom suite at loft level.

      Steps lead down into the bespoke kitchen designed by Edward CollinsonDaytrip’s approach to the layout focused on maximising the feeling of space by opening up the connection points between previously discrete rooms.
      Stepping away from the traditional idea of a central corridor, the studio shifted the main route through the house to take in each room in turn.
      The spaces are differentiated by a drop in levels, as part of the semi-open broken-plan layout devised by Daytrip.
      A clerestory window provides views out from the living roomWhile these spaces retain their own individual functions and character, there is now a closer relationship between the individual rooms.
      “Traditional homes are full of dead ends where rooms feel secluded and separated,” Daytrip told Dezeen. “We wanted to create more connections.
      “It felt appropriate for a modern family lifestyle to create an easy and accessible route, from arrival down through the social spaces.”
      The living area also opens out onto a small gardenThe “arrival room” with its central table by local furniture maker Edward Collinson was designed to create a sense of calm to reframe the family’s mindset as they return home.
      On a practical level, this room also provides storage for all of the family’s coats, shoes and bags, concealed behind panelling that’s an inverted version of the typical period panelling found in Edwardian homes.
      Throughout the house, cherry timber was used in combination with the darker tones of the fumed oak floors.
      A gallery-level study sits above the kitchen”We enjoy the smoky effect of the fumed oak and used the warmer tones of the cherry as a counterpoint to that,” the practice said. “We like to use timber to create a tonal background, as it brings more depth to a room than paint alone.”
      From the foyer, steps descend into a more intimate snug, which is lined with umber-toned textured wallpaper and cherry timber shelving. This creates a darker, more cosy atmosphere that contrasts with the previous space.
      More steps link the snug to the newly extended kitchen, dining and living room.

      Daytrip transforms east London terrace house into understated apartments

      Here, floor-to-ceiling glass doors open the space up to the minimalist courtyard garden beyond – designed by regular Daytrip collaborator Tyler Gold Finch Gardens.
      Above this area, a clerestory window creates a dual-aspect outlook and frames views of the surrounding tree canopy.
      The kitchen, also made by Edward Collinson, features cherry wood panelling and Fior Di Pesco marble splashbacks, while the island is topped with a solid piece of lava stone in a glazed finish.
      The study is furnished with an Ekstrem chair by Terje Ekstrøm”We build palettes that reflect the mood and character of the property, often introducing both harmony and contrast,” Daytrip said.
      A poured concrete floor that was polished to a soft sheen continues out into the garden, creating a sense of seamlessness between the two spaces.
      Above the kitchen floats an open gallery, decorated in shades of russet with a rust-coloured carpet by Swedish brand Kasthall.
      Bathrooms provide an unexpected splash of colourFor the home’s colour palette, Daytrip referenced its red brick front and the greenery of the nearby park with an earthy mix of rusty-reddish tones, balanced by shades of bronze and bright mossy green.
      Beyond the study, the first floor is family-focused with children’s bedrooms and bathrooms, while the principal bedroom suite resides at the top of the house, benefitting from views of the London skyline.
      The bedroom was designed as a comfortable retreat, enveloped by tactile grasscloth wallpaper, in a warm amber tone. There’s an emphasis on softness here, with an off-white pure wool carpet as well as floor-to-ceiling diaphanous linen curtains.
      The principal bedroom was designed as a calming retreatLondon design consultancy Monument Store was chosen to furnish and style the house.
      “We liked Monument Store’s contrast of abstract and brutalist sculptural objét alongside post-modernist pieces such as the cult iconic Ekstrem chair in the gallery space, or the Tito Agnoli cane chairs in the kitchen-lounge,” Daytrip said.
      Linen curtains hide views of the London skylineThe studio has completed a number of London home extensions in recent years.
      Among them are two properties in east London’s Clapton – a townhouse with a newly excavated basement level and a Victorian terrace, which is now home to three separate apartments.
      The photography is by Pierce Scourfield.

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      Of Architecture builds beachside home for surfer-and-artist couple in Cornwall

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      London practice Of Architecture has used a fuss-free colour and material palette to create this understated home for a young couple in the town of Newquay in Cornwall.

      House by the Sea belongs to an artist and a surfer, who told Of Architecture that they wanted a home without extravagant finishes, instead preferring a living space that appears “simple, robust and utilitarian”.
      Of Architecture has designed House by the Sea for a couple in CornwallThough the brief was relatively straightforward, erecting the home proved tricky for the practice.
      “The house is located by the cliff side of Pentire peninsula and has a very steep driveway, so transporting material was a big challenge for everyone on site,” the Of Architecture co-founder James Mak told Dezeen.
      “We had to work with materials that could be carried by a small vehicle or by hand.”

      One of the sitting areas has uninterrupted views of Pentire Steps beachOnce the framework was in place, the house was finished with a “monolithic and modest” lime plaster facade.
      Key rooms were dispersed across the home’s open-plan first floor, where walls are almost exclusively painted an off-white shade.
      Prefabricated steps grant access to a cosy mezzanineIn one corner is the kitchen, which features black melamine plywood cabinetry and a large breakfast island topped with stainless steel.
      Overhead hangs a couple of industrial-style pendant lamps.
      The space is filled with artworks and other trinketsAdjacently lies a sitting area that directly overlooks Newquay’s picturesque Pentire Steps beach.
      Fronted by expansive sliding windows, the space is dressed with a classic Eames lounge chair and an L-shaped sofa upholstered in beige marl fabric.

      Jubilee Pool in Penzance reinvented as UK’s first geothermal seawater lido

      Another sitting area lies towards the rear of the first floor, facing a concrete blockwork wall.
      Backed against the wall is a wood burner with a tall slender flue that stretches up to meet the four-metre-high ceiling.
      A skylight in the beam-lined roof helps brighten the mezzaninePrefabricated plywood steps lead up to a mezzanine level tucked beneath the home’s sloping roof, which is held up by steel beams.
      Intended to serve as a cosy retreat, the space is illuminated by a single skylight while artworks are casually leaned up against its walls and books are showcased on a wrap-around gridded shelf.
      The minimalist aesthetic of the first floor then carries over onto the home’s ground floor, which accommodates two guest bedrooms – complete with their own en suites – a cloakroom and a utility room.
      Rooms on the home’s ground floor are also pared backA number of other architecturally striking homes can be found along the British coast.
      Examples include RX Architects’ Seabreeze in East Sussex, which is coated in smooth pink concrete, and Mole Architects’ Marsh Hill House in Suffolk, which is shaped like a seagull’s wing.
      The photography is by Lorenzo Zandri.

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      Hollie Bowden converts London pub into pared-back jewellery showroom

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      Lime-washed walls meet aluminium display fixtures in this minimalist studio and showroom that designer Hollie Bowden has devised for London brand Completedworks.

      Set over two floors of a former pub in Marylebone, it provides space for Completedworks to design and display its jewellery and ceramics, as well as to host an array of craft-focused classes.
      Hollie Bowden has designed a studio and showroom for CompletedworksThe brand was established in 2013 and up until now, has largely been sold via high-end department stores such as Dover Street Market and Liberty. But founder Anna Jewsbury felt it was time for Completedworks to have its own brick-and-mortar space.
      “We increasingly had clients asking to come and see our pieces in person but felt that we didn’t have a space that felt considered and reflected our vision,” she said. “We wanted people to be able to enter our world and get to know us, and for us to get to know them.”
      Display shelving was crafted from lustrous aluminiumFor the design of the showroom, Jewsbury worked with London-based designer Hollie Bowden, who naturally looked to the brand’s jewellery for inspiration.

      This can be seen for example in the hammered-metal door handles that appear throughout the studio and directly reference the creased design of the gold Cohesion earrings.
      A modular display system in the showroom is clad in lilac linen”[Completedworks] is known for the beauty of the textural surfaces and flowing almost baroque forms,” Bowden explained. “We developed a display language that played off that, with minimal details and strict lines.”
      Almost every surface throughout the studio is washed in beige-toned lime paint, with only a few slivers of the original brick walls and a worn metal column left exposed near the central staircase.

      Hollie Bowden channels the ambience of dimly lit gentlemen’s clubs for London office

      Bowden used brushed aluminium to create a range of display fixtures, including chunky plinths and super-slender shelving units supported by floor-to-ceiling poles.
      The space also houses a couple of angular aluminium counters for packing orders that include discrete storage for boxes and subtle openings, through which tissue paper or bubble wrap can be pulled.
      Shoji-style storage cabinets can be seen in the officeA slightly more playful selection of colours and materials was used for the studio’s custom furnishings.
      In the main showroom, there’s a modular display island sheathed in lilac linen. Meanwhile in the office, designer Byron Pritchard – who is also Bowden’s partner – created a gridded wooden cabinet inlaid with translucent sheets of paper, intended to resemble a traditional Japanese shoji screen.
      Hammered-metal door handles in the studio resemble Completedworks’ earringsThis isn’t Bowden’s first project in London’s affluent Marylebone neighbourhood.
      Previously, the designer created an office for real estate company Schönhaus, decking the space out with dark-stained oak and aged leather to emulate the feel of a gentleman’s club.
      The photography is by Genevieve Lutkin.

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      Elly Ward designs own restaurant Edit using salvaged terracotta tiles and reclaimed materials

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      Architect and restauranteur Elly Ward has opened the low-impact restaurant Edit in London, drawing inspiration from its vegan, minimal-waste menu to create an interior filled with reused and recycled materials.

      Ward collaborated with her husband Joe Morris of architecture studio Morris + Company on the project, which was designed using low-intervention methods.
      “It’s been designed to be as circular as possible, which is the whole philosophy of the restaurant,” she told Dezeen.
      The Edit restaurant features exposed brick wallsEdit is located in a former factory and warehouse building in east London and connected to the adjacent Morris + Company architecture office.
      Visitors to the restaurant can view the studio’s models through a large glass door, adding a decorative touch to the space.

      This door and a window into the office were two of the main changes Ward made to the existing space, which she has transformed using recycled and reclaimed materials.
      A window connects the interior with the adjacent architecture studioThe building’s brick walls – including a former exterior wall that still features old advertising text – were retained alongside the warehouse’s cast-iron columns and beams, forming the structural fabric of the 197-square-metre restaurant.
      Ward added lightweight screen partitions that slot between the existing structures, including a wall made from wood and recycled polycarbonate that divides the main dining area from a smaller private dining room.
      A polycarbonate screen with wood shelving divides the spaceA warm red floor, made from screed topped with a water-based resin, matches the floor in the architecture office next door and contrasts the textured brick wall that Ward and Morris painstakingly unveiled from underneath layers of paint.
      At the rear of the space, the duo clad a wall in salvaged maroon terracotta tiles, which merge into the bar counter. These were among the many recycled materials that Ward used for the project.
      “I call them my wonky tiles because they’re like the wonky fruit and wonky veg of the industry that gets thrown away because it’s not a perfect carrot,” she said.
      Elly Ward filled the restaurant with vintage furnitureThe architect also reused the copper from an existing bar in the restaurant, which now clads the sinks in the bathroom.
      “It’s all about diverting waste from waste streams,” Ward said.

      Morris + Company combines energy hub and nursery in block that is “part elephant and part castle”

      “When you’re building something new, you have to get things,” she added. “If you can’t buy recycled or reclaimed, you have to look for renewable materials, things that would have otherwise gone to waste but you’ve made into something else.”
      “It’s almost a checklist of ‘how circular can you be?'”
      A red floor creates a warm atmosphereWard also sourced vintage Scandinavian school chairs to provide seating in the restaurant and complemented them with her grandparents’ wooden chairs and vintage Ercol seats.
      The accompanying tables have tops made by British company Foresso using waste wood chips set in a plant-based resin, creating an effect similar to wooden terrazzo and adding textural interest to the room.
      The tabletops are made from recycled wood and resinThe lighting in the space was handmade by British artist Peter Lanyon using wood salvaged from trees that were trimmed back in a local woodland in Devon. Pieces include a “chandelier” made from a piece of hazelwood with hanging lampshades made from cherrywood veneer.
      Throughout the restaurant, the colour palette adds a sense of warmth. While the main room has a red hue, Ward chose a calming green colour for the smaller private dining room.
      Lamps made from wood decorate the private dining room”We started with the red; it’s obviously such a strong colour,” Ward said. “I’m somebody who’s quite into colour and I’m not really afraid of it but I didn’t want it to be a ‘pop’ kind of place.”
      In the bathroom, the red hue is tempered by the decorative natural cork that clads the walls in both the main space and the toilet cubicles.
      “It’s all waterproof and actually really good for humid, damp environments and you can wipe it clean,” Ward said.
      Restaurant guests can admire architectural models while they eatTo Ward, there’s a connection between the food and architecture industries that she wanted to underline in Edit’s design.
      “I did a deep dive into the food industry and found out a lot of stuff about provenance and how a lot of the things we’re looking at in the architecture world about circularity and sustainability are kind of echoed in the food industry,” she said.
      “I wanted the design to match that philosophy.”
      Other vegan restaurants with decorative interiors include Humble Pizza by Child Studios in London and Sydney vegan cafe Gumbuya.
      The photography is by Jack Hobhouse.

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      Curtains for minimalism as John Pawson goes maximalist

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      Minimalist British designer John Pawson has ditched his pared-back aesthetic in favour of full-blown maximalism, Dezeen understands.

      Pawson, who is not an architect, had become famous for his minimalist designs and was awarded a CBE in 2019.
      But a source close to Pawson informed Dezeen that he has now embraced bold colours, clashing patterns and animal-print furnishings after a dramatic change-of-heart.
      British designer Pawson has historically been known for his minimalist designs”I went to the Pawsons’ place in the Cotswolds recently and it’s like night and day,” the source said. “They’ve wallpapered over the white-brick walls and stuck some garish curtains over the windows.”
      “And the soft furnishings, my god. You can barely move for patterned rugs and blankets.”

      Possible social-media link
      However, not-an-architect Pawson appears to have chosen to maintain a minimalist approach in his relationship with the media.
      Asked if he could explain his reversal in tastes, he replied: “No.”
      The source speculated that Pawson’s shift in style may be linked to social media.
      Pawson has now transformed his Cotswold home into a maximalist colour-festIn 2018, he surprised some by releasing a book of vivid photographs, telling Dezeen at the time that he had discovered a love of colour through Instagram.
      “Maybe he’s moved on to TikTok,” the source said.
      Maximalism has been a re-emerging trend over the past couple of years, partly driven by its popularity on the video-gallery platform.
      His studio declined to answer questions about whether Pawson – who, again, is not an architect and Dezeen would never suggest anything to the contrary – will apply his new-found personal partiality to maximalism to commercial projects.

      John Pawson designs his own minimalist rural retreat

      However, a spokesperson said: “When are you doing another Hot List? John would really like you to do another Hot List.”
      Pawson, whose most high-profile projects include the Novy Dvur monastery in the Czech Republic and the Design Museum in London, ranked at number six on Dezeen’s Hot List of newsworthy designers and brands in 2017.
      Last week, a Deyan Sudjic-authored biography of Pawson’s life and work was published, but did not mention his switch to maximalism.
      The photography is by Gilbert McCarragher, with additional input from Studio Merlin.

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      Citizens Design Bureau adds “volcanic colours” to arts and circus space in former church

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      UK studio Citizens Design Bureau has given a colourful retrofit to Jacksons Lane, an arts and circus centre in an old church in London, with the aim of decluttering and simplifying its interior.

      The studio aimed to improve the functionality of the grade II-listed building, which used to be a church but has been a community hub and “leading centre in contemporary circus arts” since the 1980s, Citizens Design Bureau said.
      The Jacksons Lane building has a colourful interior”The previous layout was a real jumble of spaces that didn’t work from a functional perspective,” the studio’s director Katy Marks told Dezeen.
      “Our approach was to declutter the old church building, so that the original structure was more visible, giving a sense of the symmetrical cruciform of the original plan and using the drama of those spaces to full effect, improving acoustic separation, functionality as well as making the building fully accessible,” she added.
      Spaces were rearranged to create a more functional interiorThe venue in Highgate, London, had a dated interior with more than 20 different levels.

      While reconfiguring its spaces to make them more functional, Citizens Design Bureau added a cafe and hireable studios in the former church’s double-height transept.
      Red and teal colours brighten up the spaceNew details that make Jacksons Lane more functional include acoustic windows, as well as ramps and lifts that create easier access to the different spaces.
      It also restored some parts of the church that had been hidden under more recent interventions. This included reinstating the main entrance of the building to the original church porch, which had been boarded up.

      Citizens Design Bureau adds “delicately perforated” Corten extension to Manchester Jewish Museum

      “You would often see people still climbing the steps up to the original, boarded-up door, trying to push it open,” Marks said.
      “In a grade II-listed building, we had limited scope to make big changes to the exterior, so we felt that opening up the original and intuitively obvious entrance was the most impactful move we could make, to make the building much more legible and welcoming to everyone,” she added.
      Citizens Design Bureau retrofitted the arts centre in HighgateInside the centre, Citizens Design Bureau introduced a warm colour palette of deep reds and oranges with teal accents, which complements the existing brick, stone and dark-wood details.
      “The building has undergone many changes over decades of use, so the internal fabric in particular has a layered history,” Marks said.
      “We have used colour to express those layers – white for the church structure, a teal blue for elements that were added in the 70s, and then volcanic oranges, reds and purples for completely new insertions with pops of other colours in the lighting, reflecting the playfulness of its current function as a creative space, specialising in circus arts.”
      Whitewashed walls contrast dark-wood floorsThe studio clad some of Jacksons Lane’s ceilings with a pale-green concertina form that improves acoustics.
      Lamps with bright orange cables add another colourful touch to the space.
      The former church is now used as an arts and circus hubJacksons Lane is used by a lot of people in the local area and Marks said the feedback so far has been “wonderful”.
      “We hope that what we have done really expresses the ethos and character of Jacksons Lane with clarity and a bit of joy, raises a smile and is the kind of place that people really want to hang out in,” she said.
      Citizens Design Bureau has previously added a “delicately perforated” Corten extension to Manchester Jewish Museum, for which the studio was longlisted for a Dezeen Award in 2021.
      The photography is by Fred Howarth.

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