Charlie, Mark & Orlando’s home
A project to create a kitchen/dining/living area in the basement of an early Victorian double-fronted, terraced house in the Barnsbury Conservation Area in Islington for a couple and now for their baby son too.
Existing nib walls and downstand beams were demolished to allow an uninterrupted floor, walls and ceiling to maximise the space. A frameless glazed box was added above the original rear lightwell to maximise natural light and provide a worm's eye view of the garden. Inspired by a mirror below a window to a courtyard in the basement of the Sir John Soane’s Museum, a polished stainless steel mirror was added below the glazed box, and this can be either pushed in against the wall to provide a virtual window in an otherwise blank elevation, or pulled out to reflect natural light and project surreal views of the rear elevation of the house and sky into the space.
Awards
Awarded second place in the Home Design category of New London Architecture’s Don’t Move, Improve! 2013 awards
Published
Grand Designs Magazine, October 2015
The Times, Bricks & Mortar, 27 March 2015
Evening Standard Homes & Property, 19 February 2014
New London Architecture’s Don’t Move, Improve! 2013 awards catalogue
Exhibition
New London Architecture’s Don’t Move, Improve! 2013 awards, the Building Centre, 6 December 2013 – 6 February 2014
Photography by Tom Cronin