With vision and imagination, Hub Architects have transformed a dark and uninviting apartment in a Grade II-listed Victorian terrace close to Hyde Park into a stylish and spacious family home
What was the brief for this project?
The apartment sits over the upper ground and first and second floors of a large early Victorian building in Hyde Park Gardens to the north western corner of Hyde Park. Hub were invited to help the client to maximise the spaces and architectural features of the property, while meeting Listed Building and Planning constraints and the technical construction issues surrounding an early Victorian building. The terrace is Grade II listed, as such it was important that the original fabric of the building was preserved. In order to open up spaces and provide the living areas that the client wanted, Hub negotiated Listed building consent for the large sliding doors in the main living areas and mezzanine levels in the bedrooms, providing extra floor area and valuable storage space.
When the clients purchased the building it was in poor shape. The apartment was “boxy” and laid out as a series of poky rooms with poor light and circulation. The clients required a robust, stylish and spacious family home. The stair had been replaced in the 1920s, so Hub drew up plans to reinstate a staircase to match the original, with a cast-iron balustrade supplied by Tilleys of North London. The main core of the apartment was dark and uninviting so Hub achieved Listed Building consent for a new L-shaped roof light installed by Cantifix over the stair well, bringing light in to the core of the apartment. The new kitchen area was compressed with a mezzanine plant space over the top. Hub gained approval to reinstate the double volume of the original form of this area. Most of the original cornices required reinstatement which was expertly carried out by Troika.
What was the biggest challenge?
The biggest challenge was the reinstatement of the original layout and ceiling heights. When the client moved in, a number of rooms on the ground floor had suspended ceilings and non-original partitions, which were removed under Listed Building consent. It was a challenge to achieve everything that the client wanted but Hub managed to push the envelope and achieve this while maintaining the balance between a contemporary family home and a grand listed building.
What are you most pleased with?
The whole apartment was a success. Perhaps the most pleasing aspect is the spatial quality achieved via the remodelling and opening up of the layout and raising door heights in the living room, allowing a more natural flow of circulation and better light quality throughout. Reinstating the original cornices and repairing original features has returned the building to its former glory.
Anything you would change with hindsight?
To be honest, there is little that we would change within the design. It met the clients’ brief and they were very happy with the end result. Working closely with them throughout the process meant that their input was given early in the process so everything they wanted was incorporated.
Client involvement: hands-on or hands-off?
We have worked with these clients since 2008 helping them to convert three other London apartments into spacious family homes, so we went into this project with a good working relationship. They gave us clear expectations from the start.
The client is a an artist and designer with a great eye for quirky accessories. She found the giraffe in a Banana Republic store. It was about to be skipped and needed rescuing, so it was duly collected by the builders, who nurtured it for months on site, moving it from room to room to avoid damage.
Do you have any exciting projects in the pipeline for 2016?
We are currently working on several historic London buildings, including the conversion of a stunning listed building in Kensington Garden Square. In its former life this building was a warren of small run-down units that were occupied as a back-packers hotel. We are transforming this building in to six luxury apartments. As well as our Central London projects we are also designing new-build schemes, extensions and reconfigurations of houses in the Home Counties. We are also working on plans for a new prep school building in Hertfordshire and reviving a couple of historic public buildings that will be architecturally regenerated to include enhanced public realm and new housing.
What excites you in the world of architecture?
At Hub, our shared ethos is to design places where people want to be. Our past experience has shown us that materiality plays an important part in this. For instance, we recently worked with a green oak frame to deliver an education building offering sixth-form music school, concert and assembly hall facilities. The teachers at the school all commented on how much they enjoyed the atmosphere that the natural green oak imparted to the teaching spaces. They felt that their students responded positively to the tangible, natural quality of the oak. The traditional techniques employed for the green oak construction were expressed in the frame. As a result the building offered legiblity and a better sense of place for the occupant.
In London, the residential 18th and 19th century building stock that has survived two wars and the sweeping brush of 20th century town planning is unique and in many cases exquisite. Having an opportunity to preserve, and celebrate this context, while updating with 21st century technologies, materials and construction techniques is a privilege that we relish at Hub.
Visit Hub for more information
The post Behind the Brief with Hub Architects appeared first on Beyond Bespoke.