Arch architecture defines London house redesign by Flower Michelin
Arch House by Flower Michelin is a senstiive, graceful blend of high-tech music-studio technology with domestic space, elevated by the clever use of arch architecture
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

Arch architecture helped define the new design for the transformation of a typical London terraced house in the Wandsworth Conservation Area by architecture studio Flower Michelin. The practice, headed by Alex Flower and Chantal Michelin, took on the commission, which called for a complete remodel of a family home, including an interior redesign and extension (both to the rear, and below ground). The client, a music composer and their young family, were after extra space but also specialised interiors to cater for their professional needs – such as the ‘construction of a music studio for composing and recording in a new basement.’
The four-storey townhouse had to therefore balance both daily domestic family life, and a high-performance music studio, which means particular acoustic needs, insulation and technology specs. And while the best layout and functionality were determined largely by practical requirements, the architecture team still infused the scheme with creativity and aesthetic sophistication – working with soft colours, tasteful patterns, and the design’s defining red brick arches.
‘Each brick was hand cut and finished and bonded to a steel frame to form each stepped layer of the arch over curved glazing, to create an illusion of floating heaviness,’ say the architects. ‘These were then set within brickwork; a vertical bond to the side extension delineating the extension from the original footprint.' The rear elevation and its distinctive arches were made using the same red brick found on the front façade, with the aim of highlighting the importance of this new part of the building, the team notes.
Inside, plaster work in the ground floor hallway creates a sense of grandeur upon arrival, while further inside, pastel tones create a sequence of gentle, cocooning living spaces across the ground floor. Bedrooms and a study are upstairs, while the lower ground level is reserved for musical endeavours. The last presented a particular challenge. ‘It needed to be a distraction-free space for composing, acoustically designed for musical collaborations, operate as a listening booth for the film scores at +100dB, but still not feel like a “box in a box in a basement”,’ the Flower Michelin team say.
The answer, they reveal, was to design it as a room within a room, ‘balanced on giant springs and lined with a bespoke puzzle of acoustic panelling’. This, matched with the rest of the home's elegant colour and material palette, bespoke joinery, expert arch architecture and seamless aesthetic, makes for a family home that serves more than one purpose with ease – a perfect result to a complex architectural brief.
INFORMATION
flowermichelin.com (opens in new tab)
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture Editor at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018) and Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020).
-
Stanya Kahn’s Frieze Los Angeles commission to unearth the ‘understory’ of human intervention in nature
We speak to multidisciplinary artist Stanya Kahn, whose ‘Understory’ installation will be unveiled at Frieze Los Angeles for the 2023 R.U.in.ART Commission
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith • Published
-
On your marks: the best looking sports watches
Choose the right sports watch for you, for its capabilites or its tools for outdoor adventure, bringing the greatest physical and mental benefits
By Hannah Silver • Published
-
Onitsuka Tiger hosts British artist Michele Fletcher in its in-store gallery
Michele Fletcher is the latest artist to show in Onitsuka Tiger’s open-to-all Tiger Gallery, found within the Japanese brand’s London flagship
By Jack Moss • Published
-
The dMFK office in Fitzrovia hails a postpandemic approach to workspace
The new office of architects dMFK in Fitzrovia, designed by the studio alongside architects Sher + White, exemplifies the reimagining of workspaces for a postpandemic London
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Two Hands nursery by vPPR is where design flair meets sustainability
Two Hands nursery in London, designed by vPPR, mixes colourful interiors and sustainable architecture elements with wellbeing in mind
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Is ProxyAddress architecture’s answer to solving homelessness?
ProxyAddress founder Chris Hildrey talks to us about architecture changing the world, and his pioneering initiative to help solve homelessness
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Sustainable Farnham house unites contemporary architecture and nature
A sustainable Farnham house in the Surrey countryside combines a secluded, sloping site with modern materials
By Ifeoluwa Adedeji • Published
-
The finest brutalist architecture in London and beyond
Can’t get enough of brutalism? Neither can we. Scroll below, for some of the world's finest brutalist architecture in London and beyond
By Jonathan Bell • Published
-
Looking Glass Lodge immerses its guests in British nature
Looking Glass Lodge by Michael Kendrick Architects is an idyllic woodland retreat in the UK’s East Sussex
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Brown & Brown designs Cairngorms house blending raw minimalism and nature
Spyon Cop by Brown & Brown is a contemporary home in Scotland’s Cairngorms National Park
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Is TOG’s The Black & White Building the most sustainable office in London?
The Black & White Building, London’s tallest mass-timber office and the first new-build project from workspace specialist The Office Group (TOG), is underpinned by a sustainable ethos
By Ellie Stathaki • Published