Dealing with a city’s existing fabric is an intrinsic part of the urban architect’s daily work and challenges. Groves Natcheva, a dynamic Kensington-based practice, knows this well. The firm has consistently created craft-based, sophisticated residences across the British capital, from mews renovations to new-build townhouses. So when it completed its latest residential offering – the redesign of a 20th-century home in Hampstead – its signature approach of confident, yet very refined design, was unmistakable.
While the original architect’s name was unknown, the team knew the house had a fascinating history, being the home of German actor Conrad Veidt who was forced to emigrate to London in 1933 to escape the rise of Nazism. Dark brick and patterned tiles, as well as the house’s fairly formal presence (with its rectangular forms being set back from the residential street), create a subtle art deco feel throughout.
The current client, a property development company, approached Adriana Natcheva and Murrey Groves in 2011 with the task to redesign the building to feel more open and also increase in size. The architects also needed to reconfigure the layout to suit 21st-century living.
Take an interactive tour of Hampstead House
The architects embraced the building’s inherent character. ‘We chose to engage with the existing building with a lightness of touch always, choosing to tell the story of the refurbishment within the fabric of the building. Great care was taken at the intersections between old and new,’ they say. Colours and materials were chosen to blend seamlessly with both parts of the house resulting in a consistent, well-balanced composition that hovers between Nordic simplicity and craft-based minimalism.
Of course there were also changes to be made. ‘Our client showed a desire for a greater connection to the garden and there was a need to bring the house up to modern standards of heating and insulation’, recall the architects. They also gave the building a new roof (clad in bronze and tile), new brickwork at places and new windows, which ‘sharpened the edges of the house’, they add.
The result? A thoroughly refreshed home, rich in detail and history and effortlessly mixing old and new.
The architects embraced the property’s character, while bringing it sublty into the 21st century.
The redesign opens up the space, rationalising the layout to fit the client’s lifestyle.
The brief also called for ‘a greater connection to the garden, and there was a need to bring the house up to modern standards of heating and insulation’, explain the architects.
The team used a light touch, working with soft, light-coloured timber and taking extra care at the intersections of old and new.
New roofs, clad in bronze and tile, brickwork and windows, sharpen the edges of the house, say the architects.
Special attention was paid to detailing, resulting in an overall high construction and design quality.
INFORMATION
For more information visit the website (opens in new tab) of Groves Natcheva
-
Photo book explores the messy, magical mundanity of new motherhood‘Sorry I Gave Birth I Disappeared But Now I’m Back’ by photographer Andi Galdi Vinko explores new motherhood in all its messy, beautiful reality
-
Rimowa violin case with Gewa strikes the right note
This new Rimowa violin case created in collaboration with Gewa is made of hard-wearing grooved aluminium
-
Nordic Knots opens Stockholm showroom in a former cinema
New Nordic Knots Stockholm showroom makes the most of the dramatic interiors of the early-20th-century Eriksbergsteatern
-
Iconic music venue New Century returns to life in Manchester
Music venue New Century in Manchester is back in action following sensitive revamp by architects Sheppard Robson
-
The finest brutalist architecture in London and beyond
For some of the world's finest brutalist architecture in London and beyond, scroll below. Can’t get enough of brutalism? Neither can we.
-
Charles Holland’s east London house refresh offers ‘playful conservation’
Charles Holland’s east London house design for Will Wiles and Hazel Tsao Wiles brings light, colour and flair to a Victorian restoration process
-
Don’t Move, Improve! 2023 longlist and what it reveals for London homes
The Don’t Move, Improve! 2023 longlist has been announced, unveiling some 50 homes and swathes of creativity in London’s residential architecture
-
A redesigned staircase brings openness and light in London townhouse transformation
Townhouse of Seven Stories by Architensions uses a redesigned staircase to bring openness and light to a historic London home
-
‘Women’s Work: London’ celebrates architecture and International Women's Day
Action group Part W launches ‘Women's Work: London’, a project celebrating International Women’s Day and key projects by women in our built environment
-
Arthur Mamou-Mani: Can parametric architecture bring us closer to nature?
London-based French architect Arthur Mamou-Mani uses digital design and fabrication techniques to create temples of spirituality
-
Hampstead House revives neglected Trevor Dannatt modernist home
Hampstead House by Coppin Dockray is the sensitive restoration of an overlooked Trevor Dannatt modernist home
