Primrose Hill house by Jamie Fobert conceals minimalism behind Victorian façade
Jamie Fobert’s latest house, in London’s Primrose Hill, hides spatial luxury behind a Victorian façade
![Jamie Foberts latest house, in Londons Primrose Hill](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/h8XQGCgKC2AGX65xEn3Rrf-415-80.jpg)
Behind its fairly typical brick Victorian façade, this house in Primrose Hill, north London, conceals a world of wonders. Designed by Jamie Fobert Architects, the newly completed project, a family home for a private client, balances a discreet, street-facing frontage with a distinctly contemporary interior of minimalist architecture and subtle spatial luxury inside.
Stepping inside from the front door, which does not distinguish itself from the rest on the quiet residential street, a modern interior unfolds, hidden inside the Victorian skin. Two original levels were matched by two new underground floors that add square footage to the period home. A flowing plan, openness and generosity of volume were prioritised in order to transform the historical spaces into a new architecture that, while respectful of its origins, is now fit for the 21st century and the client’s needs.
Jamie Fobert’s House in Primrose Hill
The new material palette also works to that effect, comprising Petersen bricks (used for the added volumes on the side and back of the property), in-situ concrete, travertine and Pietra Piasentina stone, walnut wood joinery, and various steel and bronze fittings, details and ironmongery. Large openings towards the garden, skylights and deep shafts help bring light to even the lowest level, making for atmospheric spaces, such as the underground swimming pool.
The project was a real, holistic labour of love for the architecture team. ‘The clients engaged us as architects to design so much more than just the shell of the building: we designed the kitchen, the joinery, a whole set of light fittings, and even their dining table in black steel. It is rare to be able to work so closely with a family to create something very specific to their needs with this breadth of exploration,’ they say, highlighting how bespoke details and products elevate this domestic design.
Fobert, who leads an award-winning, boutique practice in east London, has built a strong reputation for crafting impressive, gently luxurious homes, alongside arts commissions such as the prestigious Tate St Ives in Cornwall and Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge. The House in Primrose Hill is the latest in a list of residences by his practice that bridges spatial luxury and urban plots, giving us house envy every time.
INFORMATION
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director 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), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
Tour the Natural History Museum’s new gardens, a Jurassic lark in London
The Natural History Museum in London has unveiled two new gardens, with resident dinosaurs, after a transformation led by architects Feilden Fowles
By Bridget Downing Published
-
Drama Republic moves into a colourful, handcrafted workspace in London
For the new creative HQ of production company Drama Republic, Emil Eve Architects remodels a warehouse into office space in London’s Holborn
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
Hideaway House in London features timber panelling inspired by the New York hospitality scene
The elegantly refurbished Hideaway House by Studio McW in London features timber panelling inspired by Philip Johnson’s The Four Seasons Restaurant
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
An Uxbridge annexe by Bureau de Change is a design for effortless intergenerational living
Uxbridge Bower, a residential annexe in west London, is a contemporary addition offering both privacy and connection for the needs of a family
By Tianna Williams Published
-
‘Modern Buildings’ tours south-east London through a guide to post-war Blackheath and Greenwich
‘Modern Buildings: Blackheath and Greenwich’ is a detailed survey of a London borough’s rich trove of new modernist architecture
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Triangle House invites you to its inner world of colourful surprises
Triangle House by Artefact is a private home in Epsom, outside London, combining Caribbean style, colour and functionality
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Tour the refreshed Saint Andrew Holborn: an icon reveals its crisp new interior in London
DaeWha Kang reimagines Saint Andrew Holborn church through a sensitive architectural solution that blends tradition and modernity in London
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
A Suffolk house by Studio Bark pairs a fresh visual language with low-energy design
Suffolk house Water Farm is off-the-grid but defiantly on the map, a bold new object in the landscape with a strong visual impact and minimal carbon footprint
By Jonathan Bell Published