Light cascades through this London redesign by Flow Architecture with Magrits
A Kensington home is transformed into a contemporary space for a young family
In London's picturesque streets, Victorian residential properties abound, yet many of those grand houses need significant redevelopment in order to respond adequately to modern living standards. The team behind such a property's recent refresh – Flow Architecture with Magrits – know this well, as they had to completely gut and redesign a Kensington home into a contemporary space for a young family.
Set on a leafy, quiet street the existing house spanned four levels, and the architects reconfigured the structure fully, while adding a basement floor and a double height rear extension for more space. Rather than changing the exterior (as the property sits within a conservation area), the team focused on transforming the core of the building and the internal arrangement instead, creating a ‘heart' for the home, in the shape of an interior courtyard that brings light straight into the deepest parts of the building.
In fact, the design was very much led by the architects' desire to maximise the potential for natural light inside – contrasting the Victorian property's traditionally fairly small, darker rooms. Opening up the interior by creating double height spaces, clean, white-washed rooms, connections across levels, and soft, organic curves throughout, the team created a series of rooms, including a sequence of entertainment spaces on the lower levels, comprising living, kitchen, dinning, family room and a mezzanine library.
Meanwhile, the extension leads out to a reworked garden at the back of the property, where a curving, paved path merges with carefully planned landscaping, continuing the themes that dominate inside: a sense of seamless, softness and dynamism.
Fittingly named ‘Light Falls', the house feels bright, open and generous. ‘The name Light Falls perfectly expresses the soul of the house,' the team explains. ‘The cascading effect of daylight, brought in vertical motion to the centre of the building, enlivens the interior spaces and dissolves the borders between outdoor and indoor spaces.'
INFORMATION
flowarchitecture.co.uk; magrits.com
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
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).
-
Pininfarina Battista Reversario is a new one-off electric hypercar
The all-electric Pininfarina Battista Reversario is joining its aesthetic inverse in an ultra-select car collector’s garage. We take a look at a car built to a very precise order
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Fernando Jorge’s fluid diamond earrings show his curve appeal
Discover Brazilian jewellery designer Fernando Jorge's snake-like silhouettes and graphic shapes
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Abreham Brioschi debuts Ethiopia-inspired rugs for Nodus
Abreham Brioschi teams up with luxury rug experts Nodus to translate visions from his heritage into a tactile reality
By Ifeoluwa Adedeji Published
-
Henry Wood House’s postmodernist bones are refreshed by Nice Projects in London
Nice Projects breathes new life into the Henry Wood House in London, offering ample flexible office spaces for modern workers
By Daven Wu Published
-
‘Bio-spaces’ exhibition at Roca London Gallery celebrates biophilic design
‘Bio-Spaces: regenerative, resilient futures’ opens at the Roca London Gallery as ‘a call to action to stop designing nature out’
By Clare Dowdy Published
-
Don’t Move, Improve 2024: London’s bold, bright and boutique home renovations
Don’t Move, Improve 2024 reveals its shortlist, with 16 home designs competing for the top spot, to be announced in May
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Timber-framed Wimbledon house is a minimalist, low-energy affair
A new timber-framed Wimbledon house is designed to blend into its traditional surroundings with a neat brick façade, careful massing and pared back interiors
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
London Science Museum’s Energy Revolution gallery champions sustainable exhibition design
The Energy Revolution gallery opens at London’s Science Museum, exploring decarbonisation through sustainable exhibition design by Unknown Works
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
This South Downs house stands as a testament to the value of quiet refinement
At one with the landscape, a South Downs house uses elements of quintessential country villas and midcentury gems with modern technologies
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Ash Tree House offers a contextual approach to a north London site
Ash Tree House by Edgley Design is a modern family home in a north London conservation area's backyard site
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
In memoriam: John Miller (1930-2024)
We remember John Miller, an accomplished British architect and educator who advocated a quiet but rigorous modernism
By Jonathan Bell Published