Home and art gallery Maison Colbert is a London transformation story

Maison Colbert, set in Spitalfields behind a discreet row of East End shopfronts, is the new family home, studio and gallery space for artists and filmmakers Philip and Charlotte Colbert. The project repurposes a semi-derelict terrace of five four-storey houses and transforms them into an interdisciplinary  programme of exhibition, production and home living spaces – all seamlessly interlocked through surgical design by Chris Dyson Architects.

Touring Maison Colbert

Retaining the historic street façade of former shopfronts, the internal walls of the narrow houses have been removed to open the spaces up laterally. A 5m basement has been excavated to create the top-lit, 185 sq m gallery. At the back, the building has been extended to create new circulation and a light-filled garden atrium, topped by a glass pitched roof. 

The result is a carefully curated experience of layered moments: both in terms of height, as areas of enclosure open up into spectacular double- and triple-height volumes, but also in length, as the entrance lobby leads on to a sitting room with the garden terrace visible through Crittall glass doors beyond. Forming a double-height space with high sash windows, this room is the heart of the building and extends across the footprint of three of the original houses.

This space anchors the plan. On one side, the original wall is exposed brick, on the other, a cantilevered mezzanine with a patinated metal balustrade gives access to the primary bedroom, bathroom, dressing room and study above via a sculptural metal staircase. The kitchen is in the adjoining space, separated by the dramatic hand-carved stone fireplace.  

Throughout the interior, the focus on reuse continues to be a key driver. The building stands just beyond the site of London’s ancient city walls, and excavations uncovered evidence of London’s Roman past. This imposed a six-month delay, which the clients and architects embraced as an opportunity to engage with the site’s history, allowing the archaeological dig to inform some of the Romanesque interior details and relief plaster works.

Many of the fixtures of the former houses, such as original doors and retained fireplace surrounds, were recycled to breathe some of their old life into new interiors. Finishes such as the timber bedroom floors and tiles were retained, as well as various fittings and furniture pieces and bricks reclaimed from salvage, which were kept, cleaned and reused to patch up the rear façade.

With all these layers of history to respond to, the Colberts’ new home is an ideal setting for interdisciplinary experimentation; adding new layers of playfulness to the street and contributing to the creative and idiosyncratic energy of the East End.

chrisdyson.co.uk