This radical reworking of the traditional London mews house transforms the interior into a spiralling vertical gallery. Created by Jonathan Tuckey Design, the ‘Paddington Pantheon’ is tightly nestled into its urban context. These low-lying back streets originally provided service spaces to the adjacent terraced mansions but have gradually risen up through the residential rankings to become prime spots in their own right.
This particular house is owned by the artists Rob and Nick Carter, a couple whose shared artistic journey takes in photography, sculpture, installation and carefully manipulated animations. The brief was to provide private exhibition spaces and open up the interior, adding plenty of flexibility for curating as well as living. Tuckey draws a parallel between earlier, historical ‘houses for artists,’ especially in the ways in which life and work become intertwined in a physical space.
The Paddington project places a greater emphasis on display, rather than practice, and Tuckey references the early wunderkammer, or cabinet or chamber of curiosity created by aesthetes and intellectuals from the seventeenth century onwards. Comprising of an eclectic mix of art, anthropological specimens, and historical ephemera, the wunkerkammer concept remains an intriguing symbol of diverse interests and approaches.
RELATED STORY
The Carters’ project also makes a nod to the Greco-Roman forerunner of the modern picture gallery, the Pinacotheca, as well as the mighty Pantheon in Rome, with its dome punctured by a single circular oculus. As the project’s name suggests, a skylight is also a key focus, and the angles and facets of the original roof have been subsumed by meticulously rendered angled white walls that are topped by a vast piece of angled frameless glass.
From the start of the process, the ambition was to create a building that was best suited to view Rob and Nick Carter’s work, with backlit and screen-based works on display on the lower levels and photographic prints on the upper level. A staircase winds up the newly created double height space, emphasising the scale.
While the structural interventions are dramatic, the material palette is low key, with existing wooden and stone floors retained and simple white painted walls used throughout. Appearing modest and unassuming from the cobbled mews, this contemporary cabinet of wonders must be opened to be experienced.
INFORMATION
-
Bottega for Bottegas 2025 invites artisans to reinterpret the ritual of the aperitivoThe annual initiative showcases makers and creatives who share Bottega Veneta’s dedication to craft. This year’s objects come together as an exquisite, modern still life
-
Caligra launches its c100 Developer Terminal, a stripped-back machine for serious computingPentagram’s Jon Marshall has collaborated with computing start-up Caligra to shape its sleek but serious desktop and mouse
-
A 1970s brutalist icon becomes Tbilisi’s most striking new hotelNeri&Hu transforms a Soviet-era post office into the Georgian capital’s anticipated Telegraph Hotel
-
A revived public space in Aberdeen is named Scotland’s building of the yearAberdeen's Union Terrace Gardens by Stallan-Brand Architecture + Design and LDA Design wins the 2025 Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award
-
The Architecture Edit: Wallpaper’s houses of the monthFrom wineries-turned-music studios to fire-resistant holiday homes, these are the properties that have most impressed the Wallpaper* editors this month
-
A refreshed 1950s apartment in East London allows for moments of discoveryWith this 1950s apartment redesign, London-based architects Studio Naama wanted to create a residence which reflects the fun and individual nature of the clients
-
In this Cotswolds home, drama meets minimalismCotswolds home Hiaven house, with interiors designed by McLaren Excell, is a perfect blend of contemporary chic and calm, countryside drama
-
David Kohn’s first book, ‘Stages’, is unpredictable, experimental and informativeThe first book on David Kohn Architects focuses on the work of the award-winning London-based practice; ‘Stages’ is an innovative monograph in 12 parts
-
Find solace in the forest at this expansive treehouse retreat in DorsetFor sale for the first time, a treehouse, Mallinson’s Woodland Retreat, is a tribute to the skill of designer and master craftsman Guy Mallinson
-
Modernist Scotland explores the country’s impressive legacy of contemporary architectureA new book, Modernist Scotland, delves into the art and ambitions of the International Style in post-war Scotland, presenting 150 projects that typify an age of optimism and innovation.
-
100 George Street is the new kid on the block in fashionable MaryleboneLondon's newest luxury apartment building brings together a sensitive exterior and thoughtful, 21st-century interiors
