Gallery show: an East London live/work space joins the best of both worlds
![A London gallery extension and redesign by Threefold architects combines art spaces with residential design](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/gM8FxpKCzUJCmYKZfvdbLU-415-80.jpg)
The East London real estate market is hot property at the moment, so maximising one's space is a clever move for the savvy homeowner. Which is exactly what the founder of the Roman Road Gallery just did, opting to commission emerging London practice Threefold architects to both redesign and expand their space in the heart of Bethnal Green.
The brief was challenging, which the architects, headed by Matthew Driscoll, Jack Hosea and Renee Searle, fully embraced. The client – the gallery's owner and curator – needed to create a new art space which would be linked to their house and garden. The two wings – art and residential – needed to connect effortlessly, as parts of the house should be able to act as an extension of the gallery, when needed.
The site was narrow, knitting together an existing two storey Victorian workshop and a former commercial premises. The redesign involved a complete transformation and unification of these buildings, with the addition of a single story extension in 'contrasting back bricks and glass', they explain.
The building opens onto a brick paved courtyard, making this a great clearing for sculpture display. A material palette of masonry walls and corten metal panels hint to the site's industrial heritage. This outdoors area can be directly accessible from the street via bespoke brick entrance gates, which when shut, appear near-invisible.
A dark, folded steel staircase leads up to the office space and private viewings room. The client's bedroom and bathroom are also on this level, discretely hidden from view.
Merging natural, tactile materials with large openings and airy, double height spaces, this new live/work project combines art and home life in seamless harmony.
The project occupies an existing two storey Victorian workshop and a more recent former commercial premises
A kitchen and dinning area sit at the space where the art world and the client’s home intersect
A glazed extension accomodates further exhibition space looking out to a courtyard
The courtyard was designed as a space to showcase sculpture, but will also be used as the client’s private garden
The gallery’s offices are situated on the structure’s first level
The architects used natural, tactile materials throughout, such as natural coloured timber, dark metal and brick
INFORMATION
For more information on Threefold visit the website
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).
-
Commune’s sustainable personal care products look ‘quite unlike anything else’
Commune’s Somerset-made products stand out in the sustainable skincare crowd. Madeleine Rothery speaks with the brand’s co-founders Kate Neal and Rémi Paringaux
By Madeleine Rothery Published
-
‘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
-
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