HÛT re-crafts a characterful London townhouse in terrazzo and Petersen brick
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

A three-storey Georgian townhouse in London owned by a musician and a furniture designer has received an uplifting renovation filled with natural and reclaimed materials, craftsmanship and joinery from HÛT architects – an emerging London practice with a specialisation in ‘urban re-invention’.
Located in the De Beauvoir neighbourhood, the two-bedroom house is tucked within a terrace, yet with HÛT’s help, it has become one of a kind: ‘The project had to do more than provide a good looking, functional house for a young couple. We wanted to reimagine the everyday and familiar home, making it unique, possessing design integrity and establishing its own identity,’ says Rachel Eccles, Associate Director at HÛT.
Opening up the freshly painted and restored forest green front door, you’ll now be greeted by a slim light-filled entrance hall with a graphic tile flooring underfoot – instead of a cramped dark corridor. Instead of a wall, HÛT used steel-framed glazing to divide the entrance hall and living room.
The light, airy feeling continues throughout the whole open-plan ground floor. Light streams through the house from the double window at the front, all the way through to the extension out back with its roof lights and steel-framed glazing, echoing its use at the front of the house.
The layout of the house was completely reconfigured by HÛT to create the ideal space for informal entertaining – the kitchen and dining space is now much larger due to the extension and the architects cleverly made some room for the new downstairs WC along the way. The back doors swing wide open into the garden for even more space, weather permitting.
RELATED STORY
Craftsmanship has been woven into the architecture. The ‘Kolumba’ handmade black stack-bonded Petersen bricks, used for the extension and internally, were selected because of their handmade technique – shaped in wooden moulds by hand, dried and fired following craft traditions that are centuries old. Douglas fir flooring, also used to clad the staircase further adds to the lightness of the design, and in the bathrooms, a patterned terrazzo tile is a characterful design feature, as well as a practical choice.
The handcrafted ground floor fireplace is an example of how craft, architecture and design have come together in happy union at this townhouse. Reinstating the original, which had long been removed, the fireplace was designed by Granby Workshop out of a terrazzo made at their Liverpool workshop out of recycled building rubble. It’s a statement to the thoughtful beauty of the whole renovation.
‘The newly formed home encapsulates HÛT’s mission to the dedication of beautiful robust materials that stand the test of time both aesthetically and practically,’ says Eccles.
INFORMATION
hutarchitecture.com (opens in new tab)
Harriet Thorpe is a writer, journalist and editor covering architecture, design and culture, with particular interest in sustainability, 20th-century architecture and community. After studying History of Art at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and Journalism at City University in London, she developed her interest in architecture working at Wallpaper* magazine and today contributes to Wallpaper*, The World of Interiors and Icon magazine, amongst other titles. She is author of The Sustainable City (2022, Hoxton Mini Press), a book about sustainable architecture in London, and the Modern Cambridge Map (2023, Blue Crow Media), a map of 20th-century architecture in Cambridge, the city where she grew up.
-
S94 Design makes the most of its uptown location to blur the lines of art and design
S94 Design brings displays from Kwangho Lee, Donald Judd, Max Lamb and more to its Rafael Viñoly-designed location
By Julie Baumgardner • Published
-
Oasi Cashmere is taking Zegna back to its roots in the Italian Alps
Oasi Cashmere – an environmentally-conscious, all-embracing cashmere collection – is inspired by the Oasi Zegna nature park in the lush Biella Alps
By Jack Moss • Published
-
Lynda Benglis’ seductive hall of mirrors and juicy neon eggs in London
American artist Lynda Benglis subverts expectations with new bronze sculptures and otherworldly coloured eggs in a new solo show at Thomas Dane Gallery, London
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith • Published
-
Iconic music venue New Century returns to life in Manchester
Music venue New Century in Manchester is back in action following sensitive revamp by architects Sheppard Robson
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
The finest brutalist architecture in London and beyond
For some of the world's finest brutalist architecture in London and beyond, scroll below. Can’t get enough of brutalism? Neither can we.
By Jonathan Bell • Published
-
Khanna Schultz’s House in Michigan is an exercise in balancing contrasts
House in Michigan by Khanna Schultz was conceived to fulfil contrasting needs – and does so with poise and efficiency
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Ian Chee’s Singapore apartment blends past and present
Architect Ian Chee welcomes us into his Singapore apartment, where past and present cohabit in perfect equilibrium
By Daven Wu • Published
-
Charles Holland’s east London house refresh offers ‘playful conservation’
Charles Holland’s east London house design for Will Wiles and Hazel Tsao Wiles brings light, colour and flair to a Victorian restoration process
By Nick Compton • Published
-
Don’t Move, Improve! 2023 longlist and what it reveals for London homes
The Don’t Move, Improve! 2023 longlist has been announced, unveiling some 50 homes and swathes of creativity in London’s residential architecture
By Harriet Thorpe • Published
-
A redesigned staircase brings openness and light in London townhouse transformation
Townhouse of Seven Stories by Architensions uses a redesigned staircase to bring openness and light to a historic London home
By Nana Ama Owusu-Ansah • Published
-
‘Women’s Work: London’ celebrates architecture and International Women's Day
Action group Part W launches ‘Women's Work: London’, a project celebrating International Women’s Day and key projects by women in our built environment
By Ellie Stathaki • Published