Trellick tower apartment gets redesign: step inside

living space inside Trellick tower apartment — (Image credit: Heiko Prigge)

A Trellick tower apartment has been respectfully refreshed to 21st-century standards by a team consisting of Berlin architecture studio Buchholzberlin and interior designer Peter Heimer. The piece of modernist architecture history was famously designed by architect Ernő Goldfinger and built between 1968 and 1972; it remains an exemplar of post-war modern architecture in London. The 86 sq m private apartment, which sits nestled on the 21st floor, was transformed to the needs of the two residents – the client and his partner – using brutalist architecture references from the structure's past blended with contemporary styles and needs.

bespoke joinery cabinet inside Trellick tower apartment

Trellick tower apartment reimagined

While respecting the Trellick tower apartment's original layout, the design team reimagined the spatial arrangement within the unit. The apartment is bathed with sunlight on three sides, so the architects worked to make the most of this orientation by uniting spaces and moving functions around.

Trellick tower hero exterior in black and white

'The concept was a clarification of the space programme, a spatial interpretation of the window views, a material reduction to raw concrete, oak and raw metal,' write the team, expanding on the overall thought process.

inside Trellick tower apartment looking out

Concrete walls were left exposed and contrasted by bespoke oak timber furniture and fittings – such as cabinets, a kitchen table and more. This rawness is continued in the lighting scheme, as site-specific ceiling light bars, made of raw aluminium and dimmable, are placed in strategic positions.

‘The centrepiece is a multifunctional furniture sculpture, made of oak with two identical sides,’ the design team continue. 'A reference to a piece of furniture in the apartment of Goldfinger, it serves as a sideboard in the entrance hall and in the living room. Its dark grey mirror brings the impression of the city horizon into the apartment’s centre.'

entrance with concrete staircase inside Trellick tower apartment

study inside Trellick tower apartment looking out

buchholzberlin.com

peterheimer.com

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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).