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MAISONETTE IN NOTTING HILL

Kensington and Chelsea

Project Details

£100,000 to £249,999

Alteration to existing property

Practice

Francesco Pierazzi Architects

Francesco Pierazzi Architects , 76 Mineral Street , LONDON , SE18 1QR , United Kingdom

The property is set within a 1980s terrace forming a secluded square, with severe restrictions for changes to the exterior of the property. The challenge of the project was to devise an original interior on three levels with no alterations to the facades while, concurrently, maximising the internal floor area. The client wanted to convert the steep roof space into additional accommodations and to reconfigure the existing house to improve the neglected interiors. The design approach adopts a phenomenological strategy devised to stimulate the bodies of the users when negotiating different spaces, whether ascending or descending. Everyday movements around the house generate an enhanced choreography that transforms static spaces into a dynamic experience. The reconfiguration of the middle floor aims to reduce circulation space in favour of larger bedrooms and service facilities. While the brick shell of the house is treated as a blank volume, the stairwell, designed as a subordinate space within a primary volume, is lined with birch plywood from ground to roof level. Concurrently the materials of seamless grey floors and white vertical surfaces, are reduced to the minimum to enhance the natural property of the timber in its phenomenological role. With a strong conceptual approach the space can be handed over to the owner for appropriation and personalisation.