Michaelis Boyd was appointed to work on the full refurbishment of an existing three-storey house in the heart of Clerkenwell, London. Originally an 18th-century ironmonger’s workshop, Pear Tree House sits between an office building and an apartment block on a quiet side street. The property underwent various renovations and changes of use from workshop to office, and in the early 1990s it was partially redeveloped from a two-storey office to a three-storey contemporary terraced house. Embracing these origins, the refurbishment sought to re-envision a modern design style with a light industrial touch. The client wanted a house for working and entertaining, and so the floor plans were reconfigured to enable the ground floor to have meetings and large parties alike – with the living level at first floor and bedrooms on the second floor. A new terrace at first-floor level provides an outdoor extension to the living space and a new roof terrace at third-floor level provides a vast view of the City of London to the south. The design concept of the house is to live connected to the outdoor environment, to take in the inner-city views and the integration of outdoor spaces, and so bespoke windows and skylights throughout the house were critical to the success and quality of the internal spaces.