Private House in Kensington

Private House in Kensington London, UK This private house in London is a Grade II listed building that was designed as a family home by EP Warren. The building is currently on Historic England’s ‘Buildings at Risk’ register. The proposals are informed by a thorough assessment of the historical development of the house and garden and its significance as a heritage asset in the Kensington Conservation Area. The principal aspiration has been to develop a design which is sensitively informed by the qualities of the Grade II listed house. This includes a new eastern stair extension to join all levels and a double basement with swimming pool under the garden access by a grand stair and sloping lift. A new, sunken terrace is proposed to complement the Arts & Crafts nature of the house and complete the landscaped garden. The proposals seek to integrate the new and historic accommodation in a manner which delivers a coherent, holistic and well resolved architectural composition. The approach has been informed by detailed research into the history and heritage significance of the listed building and its garden. The proposals also draw from the work of both EP Warren and Thomas Mawson, his landscape architect and collaborator. The proposed entrance pavilion is a single storey extension to the east of the main house which provides a new entrance hall and vertical circulation to the new basement. The Arts and Crafts garden is defined by its strong architectural quality and the considered interrelationship of the internal and external spaces. It is conceived as an extension of the living space, structured by walls, stairs, pavilions and pergolas which negotiate levels and define external ‘rooms’. Our proposals for the private garden draw on the architecture of the house, relating to the central range and wings of the garden elevation, and hence the division of internal rooms. A lowered terrace emphasises the central bay of the house and extends the existing cascade of steps towards the lower section of the garden. This lowered terrace provides light and access to the adjacent wings of basement accommodation, bringing the architectural composition together as a coherent whole. The lowest basement level is defined by a continues rhythm of exposed structural concrete columns which support a series of coffered cross vaults spanning the entire pool and spa area. The pool is dramatically top lit through 5 oculus portals which support a shallow layer of water dispersing natural light within the subterranean spaces.