© Katsuhisa Kida

The spatial logic of this exceptional house in West London is that of a large-format inhabited painting. Its architecture creates a certain ambiguity between the physical reality of its built enclosure and the visual perception of its space. The intense colour compositions of the interior and the omnipresent lush garden outside create a spatial dialogue offering a varied and urbane experience of nature and architecture. To adapt this 1960s residence to the needs of its independent film-maker inhabitants, each floor was given its own distinctive atmosphere.

On the ground floor a matt glass screen separates the entrance area from a swimming pool, beyond which lies an exceptionally beautiful walled garden. Interior and exterior spaces are separated only by a sliding glass wall. The first floor offers an open plan with floor-to-ceiling glazing on two sides. Furniture-sized objects in various vivid colours serve as storage for the paraphernalia of everyday life; they also create a (partially reversible) separation between the space of the kitchen on the one hand, and the study and the living and dining areas on the other. On the top floor the strongly hued spaces of the bedroom and guest apartment offer a private, sensual and luxurious world.

© Hélène Binet
© Hélène Binet
© Hélène Binet
© Hélène Binet

brief

  • Conversion of a 1960s Residence

data

  • gross floor area: 300 m²
  • 1995

project team