Kensington Contemporary
This apartment is on the first floor of a stucco-fronted, grade II listed building and was originally the main reception room of the house with extensive cornicing and generous proportions. However, the property had more recently been converted into a small, two-bedroom flat with a false ceiling concealing the original, badly damaged cornice. Hogarth Architects’ brief was to demolish the 1980s’ additions, restore the original proportion and decoration of the space as much as possible, and then insert a simple, contemporary mezzanine within the restored room. The client wanted a space that would sleep two people and include a bathroom, kitchenette and plenty of storage, all within 112 sq ft. The finished project has a bedroom and bathroom located on the mezzanine floor, while the kitchen and main living space are on the lower level. The design is based around the idea of a single piece of multi-functional furniture framed by the room. A high gloss, rubber floor and English oak were used to enhance the contrast between the new construction and the existing space. One difficulty the architect faced was how to incorporate the new mezzanine level with the original double height windows. The solution in the bathroom was to use a clear structural glass floor for the shower tray which maintains the view of the whole window. There is an additional guest room, separated by the common stairs. The room was originally part of the first floor landing and the stained glass dome is an existing, listed feature of the property. Two fire doors were required to separate the studio from the communal stairway. The usual consequence of this is a corridor between apartment and stairwell. Instead, the architect designed a wall recess to house a second fire door, which is held open by a magnetic catch and released when the fire alarm sounds. The judges praised this winner as “a brilliant solution to the brief and a model example of the adaptive re-use of an existing listed building.”
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