It was both time to leap ship or to reinvent their north London townhouse. After almost 40 years of residing beneath the identical leaky roof, Russell Vandyk and Alan Martin Day, each retired, daringly selected the latter. The couple employed Studio Ben Allen so as to add a two-story extension onto the again of their terraced Victorian. The ask got here with a bonus each design staff longs for: they had been inspired, says Allen, to “use the venture as a testbed for concepts.”

In response, the architects, led by Allen and Omar Ghazal, took the chance to “push the boundaries of off-site fabrication, one thing we felt was missing in small-scale residential tasks.” Particularly, they used prefabricated pigmented concrete on each the outside and inside, as structural parts which can be additionally ornamental because of Studio Allen’s daring use of colour and curves. The addition now homes a double-height new skylit kitchen with a mezzanine that connects to the prevailing principal stair and results in a really memorable new tub. And there’s extra: Vandyk and Day primarily gained a wholly new home that also retains highlights of the unique—and has earned quite a lot of appreciation from the UK design neighborhood. Dubbed The Home Recast, the rework was named “greatest new house enchancment venture” of 2021 within the NLA’s annual “Don’t Transfer, Enhance!” contest. Be a part of us for a tour.

Images by French + Tye, courtesy of Studio Ben Allen.

Above: The 1892 home has a standard façade and an eye-opening again exterior of solid concrete: scalloped columns and beams the colour of verdigris body salmon wall panels that entrance the brand new upstairs rest room. “We selected these colours as a result of they’re much like the copper and terracotta used on a number of the native Victorian buildings of word,” says Allen.

the concrete colors were created using earth pigments. adds allen: &#8220 18 — Above: The concrete colours had been created utilizing earth pigments. Provides Allen: “We weren’t solely impressed by the colour however the honesty of Victorian structure: the brickwork is ornamental but it surely’s additionally load-bearing.” The brand new exterior and inside parts had been produced off website and effectively put in in a matter of days. The extension is 142 sq. meters (roughly 1,500 sq. ft).

the architects introduced a dramatic double height kitchen with a vaulted louve 19 — Above: The architects launched a dramatic double-height kitchen with a vaulted louvered ceiling and a mezzanine that “permit mild to penetrate deep into the home,” says Allen. The helps, island, and counter are all solid concrete; the outside and structural parts are the work of Cornish Concrete Merchandise and the inside designs are by Concreations. The kitchen cupboards are fabricated from oak triply composed of three layers of stable wooden.

“There was once a small galley kitchen with just one window and a eating desk squidged up towards it, and the backyard was only a scrappy little bit of land,” Vandyk instructed The Fashionable Home. “It’s not as if we had been detached or sloppy,” added Day. “The home simply wasn’t actually on the middle of our universe. After we had been younger, we had totally different priorities. A whole lot of our life was open air. Now, it’s about house comforts.”