Architect Paul Westwood has transformed the dilapidated storage of his London residence right into a workshop and studio, that includes a pared-back materials palette that references the present Victorian home.
Westwood, who’s the design director of worldwide design collective RIOS, has been regularly renovating the home since he bought it in 2018 collectively along with his companion, clothier Annelise Armitage.
In 2021 Westwood took a sabbatical from his earlier function with Heatherwick Studio to work on the home and backyard, which was separated into three small and impractical areas.
The home itself was constructed within the Nineties and featured a nook shopfront that had seen a number of earlier makes use of, most not too long ago as an ice-cream storage facility.
The present backyard comprised a small space going through the home, a dilapidated storage that was too small for a automotive and an overgrown patch of land that the earlier proprietor bought from a neighbour.
Westwood got down to design a constructing he might principally assemble himself, utilizing recycled supplies wherever attainable. His design reorganises the lot to create a sequence of linked areas which can be higher suited to on a regular basis use and entertaining.
“Earlier than this mission, we couldn’t actually invite folks spherical for a barbecue as a result of everybody felt actually penned in,” Westwood informed Dezeen.
“The thought was to make the backyard really feel 3 times greater than it did beforehand and to create a sensible house for working from residence. I additionally wished to incorporate storage for my instruments and a option to harvest rainwater.”
The present storage was stripped again to its structural shell and Westwood engaged contractors to put in a brand new roof and undertake specialist duties together with plastering, bricklaying and electrical works.
New openings added to the red-brick constructing enhance the reference to the outside areas on both aspect, in addition to permitting pure gentle and air to succeed in the inside.
A big skylight brings within the solar from above and underfloor heating mixed with well-insulated partitions and ceilings ensures the house can be utilized year-round.
The studio’s pared-back palette contains principally pure supplies chosen to create a way of consistency with the primary residence.
“The home is 130 years outdated and has a variety of character,” Westwood defined. “All the things is outdated and a variety of it wants changing however that is a part of its attraction. We wished to keep up that feeling on this new house.”
The workshop’s inner partitions are lined with a textured plaster and the flooring are laid with sandstone cobbles that stretch out to the adjoining courtyard, making a connection between inside and out of doors.
Reclaimed doorways bought on Ebay got a contemporary coat of paint and the remainder of the timber used within the mission was sourced from a neighborhood sawmill.
Occasional bursts of color are offered by furnishings items together with a green-fronted storage bench and bright-red step ladder from Japanese model Metaphys.
Outdoors, there’s a water butt for gathering rainwater and the backyard is organized round two current bushes, with vegetation chosen primarily based on the native local weather.
Having spent current years overseeing main tasks such because the Little Island park in New York Metropolis and the London Olympia occasions centre for Heatherwick Studio, Westwood stated he loved the chance to be hands-on and take his time creating this private house.
“One of many issues I beloved about this mission was not figuring out in the beginning precisely what the end result could be,” he stated.
“On large tasks for industrial shoppers, all the pieces is deliberate and costed prematurely,” Westwood added. “However when you’ve gotten time and house to discover issues you can also make selections on the fly. I actually favored this sluggish structure method.”
The pictures is by Chris Wharton.
