Cover The open-concept kitchen is fitted with a generous island that speaks the same brutalist design language as the rest of the home
The open-concept kitchen is fitted with a generous island that speaks the same brutalist design language as the rest of the home
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Tucked behind a Victorian pub, this brutalist London mews home by Gianni Botsford Architects incorporates a striking 1969 extension designed by Foster + Partners and a slew of sustainable design solutions
Located along a mews—a street or courtyard that was originally designed to house stables and carriage houses—in London’s historical Hampstead neighbourhood, this four-storey family home quietly hides behind a Victorian pub, with a striking brutalist structure that extends over 3,000 sq ft. Newly completed by Gianni Botsford Architects and titled Reciprocal House, the home replaces a dilapidated 1860s cottage while refurbishing its exemplary 1969 extension by Foster + Partners, at the time known as Foster Associates.
Designed to complement Foster + Partners’ lightweight single-storey structure of steel trusses, concrete blocks, and large-span aluminium-framed glazing, the new abode honours this original character and elemental quality with an industrial material palette. Alongside the construction of this new home, the firm undertook the refurbishment of the 1969 extension as well, originally intended as a space for entertaining.
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The kitchen is elevated, delineating it while maintaining an open connection with the other common areas
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Above The home’s industrial angles and forms can be appreciated both internally and externally
Above A restful corner
The home’s industrial angles and forms can be appreciated both internally and externally
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Following the restoration, the extension intersects with the new family home on the ground floor, which houses open-concept living and dining spaces and the family’s kitchen. Three bedrooms, a roof terrace on the two upper floors, and a studio benefitting from three-metre tall lightwells in the basement are accommodated by the layout as well.
The interiors are characterised by key aluminium elements, each one designed by the firm and crafted in east London, including a spiral staircase, kitchen units, wardrobes, bathroom fittings, and screens and doors. A wide, circular skylight over the spiral staircase connects the three floors as well as the indoors with the outdoors.
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Above The skylight floods the spiral staircase with natural light and allows for extra ventilation during warmer seasons
Above A closer view of the aluminium staircase
The skylight floods the spiral staircase with natural light and allows for extra ventilation during warmer seasons
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Above This intimate study offers a soothing view of an enclosed courtyard, bringing nature into the home while keeping the elements out
This intimate study offers a soothing view of an enclosed courtyard, bringing nature into the home while keeping the elements out
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A key priority for the firm, the architectural shell itself strikes a balance between honouring the historical charm of the plot and realising a comfortable, contemporary residence.
The roof profile of the house mirrors that of the original cottage, the distinctly angled elevations give the architecture a strong geometric quality both externally and internally, and the façade of the new building is sheathed in perforated aluminium mesh in a soft copper-brown tone. The latter not only preserves the memory of the original house but also provides privacy and screening from solar gain.
As director and head of design Gianni Botsford shares, the firm’s response to the site’s unique context was “led by local adaptation and carried out through careful and forensic analysis.” This allowed the team “to determine ways of providing privacy for the occupants and neighbours, long views out to the borrowed landscape of back gardens, access to sunlight and daylight, acoustic separation, and security.”
Lush green views from the bedroom on the upper floor
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A series of custom-crafted physical models constituted part of this thorough analysis, used to investigate the site as well as the relationship between the new house and the extension, with the aim of achieving a strong sense of reciprocity between the two. The result is a balanced combination of forms and volumes, speaking a common architectural language yet clearly delineated.
The connection between the built-up square footage and the surrounding landscape was optimised in the process as well, the building allowing a new-found appreciation for the mature trees standing tall around the expansive roof terrace. Demolished brickwork from the original cottage was used throughout the landscape design, repurposing existing materials to minimise waste while imbuing the surroundings with embodied memory of the locale.
Above The home’s brutalist bathroom
The home’s brutalist bathroom
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Other sustainability-led design choices had a significant impact on the project too, such as optimising the window sizes and orientation of the home to maximise natural light and ventilation while making the most of the shade provided by the tall trees framing the property. Additionally, the skylight crowning the spiral staircase functions as a crucial ventilation shaft for the home, allowing warm air to be released up and outwards when opened during warmer seasons.
The home’s material palette doesn’t just honour the original design of the brutalist extension but further serves to minimise the abode’s footprint. Materials with a high thermal mass such as exposed concrete were used throughout the space, adding to the passive cooling measures in the summer. The need for heating was similarly minimised by enhancing thermal insulation and air tightness, provided by a combination of underfloor heating and an air-source heat pump.
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The home is framed by tall, mature trees that lend it privacy and natural shade
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In addition, water consumption is kept to a minimum in the long run through low-flow fittings, a greywater treatment system, rainwater recycling, and the installation of green roofs to reduce runoff.
With its combination of responsive architecture, thoughtful spatial planning, and integration of sustainable design, this one-of-a-kind abode goes beyond the aesthetic in every respect, providing a thoughtful and creative take on refurbishment, adaptive reuse, and green architecture.
Above A view of the driveway
Above The lush vegetation surrounding the property tuck it away from London’s bustling streets, even with the heart of the city nearby
A view of the driveway
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Credits
Photography: Schnepp Renou
