Bushey Hill House  London

Bushey Hill House is a large Victorian double-fronted building located in Peckham. The project comprises internal refurbishment and alterations as well as a large loft extension.

The overall approach takes the key features of the original house and interprets, adapts and transposes them. Our interventions bring together the historic with the new. The small and subtle changes; adding built-in furniture, moving walls and changing openings gave the house slight but significant improvements. The addition of natural colours, materials and textures to the interior and exterior enhanced the unique characteristics of the selected original features.

In addition to the internal modifications, the house is extended adding two bedrooms, one bathroom and ample storage in the loft. This space follows the same principles regarding material, textural and colour as the conversion. The gutters are set behind upstands and concealed behind the cladding which enables the loft to emphasize its verticality.

The main material, oak is used and applied in different ways creating a coherent thread throughout the project and allowing different treatments to be used in a suitable place. These are selected to suit their purpose and create a natural variation in the timber’s appearance.  Across the interior, oak appears with different treatments; oiled solid oak for shelves in the bathroom and in the kitchen, and the theme re-appears in the form of the dark stained oak.

The overarching emphasis of the project is on a simple colour and material pallet with excellent bespoke detailing and craftsmanship.

Photography:  Edmund Sumner

Thermal Springs Guest House, Iceland

International Competition – Shortlisted

Designers were tasked with submitting plans for a new guest house extension for the Vogafjós Farm, located on the east coast of  Lake Myvatn, that takes full advantage of the natural surroundings. 

The design for the new thermal springs guest house echoes the qualities found in the raw and mystical Icelandic landscape. It blends effortlessly into the natural scenery whilst providing a memorable stay for the guests. 

The building is sculptural in appearance with a strong reading of horizontal layers in reference to the strata of rocks found throughout the island. The colour palette is inspired by the local colours ranging from different shades of black and grey to earthy red and orange tones. The building materials are locally sourced using lava concrete for the exterior and a light birch timber for the interior.

The mass is expressed by two volumes which are linked by a stepped revegetated roofscape that responds to the program beneath and is designed to take full advantage of the incredible vistas towards Mount Vindbelgur, Mount Hlidfjall,  the Hverfjall Volcano and the Aurora Borealis. 

Camberwell Mews  Southwark, London 

Camberwell Mews is grand II- grade listed terraced property located within the Camberwell Conservation area. The project is located at the end of the rear garden and will serve as a guesthouse for extended family members and friends.

In contrast to the main building, the garden house is made of a light timber body on a precast concrete plinth. Inspired by the provisional garden structures such as trellises and fences, the use of perforated timber screens with inserted openable shutters maximises the light whilst providing privacy. 

On the inside, a sleeping platform and compact facilities are positioned towards the mews leaving a double-height living space facing the shared garden.

The Best New Architect 

https://www.thebestnewarchitects.com/stories-mews/

Zogu Boulevard  Tirana, Albania

The city of Tirana is undergoing great changes with a newly implemented masterplan by Grimshaw Architects. By extending the existing boulevard, the city expands to the North connecting the city’s historic centre with the river Lumin e Tiranes.

Zogu Boulevard is the part of this international masterplan, which SAM Architects worked on. It encompasses the conceptual design of two urban blocks delivering 160 residential units, office accommodation and retail space with a total area of 26.000 sqm.

Situated at the beginning of the new boulevard and adjacent to a new public square, the southern block is composed of three volumes of varying height in response to the immediate urban setting. The massing of the northern block follows the guidelines derived by the masterplan; providing two buildings of similar volume with an arcade at the ground and a setback to the top.

In keeping with the bustling public life of Tirana, the ground floor of both blocks is broken up via cut-throughs, interconnecting spaces and a central retail arcade creating connections to the surrounding streets. Whilst the architectural approach is of quiet demeanour, with a simple identifiable order, scale and composition, the overall colour and material palette are bold and vibrant referencing the colourful character of the city.

Client: Startek & Infraplan .