North London Mews House
1987–1998
Location: London
Client: Private
Project Status: Built
The house was originally built in 1987 by Peter St John shortly after graduating. The additional floor designed by Caruso St John was added in 1998. The new top storey, which has transformed the appearance of the house, was not originally intended, and the architects have acted on the building as if they had come across it recently.
The appearance of the house from the outside, with its different claddings and windows, reflects an informal and additive character, which the Mews condition in London has historically allowed. The rear of the house faces onto the mature gardens of Victorian villas, whose back extensions it partly resembles.
The recent additions included changes within the existing buildings, and these were planned to give the house an unexpected and inconsistent collection of rooms. The spaces are big and small, shaped and orthogonal, made of new materials next to the original recycled ones.
The history of the house has been one of regular modification, and this has been further planned for with the robust and unstable mixture of parts.
The top floor extension is a timber stud wall folded over the roof to make a vault above the bedrooms. The section of the thin roof is made visible on the rear by fully glazing the tallest side, to make a gable.
The new staircase to the top floor has been designed as a large piece of furniture. It is made entirely from the sheets of laminated softwood, where the sheets act structurally as the stringer and the handrail. Leading to the bedrooms, the stair is for walking without shoes, and is soft to the feet and hollow sounding.