Fitzrovia House
by Carmody Groarke
Client Private Client
Awards RIBA London Award 2018
The fusion of careful restoration and reductionist contemporary interventions in this Grade II* listed Regency townhouse has created an elegant family home for its art collector clients. The six storey end of terrace house was built in 1827, and forms part of the Adams Brothers only London square. A succession of 19th and 20th century adaptations had obscured the form and proportion of some of the rooms and created poor quality accommodation at the rear. These have all been removed.
The proportions and decorative qualities of the principal rooms onto the square have been carefully reinstated and the rooms sparsely furnished in a way that emphasises the beauty of the original and provides a perfect setting for displaying art work, in a home environment.
The subsidiary spaces to the rear have been detailed meticulously and sit within the cascading glass roofs of a four storey atrium, which transforms the feeling of the internal rooms and allows the more public areas to be opened fully onto a series of terraces, for outside dining and parties.
Spatially, the transition between old and new is blended and given continuity with a palette of white materials, from painted plaster and wood in the Regency rooms, to white Carrera marble and light timber in walls, floors and fittings in all the newly created spaces.
An elemental composition of glass and marble defines a new double height kitchen, inside and out. As with the rest of the building this is very beautifully detailed and spatially complemented by exceptionally minimalist, bespoke light fittings, as well as specially-made fixed and loose furniture.
Daylight is brought into the new space in unexpected ways, which allow the building forms to be read almost as spatial abstractions. Every opportunity has been taken to exploit original form within the cannon of classical proportion and restrained form and detail. The outcome is a very beautiful but vital home, tailored with great dexterity to accommodate the reality of family life.
Internal Area 512 m²
Environmental / M&E Engineers Environmental Engineering Partnership
Structural Engineers Price & Myers
Approved Inspector Dunwoody
CDM Coordinator PFB Construction Management Services Ltd
Planning Consultant DP9
Historic Building Consultant Julian Harrap Architects LLP
