An Architect’s 1960s London Home Welcomes Foxes, Squirrels, Bees, and Bats
As she updates her house with a green roof and “bat bricks,” Helena Rivera seeks to enhance life not only for her family, but for the animals of the surrounding woodland.
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Nestled into a protected woodland in South London, architect Helena Rivera’s family home has impressive design credentials. Part of the famed Dulwich Estate—a midcentury conservation area built by Austin Vernon & Partners—it’s full of modernist charm and has an enviable location that’s central to the city yet surrounded by mature woodland. However, it wasn’t quite up to the demands of busy family life for Helena, her husband Hernando Alvarez, and their two teenage sons.
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Mandi Keighran
Design and travel writer based in London.