An Architect Couple Play With Texture in Their Handcrafted London Home
Creative couple David Liddicoat and Sophie Goldhill of the RIBA award-winning Liddicoat & Goldhill designed and built their 2,390-square-foot home in the London Borough of Hackney "to explore the ideal texture and atmosphere of domestic architecture." Located within the Victoria Park conservation area on an irregularly shaped site, the home is constrained by local building regulations that forbid new builds to impede neighbors’ access to natural light. To overcome these challenges, the architects used careful computer analysis to enable the house’s asymmetric form to be oriented to capture key moments of sunlight, yet still create regular interior spaces.
Liddicoat and Goldhill's home in the Victoria Park conservation area sports a steeply slanted roofline.
Named The Makers House—due to the fact that the couple handcrafted most of the house themselves—the four-level residence has a rich material palette, and was fabricated using a variety of processes.
"The exterior combines Roman brickwork with inky, pigmented zinc roofing and bleached larch carpentry," says Liddicoat. "Internally, the structural steel and timber work is exposed, and married to a restrained palette of reclaimed and repurposed industrial materials."
The multi-level, "broken plan" ground floor has a raised sitting room, a lofty kitchen, and a basement snug and larder. Each of these areas retain their own distinct atmosphere, yet remain highly connected to rest of the house.
The entire rear facade at the ground level consists of three large, pivoting glazed doors—two which are full-height—that open out to a courtyard terrace.
Expansive, bright circulations offer opportunities to display art and family objects, and encourage occupants to enjoy peaceful moments.
A west-facing sitting room at the entrance level looks down onto a bespoke, hand-built kitchen and dining area.
The simple, efficient kitchen features a stainless-steel counter. From the kitchen, another staircase descends to a basement with a utility room, larder, and TV area.
In the upper levels where the bedrooms are located, the materials are of lighter weight and unified by Rhodesian mahogany floors reclaimed from Hove Bus Station.
Tranquil bedroom suites are located on the first floor, while the attic is furnished as a studio that enjoys sunlight from the north.
Towards the rear is a spacious suite that combines spaces for sleeping, bathing, dressing, and contemplation. This suite is fitted with paneled walls that slide to one side on cast iron to separate or conjoin the bedroom and bathroom.
Shop the Look
Related Reading: Loads of Color Define a Revamped 1960s Townhouse in London
Project Credits:
Architect and builder: Liddicoat & Goldhill LLP / @liddicoatgoldhill
Structural engineering: Fluid Structures
Published
Get the Pro Newsletter
What’s new in the design world? Stay up to date with our essential dispatches for design professionals.