This Severe Four-Story London Renovation Goes All In on Aluminum

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Project Details:

Location: London, England

Architect: Gianni Botsford Architects / @gianni_botsford_architects

Footprint: 3,050 square feet

Builder: New Wave London

Structural Engineer: Tall Engineers

Landscape Design: FFLO Landscapes

Cabinetry Design: Loudeep

Mechanical & Electrical Engineer: Integration

Glazing System: MGI

Photographer: Schnepp Renou / @schnepp.renou

Photographer: James Eagle

From the Architect: "Located in a Hampstead mews and discretely hidden behind a Victorian pub, Reciprocal House is a newly completed family home by Gianni Botsford Architects replacing a nondescript and dilapidated 1860s cottage while renovating its exemplary 1969 extension by Foster Associates (now Foster + Partners).

"The new four-story house is designed to complement Foster Associates’ lightweight single-story structure of steel trusses, concrete blocks, and large-span aluminum-framed glazing. The industrial character of the Norman Foster–led design has been retained with the late 1960s extension returned to its original state and informing the elemental quality of Gianni Botsford Architects’ design evident, for example, in the choice of a limited yet highly effective palette of timeless materials.

"This family house now accommodates a kitchen, dining, and living spaces on the ground floor with three bedrooms and a roof terrace on the upper two floors. There is also a basement level studio room benefitting from tall light wells. Ground floor spaces access the open plan room created by Foster Associates—originally intended principally for entertaining and as home for the previous owner’s grand piano.

"The interiors are paced with highly crafted aluminum elements designed by Gianni Botsford Architects that include the staircase, kitchen units, wardrobes, bathroom fittings, screens and doors. These have all been made in East London.

"The roof profile of the original cottage is evoked in that of the new house, while the distinct angled elevations give the architecture a strong geometric quality both externally and internally. This is further emphasized by the circular roof light over the spiral aluminum staircase connecting the three main floors. The roof light can be fully opened for natural ventilation creating a powerful connection with the outdoors."