Conversion and extra height of an old boiler room in town-house
Initially a boiler room for the James Taylor factory, the project involved adding a level to this 38 m2 building in order to convert it into a family city dwelling.
A new staircase was built in the old courtyard. It serves the first level, occupied by bedrooms, as well as the new level, occupied by the living space and a mid-level terrace. The presence of the latter is only perceptible from the outside via the trellis bricks on top of the street facade.
The added level is constructed according to the traditional London method of the “cavity wall”: a double layered wall of brick with insulation in the center. This construction technique makes it possible to have raw brick walls inside the house.
On the facade, the different stages of construction can be seen since each one uses a different color of bricks.
This was a deliberate choice.
The new level of lighter taint was intended to be built using green varnished bricks, to echo the facades of London’s pubs. However, Hackney Council opposed this choice and it was decided to work with “London stock brick”, a recycled brick retrieved from demolition sites around London.
The project retains the original weft composition of the windows with the slight difference that it lacks a window and the proportions have been stretched in height.
On sunny days, light passes through the crown of the facade, where the trellis terrace is, and creates an unexpected vibration on the North facade. At first glance one might find this simple, even austere.
