Stowe Road

For this residential project the client already owned the lower ground floor and garden of this London home. Their recent acquisition of the upper ground floor meant there was a desire to reunite the spaces and transform the house into something grand for the family. 

We created architectural designs that offered new possibilities for living, and a balance between restoration and contemporary. A key part was the addition of an extensive basement, a complex component that covered the entire footprint of the house with generous ceiling heights. The redesign of Carlos Place introduced a new level that created opportunities for a secondary entrance and a contemporary extension, thoughtfully designed to serve as a bright and inspiring artist’s studio while enhancing the property’s functionality.

Colour and day light were the primary considerations to ensure the subterranean spaces didn’t feel underground. We reinstated the original staircase to open out into the kitchen, living room and dining space which was semi-sunken. We played a lot with levels, using lightwells and terraces to provide a sense of space. 

The house could now operate in a new way that allowed the kids to enter by the side. We created family meeting points, but also levels of separation and privacy. At Powell Tuck Associates we carefully refined the proportions of the windows to enhance the harmony of the rear elevation, creating brighter, more balanced spaces that strengthen the connection between the home and its surrounding environment.

Throughout the project we played with a balance between minimal and loud — working with both the kids and the parents to help shape a space they would love. 

Team: Adrian Lees, Guy Morgan, Thomas Denhof

Photography Christopher Horwood