The following is a statement from Henning Stummel Architects:

We fell in love with the original industrial building. The secluded site, set within an urban Victorian block, is accessed via a passage through a terraced house and the space is entered at an elevated level. Historically the development of this plot came about by spanning a roof between other existing buildings. This was done incrementally over time and with the help of a delicate steel frame. Whilst the existing structure was in a derelict state, we really liked the beautiful space, the delicate structure and the peace and tranquility of this place. The brief turned to retaining these qualities in a well-insulated contemporary rebuild and making this space work as a home and office.

The building is in a conservation area and our proposal was to replace a corrugated asbestos shed with a building of almost identical envelope.

Rather than carving up the main space of the building we decided to keep the main 'industrial' space as capacious as possible and to juxtapose the scale of the domestic bed and bathrooms by turning these into an oversize sculpture, a composition of plywood boxes set within the larger space. To set the scene, we let the visitor enter through a minute door into a dark passageway. On opening the luminescent glazed doors at the end of this corridor you find yourself at the top of a wide set of stairs overlooking the large tranquil top-lit space, and at the far end you see the composition of plywood boxes.

The project was featured on a memorable episode of Grand Designs. Kevin McCloud’s summary was: “this is simply brilliant!”

The project was featured in the highly regarded German architectural Journal Intelligente Architektur (issue 10-12/13) and has recently been awarded with the prestigious RIBA award.