Marylebone Apartment by Proctor & Shaw
South London based architects Proctor & Shaw have completed the full interior renovation of an apartment in a period block in Marylebone, London.
Description
The challenging brief required re-configuring the inefficient existing one bedroom, one bathroom layout to incorporate two double bedrooms each with ensuite facilities, along with a generous open plan kitchen, dining, and living space.
“The top floor of the existing building had been rebuilt following bomb damage during the war”, explained architect Mike Shaw, “which meant the existing spanning concrete structure allowed a complete reconfiguration of the non-load-bearing internal walls to suit the client’s aspirations for the space.” The beautiful cantilevered communal stair in terrazzo from this earlier 1950s refurbishment also set the tone for a crafted approach rich in material texture.
The chosen design solution incorporated a series of fixed furniture interventions that structured a newly orientated layout maximising every square inch of the property’s modest 75 msq footprint. Ensuite bedrooms are organised behind a finely detailed full height timber profiled screen wall to allow a consolidated street-facing living space running the full length of the apartment. The wall incorporates all storage and service requirements for the apartment, including kitchen appliances and hanging cupboards, resulting in a highly efficient plan.
Lye-washed batten profiles modulate the organising wall to create a subtle texture enlivened by the characterful grain of the Douglas Fir timber. Flush finished frameless doors and discreet machined handles are concealed in the timber profiles adding a sense of craft and delight
to the touch. The screen is complemented by 5m long full length solid Douglas Fir floor boards, both supplied by Dinesen, where the vertical rhythm of the screen and seamless floor emphasise a sense of height and depth to the space.
The main living space is anchored at each end with bespoke wall to wall furniture units in ultra-matt clear sealed dark grey through-coloured MDF, topped with black pitted bespoke concrete worktops. At one end kitchen cabinetry, the other a cantilevered wall bench unit with integrated drawers, these bolder elements reinforce the lightness of the timber screen and frame a quartet of existing street-facing sash windows.
Simply finished bedrooms with flush faced built-in hanging cupboards and bespoke Douglas fir bedside cabinetry are each accompanied by ensuite shower rooms, finished in a seamless microcement finish to walls, floor, ceiling and cabinetry to create a sensuous cocoon- like atmosphere. Bespoke concrete vanity units with integral sinks and brushed stainless steel fixtures feature in both spaces alongside through-coloured MDF lined cabinetry.
Proctor & Shaw also designed bespoke loose furniture for the space, including an eight person dining room table with a thin framed powder coated steel base finished with a matt black MDF table top to match fixed furniture cabinetry.
Photography by Ståle Eriksen
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- by Matt Watts
