Set within a leafy enclave of the Hampstead Conservation Area in North London, a modernist townhouse now stands confidently refurbished for a young couple and their daughter, expertly designed by emerging architecture and interiors practice, Studio Hagen Hall. Originally built in the late 1960s, the home retains many original features and elements of modernist design that have been revitalized into a warm, broken plan, polished living space.
The home is part of a handsome cluster of nine properties, including five townhouses originally designed by South African architect Ted Levy, Benjamin & Partners in the late 1960s, representing a key part of progressive post-war design thinking in London’s built history. Each of the neighbouring homes appear uniformly designed with subtle reference to coastal developments in the 50s and 60s. Externally, Pine Heath exudes charm with its pop out window bays and a long, thin window spanning from the top to the bottom of the house’s central stairwell.
Studio Hagen Hall was initially appointed to lightly refurbish the home, involving only the kitchen, bathrooms and windows, but on careful inspection, realised that the home’s true potential lay in much wider renovation. Studio Hagen Hall proposed a bespoke restoration encompassing the whole house that would improve operational efficiency and reduce overall project costs in the long term, and ultimately reintroduce a more sophisticated and pragmatic series of living spaces to suit a functional, lifelong home.
An exemplar in sensitively considered architecture and interior design, Pine Heath demonstrates a deep understanding of knowing how to preserve detail through bespoke craft.
Pine Heath Restored To Fully Showcase Period Details
Drawn to the mid-century charm of the home, the clients briefed Studio Hagen Hall to revive the tired terraced house for their growing family, focusing on upgrading the overall energy efficiency and performance. Alongside the aesthetic and energy-improvement brief for Pine Heath, spatial planning needed much consideration throughout the property.
As a visitor approaches, they are greeted by a generous hallway and a built-in cloak area complete with bench, with direct vistas reaching the terraced patio and communal gardens to the rear of the home. Underfoot, Burnt ochre Terrazzo flooring enhances the entrance progression, continuing into spaces with a rich green hue.
Previously a three-bedroom home, Studio Hagen Hall has utilised the property’s five storeys to deliver a cleverly and subtly zoned floorplan, balancing social family space with distinct areas for rest, utility, work, and play. It now comprises an additional four guest bedroom suite cum gym in the basement, plus a new office and guest sleeping pod in the eaves of the property.
The aged Paraná pine, a highly sought after endangered species, formed the foundation for the project’s material palette and further references Studio Hagen Hall’s sensitive design choices to work around and preserve original, indelible detail throughout the home.
Alongside the stairwell, the original timber clad ceilings acted as a cue to reinstating the modernist characteristics of Pine Heath. The joinery has been expertly crafted in a complimentary orange wood veneer, subtly stained to match the original Paraná strip ceiling material.
Civic Qualities Transferred With Local Colour Choices
Further devices used by Studio Hagen Hall to deepen the connection with Pine Heath’s original spirit and modernist attributes have been realised with uncomplicated furniture layout, storage spaces and the selection of colour and material.
A warm yet refined palette forms the basis for the interior mood of Pine Heath. Textures and colours were added to elevate the atmosphere, with rich greens tying the house together, displayed in the raised living area, stairwell and covering all of the bespoke upholstered furnishings in the living, dining and sleeping spaces.
Natural elements of interior architecture establish balance with the colour choices; earthen hues come together to create focal points in the tiled bathrooms punctuated by browns, greens and blues, selected to complement the cherry wood joinery, seamless mirror glazing and bespoke barisol lighting. Microcement flooring flows through the upper floors, deepening the relationship between materiality and ambience.
Other intentional design details include the installation of floor to ceiling pocket doors in the bedrooms, maintained at 2.5 metres high, re-aligned to allow perfect views all the way from the front to the back of the house. The original sightlines of the house, deep timber-lined portals, and an acute horizontal ribbon window encasing the staircase enhance spatial design throughout.
The new bespoke kitchen nods to the client and Studio Hagen Hall’s shared interest in quality craftsmanship, showcased in dynamic, yet sensitive, material detailing. Brushed stainless steel worktops sit atop the bespoke cabinetry, individually fitted to mask all domestic appliances such as the fridge, dishwasher and bespoke extractor fan hood. Custom designed and milled sapele handles mirror existing mahogany accents throughout the house. Period details of the modernist kitchen have been accentuated for contemporary use; textured, stippolyte glass cabinetry together with a sweeping curved timber fascia now envelopes the kitchen, aligning with the original horizontal window datum and framing the serving hatch to the dining area.
In numbers terms, Pine Heath now reads at a much higher thermal performance. Studio Hagen Hall retained the appearance of the original fenestration by replacing the original single-glazed aluminium windows with a custom hybrid solution, comprising timber frames with aluminium and vacuum glazing inserts.
Beyond the upgrade to the glazing, insulation was added internally to key areas of concrete and brick structure to drastically reduce cold bridging. Trickle and adjustable air vents in each room provide fresh airflow via the new centralised mechanical extract ventilation system. The property also features integrated solar panels, an air-source heat pump, underfloor heating, and full roof insulation to meet and more than exceed standard energy efficiency requirements.
Studio Hagen Hall and their clients shared a clear vision for a timeless home for a young family to grow into and enjoy sustainably for years to come, creating a leading example of a London modernist house transformation.
