Dome House by Roberto Di Donato Architecture
The Dome House project transforms a Victorian home in London, blending historical character with modern minimalism. Designed by Roberto Di Donato Architecture, the design stems from the clients’ desire to create a modern yet calm and meditative environment while preserving the Victorian home’s intrinsic value. The final result is not the product of sudden inspiration but the outcome of a gradual process of interpreting the practical brief alongside the clients’ spiritual aspirations and need for tactile.
Thoughtful Architectural Intervention
The Dome House project transforms a Victorian home in London, blending historical character with modern minimalism.
Articulating A Calm And Meditative Environment
The design stems from the clients’ desire to create a modern yet calm and meditative environment while preserving the Victorian home’s intrinsic value. Light, sense of space, and connection with nature form the foundation of this intervention.
Clients’ Spiritual Aspirations And Need For Tactile Interaction
The final result is not the product of sudden inspiration but the outcome of a gradual process of interpreting the practical brief alongside the clients’ spiritual aspirations and need for tactile, sensorial interaction with their living space.
Positioning The Living Area Towards The Rear Garden
A pivotal design decision was the unconventional approach of positioning the living area towards the rear garden to create a peaceful, quiet retreat. This move also capitalizes on the full width of the house between party walls, overcoming the typical spatial constraints of a narrow Victorian footprint.
Conversely, the kitchen is positioned at the front of the house, engaging with street life and maintaining proximity to the central staircase leading to upper floors.
A Social Hub With A Curved Fireplace
At the centre of the house, a transitional space bridges the kitchen and the new rear extension. Dominated by a curved fireplace, this room is conceived as a social hub where occupants can gather around the kitchen peninsula or relax by the fire.
The Skylight Becomes A Physical And Sensory Connection
The ceiling here plays a defining role, gently bending upward towards the extension and culminating in a rounded skylight. This skylight becomes the physical and sensorial connection between the old and new parts of the house.
Descending few steps into the new extension, one is immediately captivated by the sense of volume created by the central dome that dominates the space.
The Dome Creates An Acoustic, Meditative Space
This central architectural feature, crowned by an asymmetric circular skylight, embodies the essence of the house. This element serves both aesthetic and functional purposes: it maximizes ceiling height at the centre of the room, while maintaining modest heights along the party walls to comply with planning requirements and minimize the impact on neighbouring properties.
Within this space, garden and sky converge within a sensorial cocoon. The dome creates an acoustic, meditative space, where natural light floods in, casting a calming interplay of shadows and reflections.
Natural Character Enhanced Through Tactile Materials
Beyond curved surfaces, the home’s sensorial character is further enriched by the use of natural, tactile materials. Interior walls feature warm-toned clay plaster, a natural material that brings a sense of earthiness and serenity. This subtle texture counterbalances the clean lines of the minimalist design, grounding the space in warmth and timelessness.
Oak wood appears throughout, for flooring, handrails, and bespoke furniture, while bricks for the fireplace and exterior shell were carefully chosen in earthy, natural tones.
The Use Of Pure And Tactile Materials
In the rear garden, existing vegetation has been preserved, complemented by a green roof on top of the extension.
The use of pure and tactile materials translates into clean, timeless design. With respect to the context, it is an approach within which the senses, and the physical experience of space, textures and light place the integrity of the user at its core.
This project exemplifies how thoughtful design can achieve harmony between old and new—between light, materiality, and function—resulting in an inspiring, tranquil environment that feels both contemporary and deeply connected to nature.
Photography by Nacho Rivera
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