Garden House

Garden House is a new home, studio and gallery under a ‘hanging-basket’ roof for Whitaker Malem: the artist and costume-maker duo behind works by Allen Jones, fashion designers Hussein Chalayan and Alexander McQueen and costumes for films such as Wonder Woman and Batman.

On the site of a single-storey workshop they built in the mid-1990s, the clients wished to maximise the sense of space and natural light available within their small, north-facing site located behind Victorian terraced housing in the de Beauvoir Conservation Area in north London.

Comprising three different roof pitches, the design responds to the scale of the neighbouring buildings to the south and east, and the depth of the gardens to the north to create a ‘form of best fit’ – a negotiation between maximising the new home and protecting the outlook from neighbouring properties.

The building is entered through a winter garden with a large skylight lined with mirror-polished stainless steel. The light ricochets around the entrance, distorting the scale of the space and the fall of light. This leads on to living spaces lit with a series of roof lights that help light the living, dining and kitchen spaces.

On the ground floor, storage and display for the owners’ art collection are provided in the form of bespoke white steel shelves. These continue into a steel staircase set away from the wall that allows natural light to pass behind it and into the house.

The oak-lined studio space on the upper floor is also used as a fitting room and a gallery space for private exhibitions of the owners’ work. The studio is naturally lit with a large top light and storage and desk space built for sewing machines and embroidery areas.

At roof level a ‘hanging basket’ garden is created. Developed collaboratively through a series of workshops with Whitaker Malem, the roof was conceived as a series of lapped planting trays installed to form a pitched roof. The planted trays provide level beds in a stepped terrace that the owners can actively ‘garden’.

Comprising over 800 plants installed by hand by the owners – the project realises a unique green roof. There is no product or specification clause for the system – this is a roof that was designed, tested and constructed from first principles and Garden House is a model of how to increase the density of inner city, brown-field sites.

The project won an RIBA Award in 2016 and was shortlisted for the RIBA House of the Year and was televised on Grand Designs in December 2016. Described as ‘bloody brilliant’ by Kevin McCloud, the project has been published to critical acclaim in the national and international press. The project was one of the Architect’s Journal’s top 10 buildings of 2016.

“The Jury was captivated with the exquisite detailing that went into this house. The architects have skillfully created a rich and layered experience in a very small space. It gives the owners a peaceful and private space to live and work, which is a real achievement given the overlooked and enclosed nature of the site.”
RIBA Awards Jury

Awards
RIBA House of the Year:  Finalist
AJ Top 10 buildings of 2016
Dezeen Top 10 houses of 2016
RIBA Regional Award: Winner
Blueprint Innovation Award: Commended
AJ Retrofit Award: Shortlisted
NLA Best Home: Shortlisted

Publications
Suburban Design Guide – Croydon Council – 2018
‘Modern Masters:…’ – The Modern House Journal – June 2017
‘Garden House by Hayhurst and Co.’ – Blueprint – March 2017
‘Hanging Basket Roof’ – Dezeen – August 2016
‘Garden House trancends backland densification ’ – Architect’s Journal – 21.07.16
‘The Urban Eco Home’ – RIBA Publications – June 2016
‘Garden House / Hayhurst and Co’ – Archdaily  – August 2016
‘Grand Designs: Hackney’s Garden House blooms for House of the Year’ – Evening Standard – June 2016
‘De Beauvoir Town rooftop garden vies for RIBA Award’ – Hackney Citizen – July 2016 
‘London Borough of Croydon Suburban Design Guide’ – Croydon.Gov – April 2019