Whitecross Street
London, UK
The client's family business has occupied the premises at 115 Whitecross Street since the 1850s. The original four storey houses date from the 17th century whilst, more recently, additional residential accommodation had been built to the rear of the site overlooking a small park, formed after clearance by second world war bombing. Project Orange were approached with a tripartite brief; to redevelop the rear of the site to create a new family home, to upgrade and renovate the buildings onto the street converting them into rental apartments and to retain and renovate the existing ground floor business use.
The aspect of the new-build house is refocused towards the park, opening generous areas of glazing to benefit from long views and light penetration. The glazing, together with the layering and depth of the façade, gives a spatial richness and light to the interior as well as enhancing the adjoining public space. The living areas are raised to first floor level and link the expansive areas facing the park to more intimate zones grouped around enclosed internal courtyards. These in turn flow through to refurbished areas of the existing buildings fronting the street. A sense of security and protection is afforded by the ground floor brick plinth upon which the new house is perched. The cubic forms of the new upper storeys are characterised by an armature of sheet copper cladding from which emerge volumes finished in rustic oak shakes, a reference to the Arcadian landscape of the park.
Awards
RIBA
National Award
Winner
12 August 2010
Grand Designs Awards
Best New Build House
Finalist
11 March 2010
The Design Awards
Living Space of the Year
Winner
15 May 2009
British Homes Awards
Best One-off House of the Year
Winner
09 March 2009
Related news
The LFA - PO Walk
PO stepped out for the London Festival of Architecture giving a guided tour around our projects in the city.
Project Orange at ‘50 Years of London Architecture 1960-2010’
We are proud to announce that two of our projects were chosen to feature in '50 Years of London Architecture 1960-2010', which is a part of the London Festival of Architecture 2010.
Awards - Whitecross Street is a Winner
We are delighted to announce that Whitecross Street won the prestigious RIBA Award and was a finalist in Grand Designs Awards.
Another Award This Year for Whitecross Street
Whitecross Street just won Living Space Design of the Year at The Design Awards 2009.
Best One-off House of the Year - It’s a Winner!
We are delighted to announce that we won the prestigious British Homes Award for 'Best one-off house of the year' last night! The winning project is at 115-117 Whitecross Street in London.