The House Recast by Studio Ben Allen wins Don't Move, Improve! 2021

A "rich and interesting" refurbishment of a Victorian house by Studio Ben Allen has been named London's best new home improvement project in the Don't Move, Improve! awards.

The House Recast is the overall winner of this year's contest, which is organised annually by New London Architecture (NLA) to showcase the diversity of homes in the UK capital.

Above: The House Recast has won Don't Move, Improve! 2021. Top image: the project was an experimental overhaul of a Victorian dwelling

Studio Ben Allen was invited to overhaul the dwelling by a retired couple who wanted to reorganise its layout while introducing a new kitchen and two bathrooms.

With an otherwise open brief, project architects Omar Ghazal and Ben Allen decided to use the project as an opportunity to experiment with off-site fabrication techniques and pigmented concrete for the home's structure and finishes.

Studio Ben Allen introduced two new bathrooms

The architects said this was inspired by the house's original Victorian design, "where the brickwork is patterned and decorated, while also being a load-bearing material and having the speed and quality by being fabricated offsite."

It was this unconventional approach and the way it complements the house's original features that led the project to be crowned the overall winner by the jury.

A Cloistered House won the prize for Urban Oasis of the Year

"It feels very much like a modern intervention, but it feels completely in keeping with the period of the property and the original motives," reflected jury member and architect Melissa Dowler.

"I think there's something really rich and interesting there in that relationship and I think they've played off that really nicely, without falling into pastiche or cliche."

The Environmental Leadership Prize was given to Fraher & Findlay's Segal House

Dowler was joined on the panel by NLA's curator-in chief Peter Murray, Amin Taha of Groupwork and Grand Designs Magazine editor Karen Stylianides.

Whitby Wood's Sebastian Wood was also a member, alongside property journalist Kunle Barker, Tom Foxall of Historic England and managing director of NLA Tamsie Thomson.

A playful revamp of a family home took home the Unique Character Prize

The competition is open to home improvement projects completed in the last two years in any one of London's 33 boroughs.

The House Recast was selected as the winner for 2021 from a shortlist of 22 projects revealed on 24 March.

A council house renovation won Compact Design of the Year

Eight other shortlisted projects were also recognised in the awards, including A Cloistered House by Turner Architects, which won the prize for Urban Oasis of the Year.

Fraher & Findlay's renovation and extension of a Segal House – a dwelling designed following Walter Segal's self-build methods – won the Environmental Leadership Prize.

Meanwhile, a playful revamp of a family home by CAN was the recipient of the Unique Character Prize. The project includes a rear extension topped by a fake mountain.

Two and a Half Story House by B-VDS Architects and a council house renovation by VATRAA were jointly awarded the prize for Compact Design of the Year.

Two and a Half Story House by B-VDS Architects also won Compact Design of the Year

This year, the programme also introduced an award for Work From Home Design of the Year, which was given to Sonn for its green terrazzo-clad garden studio.

A prize for Best Project under £100k was given to ER Residence – a pared-back overhaul of a north London flat by Studio Hallet Ike that included a blackened timber extension.

A terrazzo garden studio was named Work From Home Design of the Year

The final award, the Materiality & Craftsmanship Prize, was given to Hayhurst and Co for its remodel and extension of a semi-detached residence called Grain House.

Previous winners of Don't Move, Improve! include a "beautifully understated" rear extension by Proctor & Shaw and a home created within the shell of a derelict chapel.

House Recast photography is by French + Tye.

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Studio Ben Allen casts pigmented concrete to create colourful surfaces inside House Recast

Studio Ben Allen used brightly coloured concrete to create structural walls and decorative details throughout this refurbishment of a Victorian terraced home in north London.

The owners of the house in Haringey asked Studio Ben Allen to reorganise the living spaces at the rear of the property, which had been adapted and added to over time.

The project brief also called for the creation of a new kitchen and two bathrooms, one of which – on the ground floor – needed to be accessible.

Top: the rear of House Recast by Studio Ben Allen has patterned beams. Above: the studio used different shades of pigmented concrete

Studio Ben Allen used the House Recast project as a testbed for ideas, such as off-site fabrication and the use of pigmented patterned concrete as both structure and architectural finish.

"This approach was inspired by the surrounding Victorian architecture," claimed the architects, "where the brickwork is patterned and decorated, while also being a load-bearing material and having the speed and quality by being fabricated offsite."

"The colours and use of materials were also inspired by high-Victorian architecture in terms of richness," the studio added.

The kitchen has concrete floors

The house's unusual use of colours and materials led to the project being shortlisted for this year's Don't Move, Improve! awards, which celebrate the best home improvement projects across London.

Coloured concrete is used in various ways throughout the renovated property, including for the green patterned columns and beams that support the first floor bathroom's salmon-coloured structural wall panels.

Kitchen countertops were finished with a red hue

From the rear garden, the concrete framework forms a cross-shape that defines the spatial arrangement of the ground and first floors.

A fan-patterned relief imprinted into the concrete surfaces is mirrored in the bathroom's latticed window covering.

Inside the extended and refurbished kitchen, the green structure contrasts with the pinkish-red concrete stairs, counters, sink and island unit.

The bath, counters, washbasin and benches in the upstairs bathroom are all cast in green concrete – contributing to a space designed to have a hammam-like feel.

Red steps lead to the living space

A void created above the expanded kitchen connects this space visually with a new curved mezzanine. This double-height space allows daylight to penetrate into the centre of the house.

Light also filters down into the kitchen through a skylight positioned above a louvred vaulted ceiling. The same ceiling form is used for the upstairs bathroom.

A serving hatch links the living spaces and the kitchen

The curves of the vaulted ceilings are echoed in openings throughout the new spaces, including an archway connecting a seating area in the kitchen with the dining room at the front of the house.

In an effort to show how offsite construction can benefit smaller-scale residential projects, several elements used within House Recast were prefabricated to reduce construction time on site.

Curved openings connect the two floors

The extension's main frame and walls were erected in just three days, and the balustrade lining the mezzanine was delivered as a kit of parts.

The bespoke balustrade's design matches the pattern on the rear facade and was cut by the architect using a computer-controlled milling machine.

The bathroom has a green interior with brass finishes

Other projects featured on the shortlist for the 2021 Don't Move, Improve prize included an extension to a colour consultant's house featuring an on-trend colour palette, and a pop art-inspired extension with curved and brightly coloured surfaces.

Photography is by French + Tye.

The post Studio Ben Allen casts pigmented concrete to create colourful surfaces inside House Recast appeared first on Dezeen.

#all #architecture #residential #instagram #uk #london #britishhouses #londonhouses #colouredconcrete #refurbishments #studiobenallen

Studio Ben Allen casts pigmented concrete to create colourful surfaces inside House Recast

Studio Ben Allen used brightly coloured concrete to create structural walls and decorative details throughout this refurbishment of a Victorian terraced home in north London.

The owners of the house in Haringey asked Studio Ben Allen to reorganise the living spaces at the rear of the property, which had been adapted and added to over time.

The project brief also called for the creation of a new kitchen and two bathrooms, one of which – on the ground floor – needed to be accessible.

Top: the rear of House Recast by Studio Ben Allen has patterned beams. Above: the studio used different shades of pigmented concrete

Studio Ben Allen used the House Recast project as a testbed for ideas, such as off-site fabrication and the use of pigmented patterned concrete as both structure and architectural finish.

"This approach was inspired by the surrounding Victorian architecture," claimed the architects, "where the brickwork is patterned and decorated, while also being a load-bearing material and having the speed and quality by being fabricated offsite."

"The colours and use of materials were also inspired by high-Victorian architecture in terms of richness," the studio added.

The kitchen has concrete floors

The house's unusual use of colours and materials led to the project being shortlisted for this year's Don't Move, Improve! awards, which celebrate the best home improvement projects across London.

Coloured concrete is used in various ways throughout the renovated property, including for the green patterned columns and beams that support the first floor bathroom's salmon-coloured structural wall panels.

Kitchen countertops were finished with a red hue

From the rear garden, the concrete framework forms a cross-shape that defines the spatial arrangement of the ground and first floors.

A fan-patterned relief imprinted into the concrete surfaces is mirrored in the bathroom's latticed window covering.

Inside the extended and refurbished kitchen, the green structure contrasts with the pinkish-red concrete stairs, counters, sink and island unit.

The bath, counters, washbasin and benches in the upstairs bathroom are all cast in green concrete – contributing to a space designed to have a hammam-like feel.

Red steps lead to the living space

A void created above the expanded kitchen connects this space visually with a new curved mezzanine. This double-height space allows daylight to penetrate into the centre of the house.

Light also filters down into the kitchen through a skylight positioned above a louvred vaulted ceiling. The same ceiling form is used for the upstairs bathroom.

A serving hatch links the living spaces and the kitchen

The curves of the vaulted ceilings are echoed in openings throughout the new spaces, including an archway connecting a seating area in the kitchen with the dining room at the front of the house.

In an effort to show how offsite construction can benefit smaller-scale residential projects, several elements used within House Recast were prefabricated to reduce construction time on site.

Curved openings connect the two floors

The extension's main frame and walls were erected in just three days, and the balustrade lining the mezzanine was delivered as a kit of parts.

The bespoke balustrade's design matches the pattern on the rear facade and was cut by the architect using a computer-controlled milling machine.

The bathroom has a green interior with brass finishes

Other projects featured on the shortlist for the 2021 Don't Move, Improve prize included an extension to a colour consultant's house featuring an on-trend colour palette, and a pop art-inspired extension with curved and brightly coloured surfaces.

Photography is by French + Tye.

The post Studio Ben Allen casts pigmented concrete to create colourful surfaces inside House Recast appeared first on Dezeen.

#all #architecture #residential #uk #london #britishhouses #londonhouses #colouredconcrete #refurbishments #studiobenallen