GROVES NATCHEVA ARCHITECTS TOWN HOUSE LONDON
GROVES NATCHEVA ARCHITECTS town house, clapham common northside, london
Adriana Natcheva & Murray Groves
CONTENTS INTRODUCTION
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PUBLIC AREAS Entrance Hall Family Cloakroom Living Room Garden Room Dining Room Guest Cloakroom
10 20 28 34 44 50
PRIVATE AREAS Kitchen Her Study Swimming Pool Wine Cellar His Study Master Suite
56 70 74 82 86 98
EXTERNAL AREAS Garden Roof Terrace
114 126
INTRODUCTION by Adriana Natcheva & Murray Groves
The Town House is an architectural portrait, the product of an architect let loose inside a client’s imagination. The house is built within the confines of a Regency terrace. Externally, the architecture remains anonymous, reflecting the owner’s sense of discretion. Within, the story uses most tools at the disposal of an architect, from the global orientation of space and light, to the sourcing of unique materials and bespoke design of minute details, whether textural, visual or auditory. The drama begins with the insertion of an oval double-height dome in the centre of the house, disrupting the conventional modular structure of a Regency building and setting a radically different tone of habitation. The house is no longer oriented front to back, up and down, but instead centred on the round where two floors of living space converge, released from the usual hierarchy. The reorientation continues with the assimilation of the garden into the house. Layered in terraces, the garden speaks the same material and design language as the interiors at the rear of the house, which in turn are designed to extend the exterior feel of the garden internally. This sense of seamless continuity with the outdoors is another radical departure from the traditional character of the building and a defining element of this home. This core architecture forms a framework connecting each of the individual spaces, as they paint a portrait of the inhabitants through the diversity of atmospheres created in each room. The choice of material, texture, level of polish, pattern, colour and veneer orientation is subjugated to the mood of each space. Bespoke light fittings are individually made to match the materials they illuminate. Furniture, handrails, light switches and door handles translate the same architectural language into the tactile, the everyday-touched.
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PUBLIC AREAS Entrance Hall Family Cloakroom Living Room Garden Room Dining Room Guest Cloakroom
ENTRANCE HALL A narrow entrance hallway leads to the threshold of a high semi-dome, where a glass chandelier is suspended over a void in the floor. A stone staircase winds down along the periphery. Large mahogany doors with heavy bronze handles open onto ramifying spaces. Spread over two floors, the circular configuration of doors appears indefinite and mysterious to the visitor. One door leads to a sun-filled room clad in green marble, one side open to a gardenful of plants. Another leads to a candle-lit room of red lacquered walls, filled with oriental artworks, silk fabrics and the sound of fire. So the doors line up in the round, announcing the presence of spaces beyond, revealed in whatever sequence the occasion dictates. Framed by the arch of the semi-dome, a narrow stone stair rises up, flashing a bronze underside. At the top of the first flight of stairs, a curved luminescent gold wall stands as a gentle ellipsis: the visitor is not invited beyond this point. Anything a hand may touch in this space - a light switch, the stair handrail, a door handle - hints at the distinctive tone of the house; their bespoke form conveys the architectural thought behind the global design.
far right: antico bianco marble, gold leaf alcove, Cuban mahogany joinery, bronze, brass & mahogany balustrade, fibrous plaster dome & bronze underside to stair
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entrance hall antico bianco marble, gold leaf alcove bronze, brass & mahogany balustrade bronze underside to stair 1930’s Murano glass chandelier by Venini Cuban mahogany doors & bespoke bronze door handles fibrous plaster dome
lower level domed entrance hall fibrous plaster dome antico bianco marble Cuban mahogany doors bronze & mahogany balustrade
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main staircase landing Patagonian ebony floor gold leaf alcove & door bronze & mahogany balustrade
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view up towards domed entrance hall antico bianco marble treads bronze, brass & mahogany balustrade 1930’s Murano glass chandelier by Venini fibrous plaster dome
bespoke lighting controls bronze engraved face-plates for Crestron control
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entrance hall bespoke bronze, brass & mahogany newal post antico bianco marble treads
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FAMILY CLOAKROOM In the glimmering shadow of the bronze underside of the stairs, a wood-panelled passage leads to a small vanity room with a fireplace. This is a simple anteroom, offering a pause between the outside world and the interior of the house. Deep-veined blue Chilean marble slabs, framed in mahogany, clad two walls and the floor. Each slab is chosen as a painting might be, with attention to the intensity, direction and colour of every mark, guided by a sense of how the slab should be cut and positioned within the room. The compound effect is one of complete immersion into the material and a step into a daydream for one brief moment. Fire and water, held together by a sea of blue marble.
far right: Chilean lapis blue premium marble, chrome tap & hand-blown Murano glass light by Barovier & Toso
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family cloakroom Chilean lapis blue premium marble in mahogany frame mahogany wc & storage joinery hand-blown Murano glass lights by Barovier & Toso
family cloakroom lapis blue premium marble in mahogany frame hand-blown Murano glass light by Barovier & Toso
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family cloakroom lapis blue premium marble
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family cloakroom Chilean lapis blue premium marble in mahogany frame black granite fireplace hand-blown Murano glass lights by Barovier & Toso
LIVING ROOM A living room is the most polymorphous of all spaces in a house. It is a space for conversation, which is by its nature unconstrained. What is required of the architecture here remains the same - a familiar repose. The room is placed at the front of the house. It is a cube, laid out symmetrically. Tall mahogany double doors set within an exaggerated architrave open grandly on the centre of the room. Two large windows on the opposite side command views of the city, soothed through layers of silk. A giant fireplace sets the focus of the room. Walls are lacquered in deep wine-red to provide depth and contrast for the paintings. Materials and details are chosen so neither their lack nor abundance will distract the eye. The mahogany for the doors, for example, is specially selected from a batch of unusually large trees so as to provide veneer leaves that achieve a single-figure pattern on a door - the most strikingly unusual effect in terms of craftsmanship is used here not to attract attention, but subliminally to impart a sense of serene calm. The same is true of the bespoke light fittings, created out of antique glass pieces to evoke the glow of candle light, as well as the layers of mahogany and silk on the windows, which keep the outside world distantly present.
far right: Cuban mahogany doors with bespoke bronze door handles & Patagonian ebony floor
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living room Patagonian ebony floor, Cuban mahogany doors, lacquered walls bespoke Murano glass light fittings by Venini 1930’s Murano glass chandelier by Venini through doorway
living room diaspro rosso marble fireplace Patagonian ebony floor, lacquered walls Cuban mahogany window surrounds & silk curtains
GARDEN ROOM The Garden room is the threshold between house and garden. One side opens entirely to the garden through a set of frameless glass sliding panels. The ceiling is clad in mahogany, the walls in marble, and the floor is laid in brown ebony. Large mirrored joinery on parallel sides of the room reflect the garden within. There are many similarities here to the design of a Roman loggia, as the space is meant to feel as if half-belonging to the outdoor. In turn, the garden is designed with materials and details that belong to the interior of the room. This gives it a sense of scale and openness that matches no other space in the house. This part of the house is designed for sunshine and lightness. The mirrored joinery on the walls is fragmented into panels, to produce a multitude of broken reflections that populate the room with movement. One mirrored wall is mechanised to open across the length of the space, revealing a drinks bar. In the summer, with the glass side of the room open, the space extends onto a marble clad terrace, to a bronze drinks shelf and into the garden beyond. In the winter, a marble fireplace, rich mahogany panels on the ceiling and walls, drapes of silk framing the glass wall, and crystal lights on mirrors, give the space the feel of a sumptuous winter garden.
far right: bespoke hand-antiqued mirror in mahogany frame & Murano glass light fitting by Venini
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garden room mechanised joinery with concealed drinks bar shown in closed position hand-antiqued mirror & mahogany Murano glass light fittings by Venini on mirror Cuban mahogany doors & ceiling verde fantastico marble Patagonian ebony parquet
garden room mechanised joinery with concealed drinks bar shown in open position hand-antiqued mirror & mahogany Murano glass light fittings by Venini on mirror Cuban mahogany ceiling verde fantastico marble Patagonian ebony parquet frameless sliding glass wall
garden room verde fantastico marble Cuban mahogany doors hand-antiqued mirror in mahogany frame Murano glass light fittings by Venini
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garden room verde fantastico marble Cuban mahogany ceiling hand-antiqued mirror in mahogany frame Murano glass light fittings by Venini
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garden room frameless sliding glass screens mahogany window surround Patagonian ebony floor garden: leather finish Brazilian greenland marble bronze & brass drinks bar & balustrade walk-on-glass skylights to pool below
DINING ROOM Here the architecture strives to create suspense, an atmosphere of otherness, of heightened emotion, of theatre, even: a space where anything could happen. Walls and ceiling are clad in mahogany panels, visibly framed to suggest that each one could open. And, indeed, panels open in the walls to reveal windows, a shining, marble-clad drinks bar, a secret corridor. Panels in the ceiling hold bronze mesh through which music filters. The floor is made of a single block of Imperial Gold marble of unusual intensity of colour. The marble is cut and laid to create a seamless pool of liquid stone, shifting the perceived stability of the floor and adding to the vessellike feel of the interior, void of reference points other than the here and now. A bespoke table is held up on inverted pyramid legs, made of mirrored mahogany, apparently floating over the gold-veined floor. A back-lit onyx panel on the table top illuminates the surface. A bespoke Venetian light fitting, designed in collaboration with Barovier & Toso, draws light through hand-blown glass and silk, precisely over the table setting of each of the sixteen guests. Music and light installations are designed especially for the space. A mirror antiqued with gold leaf on one wall replicates the room to infinity and plays back in real time the scene of the room to its occupants.
far right: Cuban mahogany joinery, imperial gold marble & ebony floor, bespoke hand-blown Murano glass & silk chandelier, bespoke dining table: backlit onyx, antiqued mirror & mahogany
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dining room Cuban mahogany joinery imperial gold marble & ebony floor nero marquina marble fireplace bronze speakers, lights & light switches bespoke hand-blown Murano glass & silk chandelier by Barrovier & Toso bespoke dining table: backlit onyx, antiqued mirror & mahogany
bespoke chandelier, dining room hand-blown glass, polished dark grey chrome body & black silk cloth by Barrovier & Toso
GUEST CLOAKROOM The Guest cloakroom is conceived as an extension to the theatre of the Dining Room. The walls and floor of this small space are clad in a heavily patterned onyx. The slabs are chosen and cut in such a way as to give the appearance of stepping into a rock of onyx. This is achieved by meticulously preserving the orientation of the rock face from which the slabs are cut and reassembling the slabs accordingly in the space. A pulpit-shaped sink stands in the centre, opposite a mirrored wall. Ten glass moons, stretched on tensile wires, surround the pulpit on either side, casting the perfect film light.
far right: book-matched onice nuvolato onyx & hand-blown Murano glass light by Venini
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guest cloakroom onice nuvolato onyx sink chrome tap
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guest cloakroom hand-blown Murano glass light by Venini
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PRIVATE AREAS Kitchen Her Study Swimming Pool Wine Cellar His Study Master Suite
KITCHEN The kitchen is conceived as a living space that happens to have cooking appliances integrated within a wall of joinery. Designed as a large open plan L-shape, the space is wrapped around a sunken garden courtyard, separated by full-height sliding screens. The floor surface, made up of two types of marble, runs through seamlessly to the exterior so that when the glazed screens are open in summer, the kitchen extends out into the garden forming a square, half internal and half external. The face of the sunken courtyard to the house is a waterfall, which lit at night creates a wall of fire that draws the eye and extends the space visually. In the centre of the kitchen sits a large square bespoke table. Cooking functions are arranged in a line along the L shape of the space. Joinery is clad in straight grain mahogany and all appliances, except for the cooker and the sink, are hidden behind the timber panels. The marble here is chosen for its imperfections - large, white quartz markings within a black substrate are sought to give the long stretch of material the appearance of a clouded sky at dusk. A wall of books, long lavish linen curtains, three crystal chandeliers and a view through to a fire within the adjacent study space bring warmth to a room, which by default is the most used space in the house.
far right: hand-blown glass lights by Barovier & Toso, cosmos marble & mahogany kitchen joinery, bespoke kitchen table: grand fossil & mahogany
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kitchen antico bianco marble floor cosmos marble & mahogany kitchen joinery frameless glass screens with mahogany surround & linen curtains hand-blown glass lights by Barovier & Toso bespoke kitchen table: grand fossil & mahogany
kitchen antico bianco marble floor cosmos marble & mahogany kitchen joinery frameless glass screens with mahogany surround & linen curtains hand-blown glass lights by Barovier & Toso
kitchen antico bianco marble floor cosmos marble & mahogany kitchen joinery frameless glass screens with mahogany surround & linen curtains
kitchen cosmos marble & mahogany joinery
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kitchen frameless glass screens with mahogany surround & linen curtains
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kitchen antico bianco marble floor mahogany & glass bookcase hand-blown glass lights by Barovier & Toso bespoke kitchen table: grand fossil & mahogany view into her study beyond
kitchen cosmos marble & mahogany joinery
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kitchen mahogany & glass bookcase
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HER STUDY A home is wrapped around the soul of a woman. The hearth of the home is her private space, in this case her Study. It is designed around her favourite painting, a fireplace made of very rare Grand Fossil marble sitting underneath. The ancient fossils play random patterns on the surface. Large double doors connect the study to the kitchen. From there the fireplace and painting are in full view. The rest of the room is private. It is entirely clad in straight grain mahogany forming shelves for books and pictures, drawers for secrets. A desk sits at the end of the space, facing the acer tree in the garden.
far right: Patagonian ebony floor, mahogany joinery, bespoke bronze door handles & grand fossil marble fireplace
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her study mahogany joinery & grand fossil marble fireplace
SWIMMING POOL Underneath the garden lies a swimming pool. The space is conceived as a grotto, chiselled out of stone and lit by a single dramatic light source from above. A sinewy, blue-grey veined marble is chosen to envelope the space and emphasise its verticality. The marble veins are carefully arranged so as to run vertically from sky to pool base, across, up and along the floor. This gives the space an usual sense of calm as the lines in the stone mimic the appearance of running water. There is nothing here except the surface of the stone and blue water. Details of pool and facilities are kept minimal. Pool grate is made of stone, hand cut to the correct size for the purification equipment. An escape stair, necessary for regulations, is turned into an infinity installation. A mirrored wall reflecting the marble is erected to hide a TV screen. The shower is a single vertical line of polished chrome set flush within the stone. The space feels like a discovered underground cave, perfect for a swim in its clear blue waters. At night, the ripples reflect onto the surface of the skylight above and light up the garden.
far right: verde marina marble, chrome shower & walk-on glass skylights to garden above
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swimming pool below garden verde marina marble chrome shower walk-on glass skylights & satin stainless steel ladder to garden above
swimming pool satin stainless steel ladder to garden above
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pool edge detail verde marina marble grate
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swimming pool below garden verde marina marble bespoke stainless steel glass screens walk-on glass skylights to garden above
WINE CELLAR A secret door in the joinery of the kitchen opens up to a steep staircase, clad entirely in mahogany. Light on the staircase is set at low level, creating the effect of nightlight candles. At the base of the stair, a row of mahogany-framed glassfronted doors holds over nine hundred bottles of wine in a controlled environment. The cellar space is clad in mahogany, the floor is brown ebony. The wall opposite is glass, in full view of the swimming pool. As wine cellar and pool are set together, the design of the space departs from traditional form. An architectural folly creates the illusion of tropical light streaming overhead, as if through shutters. This creates a feeling of space and sunlight. It also sets a different tone for the cellar. This is the kind of place where one can imagine a body in a bikini taking out a magnum.
far right: mahogany ceiling detail
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wine cellar Sub-Zero wine coolers mahogany joinery Patagonian ebony floor stainless steel glass screens to swimming pool
HIS STUDY His study is an edicule within the house, situated high up within the roof space. Walls and ceiling are clad in mahogany, framed and set in a style reminiscent of old-school joinery. The floor is brown ebony. Hand-blown glass and silk reading lights illuminate a library display shelf. A fire in black steel forms the centre of a small sitting area. A bespoke marble, mahogany and bronze desk occupies centre stage; the marble is selected from a quarry in Italy for its dark burnished leather appearance. Bespoke light fittings are made for the space in bronze. The door handle is cast in bronze, made-tomeasure to the owner’s hand. Attention to detail here extends to integrating high tech equipment within the space: the desk is designed to hide computer cables and connect to a server hidden within the joinery of the room, a sliding screen within bookshelves hides a monitor. The room has the feel of an old-fashioned gentleman’s study, yet there is nothing generic or ordinary about it.
far right: mahogany door & bespoke bronze door handle
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his study Cuban mahogany joinery Patagonian ebony parquet blackened steel fireplace
his study Cuban mahogany joinery bespoke bronze door handle Patagonian ebony parquet blackened steel fireplace bespoke study desk: cappuccino vein cut marble, bronze, steel & mahogany
bespoke desk, his study cappuccino vein cut marble bronze, steel & mahogany frame copper paper tray
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bespoke desk, his study cappuccino vein cut marble top
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his study mahogany joinery detail
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his study en-suite cloakroom Cuban mahogany joinery Patagonian ebony parquet cappuccino vein cut marble white china sink
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his study Cuban mahogany ceiling joinery & bronze light
MASTER SUITE The first floor of the house is devoted to the master suite: a series of spaces designed for the beginning and end of each day. The master bathroom is positioned in the middle of the space, accessible from his and her dressing rooms. Walls and floor are clad in soft pink marble with purple veins. The stone is cut to form seamless dream-like figures. The colour and pattern is easy on the eye, reminiscent of the human body. Light is indirect, even, flattering. His dressing room is small, organised, masculine, accessed separately from a secret door on the main staircase. His route to the master bedroom is through the dressing room and master bathroom. Her dressing room extends from the master bedroom. A softly curved fireplace, a silk and crystal glass chandelier, a dressing table by a window wrapped in linen and walls lined with wardrobes make up the room. The bedroom overlooks the park beyond. A spacious, tall, quiet room with no clutter. Full-height French doors open onto a balcony with plants. Mahogany shutters, linen and silks shelter the space from the world outside.
far right: Cuban mahogany joinery, bespoke bronze door handle, hand-blown Venitian lights by Venini, mahogany, silk & linen window treatment
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master bedroom Cuban mahogany joinery Patagonian ebony floor bespoke bronze door handles & light switches hand-blown Venitian lights by Venini mahogany, silk & linen window treatment
master bedroom linen curtains in mahogany window surround
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master bedroom her dressing area mahogany joinery mahogany, silk & linen window treatment
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master bathroom Italian calcatta viola marble Cuban mahogany joinery Patagonian ebony floor Dornbracht taps in nickel bespoke Murano glass lights by Barovier & Toso view through to her dressing area
master bathroom Italian calcatta viola marble Cuban mahogany joinery Patagonian ebony floor Dornbracht taps in nickel bespoke Murano glass lights by Barovier & Toso
master bathroom Italian calcatta viola marble top & sink Dornbracht taps in nickel bespoke Murano glass lights by Barovier & Toso
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master bedroom his dressing area lacquered joinery & back-lit onyx
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master bedroom, his dressing area lacquered joinery with mahogany handles back-lit onyx Patagonian ebony floor silk window treatment
EXTERNAL AREAS Garden Roof Terrace
GARDEN The garden is conceived as part of the interior of the house. It is divided in three terraces. The upper terrace is marble clad with a sculptural balustrade, which morphs from a drinks bar into a handrail. Bronze balustrade and light details of the external stair follow the language of the internal staircase, giving the garden a sense of belonging to the architecture of the whole. The mid terrace covers a buried swimming pool: it consists of sections of grass, marble and glass, which light the spaces below. The lower terrace forms a courtyard, which becomes an extension to the kitchen. An acer tree is planted here. A water feature unifies the three terraces. A fountain at the far end of the garden forms a focal point when viewed from the Garden room. A string of pools and water channels connect the fountain to a waterfall wall on the lower courtyard, which flows into a pond filled with goldfish. Lit up at night, fountain and waterfall create a sense of space and drama against the dark of night.
far right: leather finish Brazilian greenland marble, bronze stair & walk-on glass skylights to pool below
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garden leather finish Brazilian greenland marble bronze water feature & stair
garden facade leather finish Brazilian greenland marble frameless glass screens & linen curtains
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garden leather finish Brazilian greenland marble bronze water feature & stair bespoke bronze & brass balustrade beyond
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garden & view towards garden room leather finish Brazilian greenland marble bespoke bronze & brass balustrade walk-on-glass skylights to pool below bronze, brass & Brazilian greenland marble water feature frameless sliding glass screens
garden leather finish Brazilian greenland marble grass & water-feature detail
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garden bespoke bronze handrail detail
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garden leather finish Brazilian greenland marble bronze water feature & stair
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garden bespoke bronze handrail detail
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ROOF TERRACE The glass ceiling above a narrow timber staircase opens slowly at the press of a button. The stairs lead to the roof, where a space is cleared and delineated by timber floor and frameless glass balustrade. Dark sprayed metal containers house low level plants. The balustrade is designed to be invisible. The timber floor is chosen to match the ebony of the interiors of the house. The planters hide the parapet of the roof. These elements combine to create a space that feels unreal and exciting. From here London is at your feet.
far right: mahogany stair leading to roof terrace
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roof terrace timber floor frameless glass balustrade bespoke metal planters
GROVES NATCHEVA ARCHITECTS
Adriana Natcheva & Murray Groves
Architecture sits uneasily in the world of design. A building is not an artefact, instrument, or garment yet it is contemplated, used and in a sense, worn. Contemporary architecture stumbles from one to another of this plurality of aspects, never sure to which it ought to cleave hardest, pulled this way and that by the prevailing fashion. Some architects bend materials to their own ideas, others let their ideas be bent by materials: either way they coerce the subject into a simplicity of their own making, subjugated to the architect’s will or talent, whichever happens to be in greater credit. We take a different approach. For us, architecture must have the richness of the life it encloses: no more and no less. Just as life is polymorphous - in the philosophical jargon - so must architecture be. It is no more than life reducible to any set of abstractions, no more one thing or another. Done well, it leaves all ‘-isms’ at the door, calls on no general principles, answers with no stock phrases. Its solutions are local, whether globally admired or not, tailored to specifics, to a here and now however long or short that might last. And, crucially, it belongs to someone other than its author, for it must be part of the people who inhabit it or else it becomes just a stage, turning the life of its occupants into a reality show without an audience. It is the client’s identity - not ours - that should be embodied in their building, the organizing intelligence should stay below the surface.
CREDITS editorial Edited and Co-ordinated by Groves Natcheva Architects Designed by Groves Natcheva Architects Print by F.J. Blissetts & Co. Ltd. 2015
photography Ingrid Rasmussen architecture Alicia Fantozzi portraits
groves natcheva architects 6 Kensington Court Mews London W8 5DR + 44 (0) 207 937 7772 info@grovesnatcheva.com www.grovesnatcheva.com
Copyright Š 2014 Groves Natcheva Architects Ltd. All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from Groves Natcheva Architects Enquiries should be sent to info@grovesnatcheva.com