Soupçon Brut

A Victorian terrace in London reworked to frame the neighbouring 1965 brutalist estate like an artwork.
The new opening into the house from the planted courtyard.
Photography: WILLIAM TOZER Associates.

A Victorian terrace in London reworked to frame the neighbouring 1965 brutalist estate like an artwork.
The new opening into the house from the planted courtyard.
Photography: WILLIAM TOZER Associates.

Practice: William Tozer Associates Limited
Photographer: WILLIAM TOZER Associates

The project

WILLIAM TOZER Associates altered this Italianate Victorian terrace house beside a brutalist council estate built in 1965 by Austin-Smith, Salmon and Lord. The new work is a clean cut into the old building: a white and raw concrete frame that presents the neighbouring estate as a found art object, while smaller white openings frame art inside the house.

A continuous tiled floor runs from the open kitchen and dining space out to the courtyard dining area, softening the line between inside and out. The cast concrete retaining walls in the courtyard echo both the estate next door and the white cupboards and units inside.

Cast concrete retaining walls and steps in the courtyard garden.
Photography: WILLIAM TOZER Associates.

An open-riser timber stair with a glass balustrade down to the lower ground floor.
Photography: WILLIAM TOZER Associates.

The cantilevered timber stair above the living area.

A full-height window beside white built-in cupboards.

The cantilevered timber stair above the living area. · The kitchen opening onto the courtyard through full-height glazing. · A full-height window beside white built-in cupboards.

Photography: WILLIAM TOZER Associates.

Credits