A domestic extension by Al-Jawad Pike resonates with the work of David Chipperfield, with whom both partners worked
Al-Jawad Pike – a practice founded by Jessam Al-Jawad and Dean Pike, both of whom worked at David Chipperfield Architects for ten years – has completed a two-storey rear extension to a Victorian house in Peckham, south London. The layout of the original house had been significantly compromised by the annexation of the original entrance to the neighbouring property, which resulted in a convoluted arrival sequence and disjointed and poorly proportioned rooms. The entire ground floor was therefore reconfigured to reinstate an arrival sequence and front room that reflected a typical Victorian layout, but with a more open-plan arrangement, including a new staircase and toilet and utility spaces.
An existing narrow kitchen extension on the ground floor was removed and replaced with a new full-width, light-filled kitchen and dining space. The budget for the extension was limited by the extent of works required on the rest of the house so a limited palette of economical and robust materials was selected for the new intervention.
Before (above) and after (top) plans showing the realigned entrance and extension
An ivory coloured concrete block with a colour-matched flush mortar was used for the interior and exterior walls of the extension. The pale warmth of the blockwork is complemented with white oiled oak, and a contrast offered by grey stainless steel and polished concrete. The use of blockwork with a deep cavity-wall construction also led to the development of several distinctive details in which window and door frames were set flush with the walls, adding a further layer of expression to this typology of masonry construction.
Jessam Al-Jawad and Dean Pike Al-Jawad Pike, who set up their studio in 2014, see architecture as “an everyday art that has the capability to elevate the experience of its occupants into something genuinely transformative”. “We believe in the concept of ‘total architecture’, where design rigour runs through the project, from the concept to the constructional detail and furniture. We aspire to produce architecture and spaces that are inspiring, precisely crafted and functional.”
Al-Jawad studied at Edinburgh and the Bartlett, and was awarded commendations for both RIBA’s bronze medal and dissertation medal. He joined David Chipperfield Architects in 2005 and worked on a large residential project for an artist, the Cafe Royal and Turner Contemporary. Pike studied at Portsmouth and the Bartlett, and received a RIBA Southern Regional Award and nominations for both RIBA Bronze and Silver Medals. After working with Richard Rogers, he joined David Chipperfield Architects in 2003 where he was a lead architect on the Hepworth Wakefield, Geffrye Museum and a boutique hotel in Istanbul. He is a member of the Hackney Regeneration Design Advisory Panel.
