Clockhouse

A 1960s terraced house has been remodelled by Archmongers Architects

Photos
French & Tye

Remodelled by Archmongers, Clock House is a terraced 1960s dwelling located on a street of Victorian townhouses in north London. An integrated garage has been removed and a rear extension added to create an open-plan kichen, dining and living space. A white kitchen forms a backdrop to this area; its cupboards extending along the length of the wall to provide additional storage for the living room. The kitchen is visually connected to the stairway via a horizontal window, which provides vertical glimpses of the upper floors. A gridded steel and Douglas fir floor structure is left exposed on the underside of the ceiling.

Conceived as a kit of interlocking parts totalling more than 100 separate elements, the staircase to the roof terrace is made of CNC-cut birch plywood, birch dowels and steel rods.

Assembled in only one day, the accumulation of laminated plywood layers creates a stringer onto which the other elements interlock in horizontal and vertical axes. These simple bonds also enable the other stair fixings to be concealed.

Concentrated bursts of colour are used throughout the house. The front elevation has a green square window, while the rear has a small, red vertical window. Nylon doorhandles express an individual colour palette for each floor.

A new staircase located at the top of the house is constructed from steel rods, timber dowels and and birch plywood

The extension incorporates a glass elevation with a window seat that opens onto the garden. The remaining structure is clad in black-stained timber with precast concrete gutters projecting over the parapets. A sedum roof provides a natural blanket of insulation.

Central to the design are are four distinct sets of stairs. They begin on the ground floor with pink concrete forming the three base steps. A hung steel stair with an exposed soffit hovers above this, opening up the ground floor and creating more head height. Walls from the adjoining first-floor bedrooms are punctured with internal windows to bring more light into the stairway. The existing staircase from first to second floor has been retained.