Heath Flat
2020
The project is about transforming an Edwardian 4 bedroom flat into a light filled open plan flexible space for a young family. Heath Flat faces south overlooking Hampstead Heath, receiving sunlight from morning to evening through its projecting bay windows. With its inherent deep plan arrangement, bringing the abundance of sunlight into the heart of the space was the paramount concern.
The existing rooms are opened up by removing heavy masonry walls replaced with new steel portal frames. Instead of concealing the structural alterations, the steelwork is exposed and cerebrated. New timber framed glazed screens are inserted in the steel frames. The original proportions of the rooms are maintained, with the retention of as-found cornices and fire places. These rooms are divided with sliding screens, giving a flexibility to open and close, creating enfilade of spaces.
The interior of the flat references the Japanese Mingei movement in the 1930s, with many handmade surfaces with rich textures and colours.
The floor is made from reclaimed 150-year-old oak boards, arranged in a traditional Korean floor style. The dark timber floor floods the entire flat, giving an order of grid and modularity. Like a tatami mat, the prefabricated floor panels allowed the fast installation with minimum on-site alterations. The surface is highly polished to reflect natural light deep into the space. The undulating surface of the old wood is soft to touch under one’s feet.
Reclaimed Spanish terracotta tiles line the kitchen and bathroom floors. Celadon coloured glazed wall tiles receive diffused northern light and act as a backdrop for a freestanding Hinoki bathtub imported from Japan.
Granby Workshop in Liverpool, a forerunner of the 21st century arts and crafts movement in the UK, produced a reclaimed terrazzo worktop and smoked ceramic doorknobs. The bespoke doorknob design was derived from wooden logs found in the Heath. By picking the right size wood and cutting a few cuts into it, a piece of wood becomes a thing to grip with the hand. The form, colour and texture of the wooden object is translated into a cast ceramic, made from recycled clay from Stoke-on-Trent, smoked in the barbeque grill for 24 hours to imprint a deep charred colour unique to each handle.
Photos by David Grandorge
Team
Hayatsu Architects (Takeshi Hayatsu, Simon Hoebel, Daria Nepop)
Sygnet Style
Price & Myers
Peter Deer Associates
Marc Molo
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