This project for house in Hatfield explores the potential of a dwelling in a protected Garden City locale. Because of the area’s historic sensitivity, this severely restricted external modifications, so the project focused on what could be achieved in terms of reworking and opening up the internal space.

New elements, such as a floating staircase with a wafer-thin glass balustrade and an elegantly minimal fireplace, infuse the interior with a light, contemporary sensibility. The imperative for economy gives rise to some inventive solutions: for instance, a ‘concrete’ bench is in fact a timber structure covered in a thick layer of resin-based paint.

In a less historically sensitive programme, the loft storey under the pitched roof would have been opened up through the introduction of skylights or dormer windows. However, local planning regulations prohibited external additions or intrusions. The windowless space has therefore been remodelled for use as a home cinema.

Acoustic conditions are enhanced by a specially designed screen of vertical timber members calculated to absorb sound. The space resembles a kind of domestic womb, intimate and warm, equipped with the very latest in with home entertainment. The project demonstrates Paul McAneary Architects’ capacity to creatively reconceive spatial relationships and functions in historically protected buildings. [By Catherine Slessor*]

In 2010 Paul McAneary Architects moved their offices, the short distance from Soho to Covent Garden, to a 17th century printers works. The old stone building is situated in Flitcroft St, near the soon to-be transport hub of London, Tottenham Court Road. The project aimed to reinstate open spaces that had been partitioned during the building’s previous conversion into an office.

To make the basement level functional, it was imperative to increase the height of the room. Paul McAneary Architects used a special cast fibre concrete floor, that could be set to only 70mm thick. A laboratory has been incorporated into the new layout, a space for the architects and designers to experiment with new materials and finishes, gaining first-hand expertise in their rapidly developing field. Architecture models can also be created safely and efficiently using the defined area.

The open plan space is designed for exhibitions and launches, with clean light walls and completely adaptable lighting. 4 light wells, from the street level bring natural light down to the basement, above alcoves that can be adapted for a plethora of uses. A structural glass floor will bring the maximum amount of light possible down, whilst connecting the two areas of office.

Ground Floor

The ground floor facade has been developed to bring the maximum amount of natural light possible. The largest structural glass panels achievable have been inserted within the existing openings in the facade. The heightened visibility, and renovated facade, will regenerate Flitcroft street, ensuring it maintains the vibrance of this central London location for years to come.

A sky light has been introduced into the back of the office, bringing light to the full extent of the plan. It is placed above a design room, directly above a glass box down into the basement level. Connecting all the levels of the project, and providing a shaft for large architectural models to be extracted gracefully through.

Furniture

Paul has designed the desks that will make up the essential part of any office. They exude the minimal elegance of the Paul McAneary Architects office, a simple grey frame with a frosted glass top resting on top. The glass top acts as a light box, ensuring every architect can trace at their desk whilst working simultaneously on their mac. [By Catherine Slessor*]

Contract Value £100k
Location Westminister, London
Area 238m²
Design Team Paul McAneary Architects
Design Service From design concept to detailed design through to end of construction, interior design, lighting design, glazing design, furniture design, material creation, survey, planning, building control, 3D visualisation
Supplier Plank Co
Press 2018 ‘Paul McAneary Architects: how a Japanese facade transformed a London alley;’ OnOffice 21 February

In refurbishing and extending a Victorian terraced house in Notting Hill, this project explores a language of Minimalism that nonetheless respects and incorporates the existing Victorian architecture. In doing so it transforms a dark, dated and compartmentalised dwelling into a light and airy contemporary space.

The bold design strategically removes existing walls to create the largest possible lateral space. The corner of the house now appears to hover above the kitchen, its crisp white ceiling framed by the exposed edge of original London stock bricks. Chunky zinc beams support a glass roofed side extension that slides seamlessly into the weathered brick facade. Because of the differential movements of two contrasting materials and the challenge of watertightness, this immaculately choreographed meeting of delicate glass and robust masonry was an especially challenging detail. However, it has now become a signature Paul McAneary Architects feature, implemented across many other projects.

Large aluminium-framed glass doors open up to the garden, extending the kitchen space into an external raised seating area. Paving creates spatial and visual continuity between inside and out. The kitchen ceiling plan folds around a full width glass skylight, creating subtle plays of light and graduated shadows that animate the interior. White oiled oak and reconstituted stone constitute a finely judged neutral palette. A bespoke storage wall provides an eminently practical solution to the demands of modern domestic life. Doors fold out to reveal a back painted glass section, equipped with plugs for appliances and cutlery.

Throughout, clutter is subsumed and rationalised in an elegantly minimalist yet functional interior. The original staircase was retained, creating a looping floor plan. Clad in oak, with shadow gaps defining the treads and non-scruff white rubber on the risers, the stair is effectively repurposed through the clever use of materials. Maintaining separate living spaces for the different needs of the client, this organisational arrangement is both fluid and efficient, ingeniously optimising and transforming space in a way that epitomises Paul McAneary Architects architectural philosophy. [By Catherine Slessor*]

Contract Value £180k
Location Notting Hill, London
Client Private
Date From – 2010
Area 202m²
Design Team Paul McAneary Architects
Design Service From design concept to detailed design through to end of construction, lighting design, glazing design, furniture design, survey,building control, 3D visualisation
Supplier Aston-Matthews, Direct Stone, Zinc, Vola
Press 2011 Marcelo Seferin, ‘Architect Day: Paul McAneary Architects’, Abuzeedo, 13 September 2011
Awards 2014 UK Property Awards, Highly Commended for Best Architecture Single Residence London, UK

This radical remodelling of an apartment in a 1960s block in London’s Hampstead transforms a gloomy cellular interior into a set of fluid and light open-plan spaces. The client is Japanese, using the flat as a base for occasional trips to London, so perhaps such an approach of precise and elegant economy might have been anticipated. Yet the outcome has a formal and experiential resonance beyond the usual clichés of minimalism. The simple act of removing partition walls and adding new elements activates spatial relationships in new ways, and the material palette draws on natural textures to cultivate a studiedly neutral aesthetic.

In a series of controlled moves, the plan is deconstructed from its original compartmented arrangement and opened up to create a sense of tranquil spaciousness. The master bedroom now extends the full width of the plan, augmented by a large en-suite bathroom, a living area leading to a terrace and a small ‘secret room’ equipped with a vanity unit. The enlarged L-shaped living space combines kitchen and dining areas, the latter connected to a second terrace.

Freeing up the plan meant reconsidering arrangements for fire protection and this prompted the design of an ingenious pop-up fire lobby. If smoke is detected, an extra door is activated to swing into place over the main entrance to provide the necessary fire resistance.

Views and light are diffused through gauzily translucent blinds, which resemble contemporary versions of traditional Japanese shoji (rice paper) screens. These bathe the interior in a soft radiance, yet still suggest a sense of the surrounding parkland landscape. New bespoke elements frame and define space but are also multi-functional: for instance, an exquisite oak cabinet in the living room is both a bench and light fitting. White walls and oak are a recurring duality; other materials include honey-coloured travertine for the bathroom floors and bamboo decking for the roof terraces. Crisply cubic bedroom furniture was specially designed with table tops resembling veneer. However, like the travertine floors, they were chosen for their economy and adaptability, following extensive consideration of different samples.

The projects was run on a design and build contract, which meant that the practice controlled all detailing, construction and sequencing of trades. This gave it an invaluable insight into the practical and process aspects of interior remodelling, enabling it to deliver an outcome of the highest quality for the client. Such attention to detail, which included selecting all the furniture and fittings, creates a modern gesamtkunstwerk in the manner of Danish Modernist Arne Jacobsen, renowned for his all encompassing approach to design, where carefully considered individual parts coalesce to form a rich and compelling whole. [By Catherine Slessor*]

Contract Value £200k
Location Hampstead, London
Client Private
Date From – 2015
Area 474m²
Design Team Paul McAneary Architects
Design Service From design concept to detailed design through to end of construction, interior design, lighting design, glazing design, furniture design, survey,building control, 3D visualisation
Main Contractor Paul McAneary Architects
Sub Contractor Paul McAneary Architects

This imaginative conversion of a flat in Maida Vale streamlines a cramped and awkward arrangement of rooms into a series of elegant, rational spaces. The flat occupies the ground and lower ground floor of a Victorian house and had been refurbished without much regard to the quality of the spatial experience or the logistics of circulation.

Entry was by means of a bedroom rather than a hall, so a rolling storage and library unit was specially developed which could either enclose the space for privacy or open it up, giving increased flexibility of use. The clients collect African art, so the remodelled apartment, with its dark walnut floors and white walls, forms a backdrop for an array of vivid paintings and sculptures.

The living area on the ground floor is opened up to the garden with full height sliding glass doors bringing light into the depth of the plan. Within the ground floor, ceiling bulkheads subtly demarcate function, forming a slightly lowered ceiling over the dining area cultivating a sense of intimacy.

The staircase linking the two floors is ingeniously adapted as a wine store. Enclosed by glass panels it employs a network of horizontal tensile wires to support the wine bottles, transforming quotidian objects into a sculptural array. Specially developed construction details respond to the technical challenges involved with a pleasing economy and refinement.

An arched space on the ground floor unifies and rationalises circulation. The geometry of the perfect 90 degree arch confers the modest interior with an almost ceremonial aspect. Another deft sleight of hand is a hidden dressing room secreted within the storage wall of the master bedroom.

Such discreet yet thoughtful moves neatly optimise space and circulation, transforming a hitherto disconnected and experientially dreary London residence into a luminous modern enclave for contemporary living. [By Catherine Slessor*]

Contract Value £180k
Location Maida Vale, London
Client Private
Date 2017
Area 172.68m²
Design Team Paul McAneary Architects
Design Service From design concept to detailed design through to end of construction, interior design, lighting design, furniture design
Main Contractor Sterling Build

Applying the principles of a looping plan, this project optimises open plan living to transform a cellular Victorian terraced house into a fluid armature of space and light. The house lies within a conservation area in the leafy London milieu of Fulham and was one of the first projects in the area to gain planning permission for a basement conversion.

An ingeniously engineered structural frosted glass floor brings light into the basement, forming a visually intriguing ‘door mat’. Those in the basement can also get a dramatic sense of people coming and going.

The traditional Victorian ‘front to back’ plan is opened up to create a new living space characterised by clean lines and minimal intervention. A beautifully crafted bespoke storage wall runs the length of the house, providing a hidden repository for the necessities (and frivolities) of daily life. Details such as shutters that open up to reveal a fireplace and an elegantly-lit alcove bar area enhance the domestic dynamic.

The living space flows through into a kitchen with a central island unit as a focal point for socialising and entertaining. Generous glazed sliding doors overlook the garden, bringing light into the deep plan. When open, inside and outside become a seamless realm, emphasised by the extension of grey Terra Mosa tiles into the garden, creating a fantastic space for parties and family life. A separate ‘back of house’ kitchen adds functional capability for entertaining.

The master bedroom mirrors the concept of the boutique hotel, with crisp, simple lines cultivating a luxurious, contemporary feel. A separate floor was given over to the live-in au pair to ensure a sense of privacy. A wine cellar and home offices with bespoke furniture were also incorporated. Combining logic and luxury, the project reconceptualises the historic Victorian home, a familiar staple of London’s housing market, for the changing needs of a modern family. [By Catherine Slessor*]

Contract value £ 350k
Location Hammersmith & Fulham, London
Private Client
Date 2009
Surface 245m2
Design team Paul McAneary Architects
Design service From design concept to detailed design, interior design, lighting design, glazing design, furniture design, inspection, building control, 3D visualization
Main contractor Roxburgh Construction
Subcontractor/Supplier Simon Heslop www.directstone.co.uk
Press 2013 Laura Snaod, “Clear vision”, Grand Designs, November

Exploring how a 1950s dwelling can be tactfully remodelled, this revitalisation of a house in Chiswick touches on themes of light and materiality that evoke the spirit of the original architecture. Originally designed in the late 50s, the house was of sufficient interest to feature in The Architectural Review at the time, as part of the magazine’s regular survey of notable new British buildings. The aim of the remodelling was to tactfully tease apart the original cellular layout, introduce more light and rationalise space.

The key move is the addition of a new garden room attached to the kitchen. A long glazed slot articulates the distinction between old and new, bringing light into the plan. This is amplified by the garden room’s full height glazed sliding doors. A patio and reflecting pool finesse the transition between inside and out.

Combined with a new palette of white walls and floors, the lightweight addition forms a crisp foil to the existing brick architecture. Lined with exquisitely crafted timber, the living room retains a sense of its time, but reconceptualised for the current era. A new staircase is finished with an ingenious illuminated balustrade sunk in the wall, carving out a jagged line of light through the house.

Showing how to address the challenges of revitalising existing buildings through optimising and transforming space, this is one of PMA’s earliest projects. Though modest, it set the tone for the practice’s subsequent formal and material inquiry, enacted through an increasingly assured architectural repertoire. [By Catherine Slessor*]

Contract Value Private

Location Chiswick, London

Client Private Family

Date 2007

Area 525m²

Design Team Paul McAneary Architects

Design Service Paul McAneary, Robert Harwood

Main Contractor Chappell Build Ltd

Supplier Sky-frame

Press 2011 Marcelo Seferin, ‘Architect Day: Paul

McAnea! Architects’, Abuzeedo, 13 September 2011

This proposal for a Toni & Guy hair salon updates the hair salon’s original interior brand identity, which had become marooned in a monochrome and brushed steel time warp.

Based on the unifying concept of a luxe spa, the aim was to revitalise both the space and the brand by finessing a few key moves around the notion of warm minimalism, rationalising the ceiling landscape and introducing supergraphics.

Simple and streamlined, the scheme it demonstrates the potential of well-chosen materials and the seamless integration of technology.

[By Catherine Slessor*]

London is the most diverse metropolis in the world. And within its youthful social strata of different cultures and faiths, there is a growing demand for wedding venues. Initially commissioned by a hotel group to design a standard wedding venue, Paul McAneary Architects subsequently developed the concept of a neutral, flexible, non-denominational space that could be consecrated and used by different faiths.

Neither adorned with specific religious symbolism, nor descended from existing typologies, this new building type required a sensitive understanding of theological precedent. Lucid geometry and elegant materials conjure an atmosphere of solemnity and tranquility that transcends time, faith and place.

The sequence of spaces is carefully contrived to create an evocative setting for the rituals of matrimony. The wedding party enters through two separate, symmetrical doors into a circular amphitheatre, where the couple take centre stage. Connoting the concept of marriage as a public statement, the archetypal form of the amphitheatre also expresses the sanctity of the couple’s relationship. Guests are seated opposite one another, emphasising the wider union of families and communities. Following the ceremony, guests depart through a single door, physically and symbolically united as a group.

Materials, light and water choreograph a sense of intimacy and sanctity. An oculous projects a ray of light upon the central stage and a shallow reflecting pool surrounds the venue, discreetly separating it from the wider world. Light ripples off the water to create a sensuous play of reflections on the textured stone facade, while floating candles and flowers add further voluptuous touches. [By Catherine Slessor*]

Contract Value Diameter dependant
Location Non-site specific
Client Private
Date 2014 – 2016
Area Dependent on clients requirements
Design Team Paul McAneary Architects
Design Service From design concept to detailed design, interior design, structural design, furniture design, 3D visualisation