tex-tonic House 2


tex-tonic House 2

The idea of substance is crucial to the work of Paul McAneary Architects. In its most obvious manifestation substance speaks of physical materiality and the haptic quality of architecture – what things are made of and how they are put together. It also alludes to a rigour underscoring both the ideas behinds buildings and their actual construction. Typically, this takes the form of a craft-based approach to detailing and fabrication, often as a result of research and experimentation.

Tex-Tonic House 1 forms part of a project for the conversion of two luxury apartments on the top floor of a former Post Office building in central London. In both cases, the way in which materials are wrought, manipulated and repurposed gives the architecture an expressive contemporary resonance.

Within a fluidly open plan, double-height volume, space is defined and demarcated by a series of orthogonal elements. As the client enjoys entertaining, they required a versatile living space for parties and relaxation. Enclosed by oak walls, two bedroom boxes are set at the end of the long living room, nestling under its pitched roof structure. Paul McAneary Architects experimented with various types of surface treatments and finally alighted on a method of wire-brushing and sand blasting with a caustic soda finish to give the oak a weathered appearance. Further experiments with fabrication experiments yielded the distinctive monolithic concrete fireplace, which was cast in situ.

A new timber lattice structure supports a specially designed acoustic ceiling to dampen echo and reverberations within the large single volume. An elegantly thin mezzanine floor is suspended from the roof structure creating a long gallery that seems to float above the living space. The idea of the house as an urban eyrie, functional yet appealing intimately to the senses, finds powerful expression in this cultivated synthesis of space, light and materials. [By Catherine Slessor*]

Contract Value £1.7M
Location Victoria, London
Date 2009 – 2010
Area 466m²
Design Team Paul McAneary Architects
Design Service From design concept to detailed design through to end of construction, material creation, lighting design, glazing design, landscape design, planning
Main Contractor L. S. Construction
Supplier The Plank Co., Black Isle Bronze Ltd, DirectStone Ltd, Palmalisa Zantetedeschi
Press 2014 Jill Entwistle, ‘Back to School’, FX Magazine, February 2014 2013 New London Architecture Annual Publication, New London 2013/2014, Home Design A Passion for Living by George Lam, Tiago Krusse, ‘Tex Tonic’, design Magazine, November / December 2013 2012 Modern Lux Housing by Sandu Publishing, ’Tex-Tonic House 1’, Designer and Designing, December 2012 2011 ‘Tex-Tonic House. A double height penthouse apartment in Victoria, London’, Designing Ways, November 2011
Awards 2015 YAYA – Finalist 2014 London Evening Standard New Homes Awards – Highly Commended for Best Apartment, UK Property Awards – Winner of Best Architecture Single Residence London, UK 2013 International Design & Architecture Awards – Shortlisted for Residential £2.5 – 35 million award, RIBA Awards – Shortlisted for London Regional Awards,SBID – Shortlisted for Residential Intelligent Design Category 2011 Design Awards – Living Space Design of the Year, The Wood Awards – Shortlisted for Best Structural Category
Exhibitions 2012 NLA Don’t Move, Improve! 2011 Young Architect of the Year