Home and art gallery Maison Colbert is a London transformation story
Maison Colbert by Chris Dyson Architects reimagines a row of London houses into a single home and artist's gallery in the East End
Maison Colbert, set in Spitalfields behind a discreet row of East End shopfronts, is the new family home, studio and gallery space for artists and filmmakers Philip and Charlotte Colbert. The project repurposes a semi-derelict terrace of five four-storey houses and transforms them into an interdisciplinary programme of exhibition, production and home living spaces – all seamlessly interlocked through surgical design by Chris Dyson Architects.
Touring Maison Colbert
Retaining the historic street façade of former shopfronts, the internal walls of the narrow houses have been removed to open the spaces up laterally. A 5m basement has been excavated to create the top-lit, 185 sq m gallery. At the back, the building has been extended to create new circulation and a light-filled garden atrium, topped by a glass pitched roof.
The result is a carefully curated experience of layered moments: both in terms of height, as areas of enclosure open up into spectacular double- and triple-height volumes, but also in length, as the entrance lobby leads on to a sitting room with the garden terrace visible through Crittall glass doors beyond. Forming a double-height space with high sash windows, this room is the heart of the building and extends across the footprint of three of the original houses.
This space anchors the plan. On one side, the original wall is exposed brick, on the other, a cantilevered mezzanine with a patinated metal balustrade gives access to the primary bedroom, bathroom, dressing room and study above via a sculptural metal staircase. The kitchen is in the adjoining space, separated by the dramatic hand-carved stone fireplace.
Throughout the interior, the focus on reuse continues to be a key driver. The building stands just beyond the site of London’s ancient city walls, and excavations uncovered evidence of London’s Roman past. This imposed a six-month delay, which the clients and architects embraced as an opportunity to engage with the site’s history, allowing the archaeological dig to inform some of the Romanesque interior details and relief plaster works.
Many of the fixtures of the former houses, such as original doors and retained fireplace surrounds, were recycled to breathe some of their old life into new interiors. Finishes such as the timber bedroom floors and tiles were retained, as well as various fittings and furniture pieces and bricks reclaimed from salvage, which were kept, cleaned and reused to patch up the rear façade.
With all these layers of history to respond to, the Colberts’ new home is an ideal setting for interdisciplinary experimentation; adding new layers of playfulness to the street and contributing to the creative and idiosyncratic energy of the East End.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
The McLaren W1 is the latest in the sports car maker's tech-saturated Ultimate Series
First F1, then P1 and now W1, McLaren Automotive reveals its latest limited-edition supercar to the world, a £2m concoction of hybrid power and active aero that is, unsurprisingly, already sold out
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Paul Rudolph at The Met: ‘from Christmas lights to megastructures’
‘Materialized Space: The Architecture of Paul Rudolph’ opens at the Met in New York, exploring the modernist master's work through a feast of an exhibition
By Stephanie Murg Published
-
‘London: Lost Interiors’ gathers unseen imagery of some of the capital’s most spectacular homes
This new monograph is a fascinating foray into the interior life of London, charting changing tastes, emerging styles and the shifting social history of grand houses in the heart of a fast-changing city
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Join our tour of London Zoo, its modernist architecture and more
London Zoo is a well-established magnet for younger visitors, but there's plenty for the architecture enthusiast to admire too; our tour explores its modernist treasures for guests of all ages
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Load into this reimagined Fortnite cityscape, courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects
A collaboration between Epic Games and ZHA, Re:Imagine London brings the architects’ modular forms into one of the world’s most popular multiplayer games
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Elemental House adds a Danish twist to a 1970s London house
Archmongers' Elemental House transforms a 1970s terraced house in London's Hackney into a functional, light-filled, Scandinavian-inspired family home
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
East London's disused gasholders are being reinvented
Regent's View by RSHP reinvents a pair of disused gasholders in east London as contemporary residential space and a publically accessible park
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
The 2024 RIBA Reinvention Award, Muyiwa Oki, and making reuse ‘more special than ever’
The shortlist for the 2024 RIBA Reinvention Award has been announced today; we caught up with the institute’s president Muyiwa Oki to discuss the honour
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Meticulously detailed London mews house unveiled by Ampuero Yutronic
Market Mews, a London mews house, is a hymn to modern minimalism, executed with precision and skill to make the most of a tight site in the heart of the capital
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
What to visit during London Open House 2024? We asked the experts
Lost in choice? London Open House 2024 is as exciting as it is expansive. We asked some of our friends, all experts in their architectural field, for their tips on what to visit at this year's event
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Thames Distillers raises our spirits with its new home and bar in London
Fords bar at Thames Distillers' new home is a future London classic, designed by Transit Studio; we raise a toast to the gin maker
By Ellie Stathaki Published