In 1968, Norman Foster extended a coach house behind a Hampstead pub with a steel, concrete, and glass structure, showcasing the simplicity and economy of Foster & Partners' approach. The coach house was also refurbished and lived in by the original client for over 50 years.
The project retains the original extension and replaces the coach house, essentially extending the extension. The new addition, spanning basement to second floors, reflects Foster’s design ethos with angled facades and a careful calibration of space. It uses a limited material palette and an exposed concrete structure, with perforated aluminium roofs framing views and ensuring privacy while preserving the original building’s memory.
The original extension was upgraded structurally and environmentally to closely match its original state. The new house features meticulously crafted aluminium interior elements, both digitally and manually formed, echoing the inventive spirit of the original extension.
The project addresses privacy, views, sunlight, acoustic separation, and security through detailed site analysis, ensuring a respectful response to the sensitive context. This reinvention process reflects a dialogue with architectural history, layering, and respect.
Products used include a mixture of solid and perforated square profiles (SQ-20/20 & SQ-12/12).
Gianni Bostford Architects and New Wave London contractors were the very successful combination behind this masterpiece.