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Flat,
Battersea, London
Patel Taylor

'The design of the flat, exploits the grain and texture of old and new materials to create sensual richness without disturbing the intrinsic character of the Victorian building.'

living area with metal bound entrance doors beyond

dining area with stone floor

The flat by Patel and Taylor occupies the first floor of a two-story Victorian warehouse in Battersea, standing at the southern end of a narrow dock and looking north to the Thames. On the ground floor is a brasserie with a terrace onto the water; and above on the roof there is a glass and steel penthouse designed by the same practice. In the renovation the architects tried to express their fascination by the essential qualities of materials- grain and texture- and how they can be used to define space, as well as their concern with the nature of space itself and spatial juxtaposition. 

The plan was 322 square meters, with a 4m high shell, cast iron columns, brick walls and rough concrete floor. The program required three bedrooms, accompanying bathrooms, and utility space inserted into the volume without destroying the character of the place. The client also asked that the view of the dock be improved.

 

The shell was irregular with three external walls on north, west and south, and a wildly eccentric party wall on the east.  The elements of the scheme have been conceived as free-standing pieces of furniture. The enclosed rooms for sleeping, washing and storage form a block enclosed around the northern corner by a concrete wall. The block steps down from entrance, on the east, to kitchen on the south-west corner of the building.

 

One enters the flat from a utilitarian stairway, shared with an architect's office and with the penthouse above. Opening the door you enter a small lobby facing 4m high doors strapped in metal. Pushed open, they frame a view of the flat from which you get a sense of scale of the place.

 

North face of building overlooking dock	Hovering screen dividing kitchen from dining area	Bathroom with narrow gauge boards, stone floor, and translucent glass screens
The bedrooms are placed along the south side taking advantage of windows onto the street, while the bathrooms, long cupboards and the utility room run inwards from the party wall.  The rest of the volume has been kept as open as possible, flooded with light from windows on south and west. To the north, the line of the wall has been retracted inside the building envelope and made into a full height glass screen to create a loggia and curved balcony over the dock.  Walls and ceilings of the flat are generally plastered and painted white with the brick of external walls left exposed. Spaces for living, dining and cooking flow one into another, the separate areas being expressed in different ways- by floating ceilings, screens and ledges, and changes in flooring materials. In addition to the exquisite use of materials in the flat, the architects played with scale too.  Big stone slabs and tall glass screens appear lavish in relatively confined bathrooms, while the smooth solidity of the concrete wall is opposed to the close texture of rough brick walls. Details such as the tactile leather straps to door handles, the austere fireplace and minimal glass balustrade outside the windows, all created a constant delight throughout.

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