Gayton Road
London NW3
Architect: Paxton Locher
Register for similar homesDiscreetly located in the heart of Hampstead Village, this astonishing modern house is the finest achievement of the renowned architects Paxton Locher.
The house is set behind electric gates, and has a private front courtyard with off-street parking. Measuring approximately 6,000 sq ft internally, it is set around a spectacular 40ft double-volume reception room with a pair of huge retractable glass rooflights and a glazed sliding door leading to a garden. Running alongside is a dramatic custom-made glass swimming pool.
An open-plan kitchen with dining area adjoins the reception room at one end, along with a raised sitting/TV room. At the other end is a gym. Overlooking the pool is the master bedroom, which has a dressing room and his-and-hers bathrooms. There are four further bedrooms: two beyond the gym, each with their own sitting rooms and kitchenettes, with access to a small patio area; a guest suite on the first floor; and a self-contained studio / guest annexe with its own entrance, ideal for staff or guest accommodation. The lower ground floor contains a media room.
The house was designed in conjunction with the renowned engineer Max Fordham. For more information about Paxton Locher, see the History section.
Gayton Road is located off Hampstead High Street. The property is quietly situated and invisible from the road, yet only 50m from the shops and restaurants of the High Street, and a short walk from the vast open spaces of Hampstead Heath.
The seller is able to offer the opportunity to purchase some additional garden land, sited immediately adjacent to the property, at an extra cost. This area of garden measures approximately 900 square feet.
Please note that all areas, measurements and distances given in these particulars are approximate and rounded. The text, photographs and floor plans are for general guidance only. The Modern House has not tested any services, appliances or specific fittings — prospective purchasers are advised to inspect the property themselves. All fixtures, fittings and furniture not specifically itemised within these particulars are deemed removable by the vendor.
History
The architect Richard Paxton was born in 1956. Having studied at Kingston University, he went to work in the offices of Ahrends, Burton & Koralek, where he was involved in the design of the Cummins Diesel Factory in Scotland. In 1985 he established his own practice with his future wife, Heidi Locher, who had formerly worked for Terence Conran.
Paxton Locher designed both the Soho Theatre and the Jerwood Space in Southwark. However, they are best known for the significant domestic projects they have undertaken both for themselves and for distinguished clients, including Douglas Adams and Griff Rhys Jones.
Notable among them is a modern courtyard house in Clerkenwell, which has been described by the architecture critic Kenneth Powell as “one of the great London houses of the late 20th century”. There is also a penthouse flat in Highbury, which Paxton Locher designed for their own use as part of the conversion of a former industrial building in the 1990s. With its dramatic living space and internal swimming pool, it became one of the most iconic apartments of its time. The property was sold by The Modern House in 2011 (click here for details).
In 2002, Richard Paxton started work on another home for his family in a Primrose Hill mews. Mirroring the house at Clerkenwell Green, it was designed to take natural light from above via expansive rooflights. It also featured a studio for Heidi Locher, who was increasingly focused on painting rather than architecture.
The house on Gayton Road is the most recent and arguably the finest of Paxton Locher’s residential projects. Typically, it makes expert use of a restricted site, concentrating the views upwards and opening itself to the sky, and contains many of their signature design elements, including the retractable roof and internal swimming pool.
