The Tailored House
Milson Road, London W14
Architect: Liddicoat & Goldhill
Register for similar homesThis exemplary five-bedroom house in the Brook Green conservation area is newly completed to a design by Liddicoat & Goldhill, one of London’s most prominent young architecture practices. It is located at the end of a Victorian terrace, set apart a few inches from its immediate neighbour and therefore fully detached.
Internal accommodation measures approximately 2,403 sq ft. The lower ground floor contains an open-plan kitchen and dining room with a concrete floor and off-white brick walls. There is also a utility room on this floor, as well as a guest / staff bedroom with an en-suite shower. The wonderfully bright reception room, which has a parquet floor, is situated on the ground floor. It has full height-glazing opening on to a sun terrace at the side, and a big picture window overlooking the turfed garden at the rear. The first floor contains two bedrooms and a bathroom, and the master suite is on the second floor. The top floor, which has an exposed roof structure and zig-zag windows, would make an excellent office or fifth bedroom.
The house has under-floor heating, and extensive amounts of built-in storage. The street frontage, which is clad with overlaid planes of loadbearing brick, render and Portland stone, is designed to be in keeping with the classical proportions of the neighbouring townhouses.
The architects have named it The Tailored House: “The clients drew an analogy between their new house and a tailored suit – recognisable, elegant and simple when viewed as a whole, but revealing individuality and material opulence in detail.”
Milson Road is a quiet tree-lined residential street, which runs through the centre of the Brook Green conservation area. There are a variety of local shops and restaurants at Kensington Olympia, Hammersmith Broadway and Shepherds Bush, where there is also the Westfield Shopping Centre with its extensive retail and restaurant facilities. Public transport links are accessed via Shepherds Bush (Central line, Southern Rail and bus station), Kensington Olympia (District line and Southern Rail) and Hammersmith Broadway (Piccadilly, District and Hammersmith & City lines). The green spaces of Holland Park are to the east and Brook Green to the west.
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
A house previously stood on the site but was destroyed by bombing in WW2. Since then, the locality has been designated a Conservation Area and neighbouring buildings have acquired Rights to Light. Winning Planning Permission therefore involved delicate negotiation.
A series of models were produced to develop the building’s complex, bevelled form and its stone and render façade. A selection of these studies were recently exhibited by the RIBA at the ‘Architecture Open’ Exhibition and the ‘Guerrilla Tactics’ event; they are now permanently on display at Portland Place.
Liddicoat & Goldhill Architects describe the house as follows:
“The project seeks to reconcile a new London house type, subtly differentiated from its forbears. Conceived as a series of layers receding from the street, the house’s façades are variously lifted, punctured or fanned open to allow light to the interior.
“The street façade – in overlaid planes of loadbearing Roman-format brick, render and Portland stone – refers to its classic neighbours’ proportions. The massive treatment of the front part of the house is dissolved along the flank façade, which is cranked outwards to gather light, tracing a fault line in the urban grain. The sheer, brickwork wall gives way to a screen of fins that conceal sheer glazing behind. This barrier affords privacy and filtered light to both the occupants and their neighbours.
“Tall, graphite grey-framed windows interrupt these contrasting planes of striated, abrasive textures and sumptuous, textured stone. Fitted with either sheer glazing or solid bronze ventilation panels and backed by internal shutters, they reveal the depth of the construction.”
