We not too long ago featured a Victorian townhouse that Studio Ben Allen recast in eye-opening pigmented concrete; see London in Residing Shade Inside and Out. As we speak, we’re visiting a precursor challenge: architect Ben Allen’s personal kitchen through which he experimented for the primary time with brightly tinted constructing supplies.
The area is in a duplex condominium that Allen dubbed The Cupboard of Experiments. It’s situated in Keeling Home, a brutalist tower in London’s Bethnal Inexperienced constructed as council housing within the Nineteen Fifties; after being saved from demolition and granted listed constructing standing within the Nineteen Nineties, the inside was reimagined as white minimalist quarters for modernists. Allen and his spouse, Frances, lived with the present setup for a number of years, till a cold winter prompted Allen to determine to interchange the single-pane home windows and introduce under-floor heating—and that led to a rethinking of the entire condominium and the design of a brand new kitchen.
Appearing as his personal shopper, Allen was in a position to “present how the inside could possibly be reimagined as a hotter and extra intimate area. Regardless of the brutalist exterior and the high-rise setting, the compact two-story format of the flat signifies that it feels extra akin to a contemporary cottage,” he says. That’s very true now. Have a look.
Pictures by French + Sort, courtesy of Studio Ben Allen.
Above: Allen went with a space-saving galley-style format with an extended counter and room for a small desk, as had initially been within the condominium. The customized cupboards have fronts of oak “triply,” a three-layered plywood. Be aware the continual ledge that turns into a spot to show artwork. Over it, Allen shows wood kitchen instruments on a cork panel as sensible ornament.
Above: The kitchen desk—a classic Robin Day teak design—overlooks a small balcony. The counter was tinted with Lanxess dye by the contractor, who, Allen tells us, “did the work at price as a result of this was his first time experimenting with coloured concrete and he wished to have the ability to provide it to different purchasers.” Its floor will develop a patina and present stains over time.Above: Matte grey tiles from Villeroy & Boch kind the wall-size backsplash. The oven is by Siemens and the induction cooktop is a Bosch (scroll as much as see the unobtrusive extraction vent within the ceiling). Colourful classic Dansk enameled pots and pitchers are displayed on cabinets supported by bespoke notched brass rods, a setup that Allen designed to be changeable. The brass Mid Century Knobs on the cupboards are an American import from Schoolhouse.Above: The tap is Dornbracht’s Tara Wall-Mounted Three-Gap Kitchen Mixer with the faucets put in on the facet.Above: New multi-paneled home windows hold out the chilly. Folded up, as proven, the Robin Day desk is simply large enough for 2 (see it at full size above). The Folding Air-Chairs are by Jasper Morrison for Magis. The brass pendant gentle is Artek’s Alvar Aalto Golden Bell Ceiling Lamp.Above: The late Nineteen Nineties renovation had turned the area into an open-plan kitchen-living room. Allen reinstated the division of the 2 rooms by inserting a trellis shelf as a see-through partition. The plywood panel reverse the kitchen is the facet of the fridge (see the ground plan under). The brand new ground is poured resin with radiant heating.Above: The brilliant blue cupboards and sliding door are made from Valchromat, a through-color, high-density fiberboard, one other materials Allen and staff later utilized to the Colourful Victorian Townhouse.Above: “The shelf unit is intricately designed to accommodate double-sided cabinets with area for crockery within the eating space facet and a fold-out desk with house workplace storage on the dwelling space facet,” explains Allen. “The oak window seat doubles as a big storage unit and cabinets.” The flip-down desk served as Allen’s surprising workplace for a lot of months.Above: The window seat is sized excellent for 2.
Ground Plan
Above: “By reconfiguring the kitchen, we may reinstate the unique format with the counter operating the total size of 1 wall, gaining extra ground space and connecting again to the unique format,” writes Allen. “A full-height trellis shelving unit, primarily based on examples the studio has designed for office initiatives, partially divides the room, breaking down the size whereas nonetheless sustaining visibility between the 2 areas and performing as a reminiscence of the wall that initially divided the rooms.” Be aware the position of the fridge reverse the kitchen counter.
Listed below are three extra kitchens that architects designed for themselves:
