Twin Arch
New build artist studios located below the St. James Lane Viaduct in Muswell Hill. The rational plan is made of two identical spaces mirrored to form twin facades, one faces the client’s private house and garden behind the viaduct, while the other offers views onto the London skyline.
When you move from one room to the other, in a continuous loop, there’s a strange deja vu. Each room is identical yet, with different atmospheres. What seems rather strict in plan, somehow feels quite good in reality. It’s something a spatial mechanism.
Built using off the shelf materials to a cost of less than £420 per sqm, the approach could be described as industrial vernacular. Using existing products and technical solutions, we focused on the essential elements that give a project architectural quality: spacious, practical and well insulated spaces with double aspect views and lots of natural light.
Building elements are rationalised to the essential minimum, most clearly expressed through the exposed breather membrane in the interior. This was a major cost saving and a key aspect of the design, allowing us to use the reflective properties of the material to fill the space with natural light.
The building sits comfortably within it’s context, surrounded by garages, workshops and storage units.
