ARTEFACT, Nick Dearden · Pirouette House

Nick Dearden

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Built in the 1980’s, Islington’s Grove Estate is composed of rows of nondescript single aspect houses, accessed via a warren of narrow passageways which are flanked by blank brick walls. Invisible to the adjacent passage, the spatial drama of Pirouette House is revealed in its surprising interior. A timber cloister unfurls in two directions along a new courtyard, while the kitchen, dining and living spaces pirouette around a triangular blue column that marks the transition between old and new. The secret courtyard garden is designed as an outdoor room, picking up on the language of rhythmic red timber piers that give the exterior a striking presence. Low cost and low carbon, the house transformed the living environment for a young family.