 |
||
|
Voon Wong Architects.Tregunter Road SW10 Project size: 500 square metres, 5 storey single family dwelling Approximate budget: £1,500,000 This is the largest project completed to date by the practice with an overall construction budget of £1.5 million, with a complete interior rebuild behind the existing façade. The building had a typical layout for a London Victorian town house. Our remodelling emphasised the division between the front of the house (the public side) and the back of the house (the private side) with the garden at the back of the house acting as a focal point for the private rooms. This involved changing the layout and location of the principal staircase and the subsequent spaces that lead off it. This change resulted in wider well proportioned spaces that are lit by the windows along the full width of the house. Space, light and the use of beautiful and luxurious materials were the tools to create the sequence of interesting and liveable spaces. The house was totally demolished internally and now comprises: a family room within a new extension in the basement, as well as a kitchen and formal dining room; a drawing room and study on the ground floor; a master bedroom suite on the first floor; the second floor with three additional bedrooms; the top floor containing a guest suite and the plant room. The five floors are all linked by a central staircase that is lit overhead by a skylight. This is the third project that the practice has completed for this client, an interior designer and art collector. The client’s aim was to create a theme of restrained luxury and eclecticism. Although the scale of the project was large for the practice, the understanding of detailing and use of materials that comes from a multidisciplinary approach was very beneficial. The client along with the architect and designer were keen to explore new materials as well as rediscover traditional ones. Voon Wong and Benson Saw have an excellent network of contacts from their product design experience to draw upon. Venetian plaster was used extensively for the accent walls to provide a beautiful surface sheen. Custom balustrades and light fittings were cast in bronze. Acrylic panels, shelving and handrails concealed LED light fittings. This combination of new materials alongside the traditional was the key to creating a sense of understated luxury in a contemporary but enduring set of spaces. The client chose fabrics and furniture and art pieces to emphasise this theme: rugs in silk, cashmere curtains, Swarovski crystal chandeliers and upholstery fabrics in silk velvets. Furniture ranges from Mies van der Rohe day beds, Jean Michel Frank sofas, Yves Klein coffee tables alongside many custom designed pieces by the client herself and the architect. The practice worked closely with the landscape architects del Buono Gazerwitz to create the rear garden. The south facing garden is the focal point of the rear of the house and is created so that the architectural elements of the basement extension and the external spaces are perceived as a unity. In fine weather the doors of the Family Room can be completely pushed back so that the boundary between the inside and outside is completely removed. The patio seating, water feature, planting and central lawn all contribute to the creation of an outdoor room that is a harmonious extension of the extended basement. Voon Wong and Benson Saw are a pair of London based designers that have been working together since 2001. Their work has been featured in exhibitions in London, Milan and Singapore. The Loop lamp from 2003 was nominated for the Compasso D’Oro and is now manufactured by Fontana Arte. The ELma vases from the EL light series won the OXO Peugeot Design award. They have completed architecture and interior design projects in Shanghai, London, Hong Kong and Singapore. As well as numerous projects in London and Singapore, their current major project is the master plan of a new factory for a high quality bone china manufacturer outside Beijing. They are also cooperating with this manufacturer to design a new collection of bone china table ware to be launched later this year at an exhibition in London. |