For their recently-acclaimed residential project, awarding-winning practice Coffey Architects has transformed a dark and impractical mews house of 8x3m into an innovative modern multi-functional space. Modern Mews is a 112m2 reworking of a typical four-storey London Mews House, completed for £380K which enjoyed windows only to the front of the property creating difficulty for habitable and
comfortable rooms to the back of the house.

The clients’ main desires were to create a home full of light and to feel connected to one another whilst in the house, even when spending time on different floors as well as making better use of the different spaces.

In response, the architects approached the whole project as one large piece of joinery adding clarity and connectivity to the whole house. In order to avoid any “dead space”, the main staircase was moved to the centre of the property.

The architects then fitted a beautiful honey-coloured oak staircase, which adds warmth and tactility and connects with the glazed landings and the glazed roof above, allowing natural light to enter at the centre of the plan.

Additionally, translucent sliding doors have been added so that sunlight can penetrate all of the rooms even when the doors are closed. Kitchen and dining spaces at ground level are visually and acoustically connected to the living space with a central fire warming the home from below. The basement carved into the ground is lined and furnished with elements of powerfloated and hand trowelled insitu concrete.

White painted brick finish of the party walls add texture as well as ensuring good reflection of light. The lower ground has a smooth polished concrete floor that merges together with the lower concrete flight that also works as a fireplace.

This concrete brings a strong contrast to the lightness of the stairs of the ground and upper floors. All of the bathrooms in the Mews have a seamless corian finish on walls and floors as well as the bathtub which similarly to the stair at lower ground merges together with the floor.

The sliding doors are made of oak lamellas and glass with an interlayer of rice paper once again adding texture and tactility while still allowing light to penetrate it.

Modern Mews was awarded a RIBA London Award 2016 and has been shortlisted for RIBA House of the Year 2016.