Ray House

: London

Archmongers has completed a modern update of a Victorian house in a conservation area in Dalston, Hackney, for a creative couple working in the fields of graphic design and illustration. The project has transformed the house from a poorly insulated, single-glazed and gas central heated property with an irrational compartmentalised plan, into a thermally efficient, all-electric, hi-tech, contemporary home with abundant daylight now reaching deep into the house. A sunny yellow frieze on the new rear extension features a pattern with stylised rays overlooking the re-landscaped garden and new garden annexe housing a music room.

Inside, the house has been remodelled as a background to the clients’ collection of art and furniture including signature works by Memphis (Tahiti and Callimaco lamps by Ettore Sottsass, Super Table lamp by Martine Bedin) selected in concert with the house design. The solid steel columns and beams defining the threshold to the extension are revealed, combined with the warmth and tactility of raw materials, with specialist trades employed to craft bespoke elements in every space