Drive a bit north of Central London and before long you’ll find yourself in Hampstead, a community in the Borough of Camden known for its village-like atmosphere and historical buildings, both from the 17th and 18th century, and of an iconic modernist variety. In fact, Hampstead was one of the first conservation areas created under the Town & Country Planning Act of 1968—built in the early 1930s as a prototype of urban living, and the Isokon Flats is one of the most famous residential buildings in the leafy neighborhood. A World War and three decades later, the construction of progressive designs in Hampstead picked up momentum again. The area’s midcentury buildings of note included a group of nine houses, including five town houses, by South African architect Ted Levy, which were constructed in 1968.
Over the years, Levy’s houses have seen enough renovations that most of them have lost all trace of their modernist interiors. There is one, however, that still retains its original refined aesthetic and many period details. After a young family bought this North London town house—specifically, a five-story Pine Heath row house—they commissioned architect Louis Hagen Hall to redesign the kitchen, bathrooms, and windows. Soon enough, however, it became evident to Hagen Hall and his clients that returning the house to its full potential would require a total renovation. “Our first meeting was at Canyon House in Primrose Hill, another project I was working on at the time,” says Hagen Hall. “Getting to know each other turned into a sketching session and the ideas started flowing on the first day. It was clear that we were on the same page creatively and conceptually.” Having energy efficiency and forward-thinking investments in mind, the architect and couple drew up a new, comprehensive plan.
With the off-kilter 1960s room layout having largely survived the times in the home’s 2,400 square feet of living space, Hagen Hall focused on sightlines and circulation. He replaced old doors with floor-to-ceiling pocket ones that he slightly realigned to allow views from the front to the rear of the house. Above all, the renovation needed to focus on functionality for a growing family, which meant adding plenty of storage space. While the architect restored the original wood paneling made from aged (and now endangered) South American Paraná pine, for the cabinetry, which is spread over four floors and a small converted attic, he used stained cherry veneer, which is strikingly similar to the original wood.
From the start, the goal was to preserve the design language of the 1960s without letting things slip into caricature. “We didn’t want to create a replica or a retro scene, but rather respond to the original architecture in a contemporary way that’s not restricted to any particular references,” says Hagen Hall. With a steady hand, the architect managed to evoke the house’s origins. The goal was not to turn it into a museum but create a home with a future for a young family.
Originally published in Architectural Digest
Text by Leonie Rolinck
Photos by Felix Speller
