Arranged around a central courtyard, Peter Salter’s four eclectic town houses are not the largest London development of the year – but they are probably the most eagerly awaited. This is partly because of the caché of the architect.
Salter was one of the most influential figures in architectural teaching in the 1980s, working at the Architectural Association (the developer of the Notting Hill-located project, Crispin Kelly, was one of his students). He is very much the architect’s architect; Salter worked for the fabled Smithsons and his draughtsmanship is legendary – some of the drawings for Walmer Yard have already been bought by a collector – as is his advocacy for the poetic qualities of construction.
The curve of a black steel shower room within a bedroom, with a private balcony
The long-awaited development is testimony to the breadth of his style. The courtyard is covered with oak block floors and lined with benches. The former, he says, evokes the lodge of Trinity College in Dublin and the latter the timber-lined interior of the Scuola Grande di San Rocco in Venice. Inside, the four houses are intense collages of materials and techniques with plenty of oriental touches, belying the time that Salter spent in Japan.
There are other sources too. Salter found use for the rolls of black carbon steel he’d seen on freight trains in Cardiff station for the en-suite toilet pods. It goes without saying that they are like nothing else. With four underground parking spaces accessible from a turntable, the project is Gaudí’s Casa Milà for 21st century London.
Staggered panels of timber shutters seen from the courtyard
And yet this is not simply an over-indulgent developer humouring an eccentric architect. The central courtyard is a device to allow greater sunlight into the three properties set back from the road, one of which is only three stories high and lower than the rest due to planning restrictions. The oak-panelled louvres mitigate against the proximity of the neighbours. And while the plans may appear arbitrary, each of the three taller, four-storey houses have been arranged so the external balconies don’t overlook those of other houses. While the staircases in particular are tight they are perfectly mapped on to the scale of the body. In fact, after cost, the main demand on prospective owners will be whether they want to live in a particularly lyrical work of poetry or not.
The muted facade of the properties, facing on to Walmer Road
A view of the courtyard looking north with the shutters closed
The view from the balcony
The interiors have been designed to meet the aesthetic of the architecture, creating a warm and textural environment
The threshold of one of the houses
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Walmer Yard website
-
Where Saltie Girl met SweetBoy: how an LA pastry chef and his Boston restaurateur mother accidentally created a family businessThe collaboration between foodie duo Kathy and Ben Sidell sprinkles sugar dust over a West Hollywood haunt
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Rwanda’s Wilderness Bisate Reserve: ‘There are few lodges more magical than this’Located south of Volcanoes National Park, the exclusive Wilderness Bisate Reserve caters equally to sybarites and the gorilla-obsessed
-
Paris Fashion Week Men’s A/W 2025 highlights: Auralee to Louis VuittonParis Fashion Week Men’s A/W 2025 began yesterday with Pharrell Williams’ celebration of a ‘friendship for life’ with streetwear legend Nigo. Reporting from Paris, Wallpaper* fashion features editor Jack Moss picks the best of the week, as it unfolds
-
This revamped east London terraced house is a music lover’s dreamAn east London terraced house gets a boost of personality and sustainability thanks to Archmongers, whose transformation makes room for the owners’ creativity and extensive record collection
-
This elegant infill project slots beautifully into the London streetscapeIn this infill project, a row of garages in Blackheath, south-east London, has been replaced by a contemporary family home by local practice Mailen Design
-
Don’t Move, Improve 2025: the 14 London homes adding design oomph to the everydayThe shortlist for Don’t Move, Improve 2025 has been announced, revealing 14 residential projects across London that add value and pizazz to their inhabitants’ daily lives
-
Space House: explore the brutalist London landmark’s new chapterSpace House, a landmark of brutalist architecture by Richard Seifert & Partners in London’s Covent Garden, is back following a 21st-century redesign by Squire & Partners and developer Seaforth Land
-
Fire-damaged Walworth Town Hall shows off majestic transformationWalworth Town Hall gets a much-needed reimagining by Feix & Merlin, who transformed the heritage building into a contemporary workspace and a hub of its local community in south London
-
Hanif Kara on building materials, the transition from old to new, and a healthy dose of realismHanif Kara, co-founder of structural engineering practice AKT II, discusses building materials and the future of sustainability
-
Year in review: the top 12 houses of 2024, picked by architecture director Ellie StathakiThe top 12 houses of 2024 comprise our finest and most read residential posts of the year, compiled by Wallpaper* architecture & environment director Ellie Stathaki
-
A brutalist garden revived: the case of the Mountbatten House grounds by Studio Knight StokoeTour a brutalist garden redesign by Studio Knight Stokoe at Mountbatten House, a revived classic in Basingstoke, UK
