Business finance specialist Lawrence Salem and project manager Gabriel Chipperfield had been looking for some time for the perfect project to kickstart their joint property venture when they came across a Grade II-listed house on Eccleston Street in Belgravia, London.
‘It was a mess, so the project was primarily about straightening everything out, restoring the original 1850s building, as well as adding several modern extensions to the top, bottom, and back of the house,’ recalls Chipperfield, who developed and designed the house, with Salem, ‘under the watchful eye’ of his father, David Chipperfield.
The newly renovated and extended 1850 building includes a garden room and terrace
The pair focused on opening up the old house, adding a new basement, rear facade and steelwork ‘to frame everything and support the new top floor and those marble bathtubs’ – and the results prove that the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree. The clean, white interiors, featuring Carrara marble, restored original timber flooring and Pietra Serena limestone, feel warm yet modern, thanks to the incorporation of leather elements and custom-designed ironmongery and joinery. Lighting was provided by Milan-based firm Viabizzuno.
The property spans 3,900 sq ft and six levels that include four bedrooms, a reception room, screening room, garden room and terrace. An 800 sq ft kitchen and dining area sits in the extension’s lower level, amply lit by lightwells, and the views through the different levels, skylights and double height spaces, coupled with the crisp interiors, give the house its particularly airy feel.
A stairwell in the Eccleston Street property.
With Eccleston Street complete and awaiting a new owner, the team is focusing on its next steps. ‘This is the first in a series of projects,’ says Chipperfield. ‘We’re honing our skills. We still need our big idea, but there are a lot of basic things to get good at; we do our own contracting, which helps save time and money without compromising on quality, but it’s a lot more work. As we become more experienced, we’ll up the ante. I’d like to do a small hotel but I haven’t told Lawrence yet.’
As originally featured in the March 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*204)
Suit, £2,600; waistcoat, £820, both by Kilgour.
-
Pharrell Williams’ latest Louis Vuitton show celebrates a ‘friendship for life’ with streetwear legend NigoLouis Vuitton men’s creative director Pharrell Williams looked towards his long friendship with BAPE founder Nigo to create a collaborative A/W 2025 menswear collection shown in Paris this evening (21 January 2025)
-
Think small, think electric, as Hyundai attempts to revolutionise the classic Indian three-wheelerHyundai’s Micro Mobility strategy, in collaboration with Indian manufacturer TVS, has revealed two conceptual takes on small electric urban transport in a bid to cut the country’s crushing pollution issue
-
‘Just beneath the surface there’s another world’: How David Lynch used hair and make-up to create his singular universeFrom Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive to Twin Peaks, David Lynch used hair and make-up in his films as a narrative device, writes Laura Havlin
-
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
