Adjaye Associates . Sue Webster . + wallpaper
Mole House is a three-storey live-work space in the heart of Hackney, designed as a single-family dwelling for contemporary artist Sue Webster. The project came together as an exercise in excavation and retention, with Webster’s vision for the new home being strongly tied to the history and fabric of the original building. The detached Victorian house was left vacant and derelict after a 40-year long tenancy, held by a resident locally referred to as the Hackney Mole Man. Known for having spent years burrowing a network of tunnels beneath the property, his decades of organic digging yielded a subterranean system of multi-directional passageways. With the quarrying having seriously compromised structural integrity, the house was eventually seized and excavated. Its burrows were plugged with aerated concrete to re-establish structural safety and over 33 tonnes of debris were removed from site. Webster was compelled by the potential of the standalone property, captivated by its accumulated layers of history – both architectural and social.
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