Bindloss Dawes . photos: © Nick Dearden – Building Narratives
Bindloss Dawes has successfully completed an ambitious extension of a Victorian home in Stoke Newington, with connected views towards Clissold Park, transforming a run down property into a distinguished contemporary family home.
Clients Emma Dahlman and Nick Illston originally purchased Lordship as a development project, which then quickly evolved into a longer term investment for them, collaborating closely with Bindloss Dawes to turn it into their forever home.
Located in the Lordship Park conservation area, careful attention was given to preserving the property’s original features. The rear of the house required significant intervention to manage the substantial historic bomb damage and tree-root subsidence, inherited through decades’ long neglect.
Addressing these issues, Bindloss Dawes introduced a transformative approach; to insert a cruciform reinforced concrete structure at the heart of the house to support the rear wall, which serves as the backbone of the new extension.
This arrangement embodies the central nervous system of the home, which influenced Bindloss Dawes’ decision to enhance its connection to the rest of Lordship, unlocking key dialogues between indoor and outdoor spaces.
Experts in transforming contexts from old to new, Bindloss Dawes has uncovered surprising new contrasts at Lordship. The traditional Victorian home now blends harmoniously with its modern monolithic concrete extension, combining rough and smooth textures, juxtaposing natural materials with manmade elements, as well as integrating biophilic surroundings with intentional interiors.
The rear of the property opens onto a large garden through a pair of expansive brick apertures. The stepped patio of suspended concrete and brick leads out into the garden, creating a fluid transition between the built and natural environments. Buff toned Weinerberger bricks echo the original Victorian facades, enhancing the sense of continuity and heritage.
An advocate of quality detailing, and coming from a design background, Emma played an active role in the creative process, predominantly highlighted in natural and textural material choices throughout the project. This is best exemplified in the Reform kitchen, which serves as a central congregation point for family connection and hosting friends and family.
The dynamic pairing of timber and concrete was an obvious choice for Emma, wanting to draw inspiration from brutalist Sri Lankan tropics and mid-century LA modernist homes, layered with her own softer Nordic palettes to bring a softness and generosity into the space. The high thermal mass of the concrete ensures a flexible approach to open circulated living throughout the seasons, as it maintains heat in cooler months and cools down naturally in hotter months.
In the core living areas, Bindloss Dawes chose to express the timber roof structure that also allows light to filter onto the side walls, providing material warmth, nodding to the clients’ desire for a cocoon-like space to disconnect and unwind in.
Natural oak and unlacquered brassware define the carefully curated material palette throughout the house at Lordship Park, which allows a natural change in patina and will afford the interiors to age gracefully with use and time. The bedrooms and bathrooms continue to embrace this idea of softness and muted textural tonality.
Working closely with Emma as interior design lead on the project, Bindloss Dawes provided a calm backdrop for timber joinery and soft furnishings, that complements the material palette of the architecture. The dining space illustrates this experience, accented with Carl Hansen table and chairs and Frama shelving units.
Material rigour is foregrounded even further in the garden which sees the verdant garden softly contrasting against the stone and concrete patio area. Emma and Nick have prioritised the space as an informal entertaining space with friends and family, perfect for hosting outdoor BBQs with friends and family.
Structural and material ingenuity dictates much of the character at Lordship Park which has been restored with personal consideration for the clients and their lifestyle, designed to offer an authentically bespoked home. Bindloss Dawes have preserved elements of the original Victorian footprint, blended boldly with contemporary interventions culminating in a distinguished yet highly dynamic space.
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Location North London, United Kingdom
Project size 120 square metres (the whole house is about 400 sqm)
Construction began September, 2021
Completion May, 2024
Client Emma Dahlman + Nick Illston
Interior Design Emma Dahlman
Creative Direction Emma Dahlman
Architects Bindloss Dawes
Stylist Nina Lilli Holden
Contractor Charles Alexander
Structural Engineer Elliott Wood Partnership
Concrete Floor Lazenby
Windows Corvision Plus
Bricks Wienerberger
Kitchen Reform
