Islington House / Architecture For London + Hamish Vincent Design

Architects: Architecture for London, Hamish Vincent Design
Photography: Leighton James
Lead Designer: Hamish Vincent Design
Lead Architect: Architecture for London
Materials: Lime plaster, marble, timber, brick, Douglas fir, oak, natural stone
City: Islington, N1, London
Country: United Kingdom

Islington House is a residential extension and refurbishment in Islington, London, designed by Architecture for London in collaboration with Hamish Vincent Design. Set within the Canonbury Conservation Area, the project reworks a Neo Georgian home that forms part of a terrace of nine post-war rebuilt houses on the southern side of St Paul’s Road. The design responds to the client’s preference for Georgian character while avoiding the restrictions typically associated with a listed townhouse. Its non-listed status allowed the design team to create a larger ground-floor living space with an open-plan kitchen, dining, and reception area, along with a new WC. A bespoke stair with Douglas fir treads and stone detailing introduces a generous vertical void and becomes the organizing feature of the house. Lime plaster, marble, timber, brick, oak, and natural stone establish a unified material language, while adjusted floor levels and new roof windows improve daylight and usable space across the upper floors.

Residential design offers the opportunity for invention and bespoke craft in a way that is unlike many other sectors in architecture. Each refurbishment project also has the potential to be transformative for the lives of each of our clients, and it is often one of the biggest investments they will make.
Interview with Ben Ridley of Architecture for London

Islington house / architecture for london

Islington House approaches the familiar London townhouse not as a historic artifact to be replicated, but as a framework for contemporary living shaped by proportion, material restraint, and spatial clarity. The project builds on the Georgian revival character of the existing property through arched openings, a cantilevered stair, and a carefully composed interior sequence that balances expressive architectural moves with quieter domestic moments.

The house is located in the Canonbury Conservation Area, on the southern side of St Paul’s Road, within a terrace of nine post-war rebuilt homes. The client was initially drawn to the elegance of Georgian architecture, but a typical listed Islington townhouse would have limited the ability to create the open-plan arrangement they wanted. This non-listed Neo Georgian property offered a more adaptable alternative, combining the external presence of a traditional townhouse with the flexibility required for a substantial internal reconfiguration.

The client’s brief centered on a more generous ground floor, where kitchen, dining, and reception areas could operate as one continuous living space. A new WC was also incorporated at this level. Architecture for London and Hamish Vincent Design developed the plan around a repositioned bespoke staircase, which opens the entrance into a dramatic vertical space and gives the house a stronger spatial identity. The stairs’ Douglas fir treads and stone detailing bring craft and weight to the intervention, while its sweeping form introduces a sense of movement through the compact footprint.

Material continuity plays a central role in the refurbishment. Lime plaster walls soften the distribution of natural light, while marble, timber, brick, oak, Douglas fir, and natural stone give the interiors a grounded and tactile quality. These materials reflect the client’s interest in natural finishes and align with the design approach of both practices, establishing an atmosphere that is warm, durable, and deliberately understated.

On the first floor, the principal bedroom and ensuite make use of the outer curve of the staircase, with the bathroom incorporating a spa shower with steam function. Opposite, a flexible second bedroom also functions as a study. The stair continues to the second floor, where a third bedroom and a wet room were created through careful adjustments to the internal floor levels. This strategy allowed the team to improve ceiling heights and spatial usability while maintaining the existing roofline.

The loft area was also adapted to accommodate a study, with new Velux windows introduced into the existing roof slope to bring daylight into the upper level. Across the house, the design demonstrates how measured architectural changes can unlock additional volume and function without altering the external profile of a conservation-area property.

The completed home reflects a close collaboration between Hamish Vincent Design and Architecture for London, combining interior refinement with architectural precision. Its calm palette, sculptural stair, and carefully reworked plan give the property a contemporary domestic character while preserving its relationship to the surrounding streetscape. In doing so, Islington House offers a thoughtful model for adapting a post-war terrace home within a historically sensitive London context.