London's relentless pulse—a symphony of ambition and energy—is bound to leave its inhabitants yearning for tranquillity. In the midst of this urban labyrinth, a desire for a serene sanctuary emerged. The clients, captivated by the allure of Australia's laid-back, alfresco lifestyle, sought to infuse this essence into their North London abode. Mulroy Architects, a London-based studio, accepted the challenge of crafting an urban oasis, transforming the seemingly ordinary space into an extraordinary haven that echoed the spirit of the Australian coast by bringing "the light of London" in.

The site, located at Mountview Road in Crouch End, proved to be ideal for the clients, Caroline and Alan. Their brief for their dream residence in the city called for embracing the finest of London while capturing the essence of an Australian summer with light-filled, spacious areas and striking interior design. The hilltop setting was additionally well suited to lend the couple expansive views over the city - an experience they conjured from memory and wished to recreate in their new home. Mulroy Architects thus sought to combine the best of Australia’s sunny living with the urban nexus that is London in the house, to enhance the residents’ quality of life.

The ambitious design introduces large, open living rooms for entertaining friends and family, while also maximising views and flooding the house with natural light. Two major obstacles encountered by the architects in the house's planning eventually paved the way for the most definitive design elements in the house’s spatial layout. The first was to move the original staircase from the centre of the house to the side, creating a longer hallway from the front door that instantly provided a breathtaking view of the backyard. Upon doing this, the floor plan was locked and the house's usable area was increased by around 30 per cent, maximising the amount of living space while still adhering to planning regulations. This involved installing the new ground floor expansion and having the extension angled at 45 degrees to face the light, especially as opposed to the layouts of the immediate surrounding residence designs, providing expansive views across the colourful, professionally maintained garden and outwards from the house. Extensions are normally limited to three meters in this area, however, the team at Mulroy Architects was able to get around this restriction by using a diagonal shape to create a large new expansion that is 4 meters high and 9.3 meters deep.

Additional design elements include tall roof extensions that, from the outside, seem windowless, but include big, movable skylights that let in light from the South and draw in fresh air. A set of internal fenestrations comprising permutations of these windows and skylights provide a seamless link to the greens in the exterior yard and on the street serving as another design solution fulfilling the project's core objectives. Given the change in the ground floor extension’s orientation and increase in usable floor space, apart from the overall complexity of the project and being situated next to a water reservoir in the Stroud Green Conservation Area, the team at Mulroy Architects was able to obtain planning permissions without the need for any revisions or conditions to discharge.

The house’s form and shell, as defined with subtle alterations by Mulroy Architects, a supposed departure from the previously spatially disorganised residence, was embellished in close collaboration with the London-based interior design firm Simpson & Voyle. The renowned designers worked with the clients to explore potential configurations for room layouts and meaningful pieces from their previous house were chosen and reimagined by reupholstering or rearranging the object to give it a completely new feel and identity.

Simpson & Voyle placed a strong emphasis on introducing colour, patterns and materials to move the clients away from the cosy confines of warm neutrals and pastel tones. Accentuating the grand ceilings, elaborate cornicing and sculpting intricate lines throughout was crucial, albeit, done with interesting, visually charged modifications. The new stairwell serves as the centre of the house's circulation, extending from top to bottom akin to a spine. Extensive use of marble throughout the house from bathrooms to the kitchen is especially remarkable. The dining area adjacent to the kitchen exemplifies the ‘less is more’ philosophy with minimal furnishings and furniture designs along with visually interesting, playful artwork creating a focal point and adding a distinct personality to the space.

Instead of building with steel or concrete blocks, building using timber frames implied a reduced carbon footprint, more architectural flexibility and a more livable residential interior. The roof lights in the North-facing rooms provide a good supply of natural light and lessen the demand for artificial lighting, which is another sustainable design element employed in the project.

On the aspirations of the residential architecture and reiterating its character and program, Andrew Mulroy, Director of Mulroy Architects quoted, "Bringing Australia to London was a particular challenge with the north-facing aspect. Most of the rear garden was in shadow. We overcame this by creating extensions with roof lights that ‘reach up’ to catch the sun - resulting in a dining room that feels immense, light-filled and has great views of the sky." Despite a plethora of similar challenges with limited resources, the architects’ pursuit of a dream home for their clients, a rather abstract idea admittedly, is partly met through design thinking on the part of Mulroy Architects, perhaps framing that architecture, first and foremost, is an act of problem-solving.

(Text by Navya Khurania, intern at STIR)