The brief was to re-develop an 18th -century church on Highgate Hill, London, into 14 luxury apartments, including a stunning and quirky penthouse.

The site had already been granted planning permission to transform the local landmark into luxury dwellings. Clear Architects were asked to re-design the project to make better use of the space and deal with the plethora of planning conditions.

The entire internal layout was reconfigured to achieve a high standard of living accommodation. This included the creation of an entire new floor to the penthouse, making a snug/study and en-suite possible to the master bedroom.

Design Features:

• Restoration of the church’s beautiful, original exterior including significant stonework and the roof (which was absent at the start of project).

• Restored the large-scale tracery (Gothic style) windows, ensuring the exterior detailing was returned to its former glory while concealing the light and modern window frames behind

• Introduced a three-storey glazed link to contain the lift to the apartments inclusive of the penthouse.

• Inserted balconies between the original stone buttresses with glass balustrade to retain the original features of the church. Below these were small original gardens for each flat.