Houzz Tour: Towering Above London in a 7 Storey Home
Maximizing their views of the city, the couple who converted this water tower were aiming high
As once-industrial portions of cities are being transformed into neighbourhoods for living and working, the future of buildings that served as factories, warehouses and more is coming into question. Should they be torn down? Or renovated for uses compatible with an area’s evolution? The latter is what happened with a listed Victorian-era water tower in Kennington, which couple Leigh Osborne and Graham Voce transformed into a seven-storey residence.
Houzz at a Glance
Built for: Leigh Osborne and Graham Voce
Location: Kennington, London
Design-build architects: ACR Architects
Size: 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms
Houzz at a Glance
Built for: Leigh Osborne and Graham Voce
Location: Kennington, London
Design-build architects: ACR Architects
Size: 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms
The project was documented on the 100th episode of the TV show Grand Designs. The show focuses on Osborne, a real estate developer, as he tries to raise the nearly £2 million to complete the project in eight short months. The documentation of conserving such a large building is fascinating at times. The completed project, which cost an additional £380,000 for the tower purchase, is pretty faithful to the original when seen from this vantage, though we can see the modern apartment buildings nearby.
But the project isn’t just a conversion of the nine-storey tower into a seven-storey dwelling. A gym, five bedrooms and a living room occupying the water tank atop the building are squeezed into the tower, but the bathrooms are housed in a new vertical appendage that also includes an elevator. The garage, kitchen, another living room and a terrace occupy a four-story cube in front of the tower. Here we see the cube and its 20 feet high sliding glass walls opening to the kitchen below and living room above.
Have a look at more great glass extensions
Have a look at more great glass extensions
The kitchen in the cube is very modern and indicative of the level of detail the couple put into the project. Osborne could have spared expense on the finishes and the fixtures, but not surprisingly (given his developer mind-set and knowing what sells), he opted for high-end and modern choices in the addition and the old tower.
Here we are looking through the kitchen to the sliding glass walls and the view of another industrial Victorian building.
One floor up and the sky comes into sight, hinting at the views from atop the tower.
The interior features striped walls, perhaps as a means of breaking up the all-white surfaces.
Check out some zingy ways to use zigzags
Check out some zingy ways to use zigzags
On top of the four-story cube is a terrace, the only bit of outdoor space for the house, but a nice one nevertheless.
The lift tower also acts as a service tower, where the bathrooms and their plumbing are stacked. The master bathroom includes a custom bath that was too large to snake up the tower’s stairs. As shown in the Grand Designs episode, the bath was hoisted up the lift shaft before the lift was installed.
The only stairs in the whole project are the original stone stairs within the tower. Therefore, moving from the kitchen to the living room in the cube means using the stairs within the tower, a circuitous route but one that leaves each floor of the cube open.
To give an idea of the tower’s scale, the stairs take up about a third of the footprint of each floor. This means that each of the seven floors is relatively small.
To give an idea of the tower’s scale, the stairs take up about a third of the footprint of each floor. This means that each of the seven floors is relatively small.
Not surprisingly, the raison d’etre of the project is the top-floor living room and the view through the openings made in the cast iron water tank. The 360-degree views are what kept Osborne and Voce going through the financial and other troubles during the build.
What did you like about this home in Kennington? We’d love to hear about it in the comments section below.
What did you like about this home in Kennington? We’d love to hear about it in the comments section below.