The Perf House - Perforated, Not Perfect
If anything was named 'Perf', you'd be forgiven for thinking that that was a trendier, half-subtle attempt at saying 'perfect', but rather in this instance, Perf means perforated. The perf house was conceptualised and realised by a drive from its homeowner who wanted to bring some of the light and openness of their native Sardinia to central London (Great Britain). A novel idea, the scope of this project involved the complete removal of all existing internal elements of a generic Georgian 5-storey terrace house in Belgravia (London) to leave a vast 6 sided internal volume as a blank canvas. A huge challenge, Andy Martin Architecture (AMA) were the elected project architects and in removing all of the home's features, then re-imagined the spaces within to deliver a new home environment with transparency and connection, materiality and texture, light and shadow, excitement and tranquillity.
Featuring a restrained palette of industrial materials of raw concrete and blackened steel, and in combination with refined glass, timber and carefully detailed plasterwork to create a relaxed but crisp interior, the complimentary choices are 'perfect' (we had to get that link in somewhere). To solve the inevitable issue of a dark and unwelcoming basement level that is always common in this building type, AMA introduced a ground floor that is made up entirely of footpath paving lights - common on every London commercial street - repurposed in this home to allow natural light and activity to connect the first two levels of the building - Perf(orated) House, delicate, yet bold. With inter-floor materiality connection by way of perforations and light, so too a handmade steel staircase connects the basement to the ground floor and works its way up to the first floor; solid steel plates transform into a perforated metal spine which cuts right through the building to the top floor. With a clear focus of this house on materiality x contemporary, it is almost forgotten that the home's 'skin' is a Georgian townhouse. Is the deliberate camouflage of any original features a good or bad point? SATORI & SCOUT will let you decide. Discover more about the designer online at: AndyMartinArchitecture.com
Photography credit : Andy Martin Architecture