A music writer approached us to transform a neglected Georgian listed townhouse within a conservation area into a comfortable, contemporary family home and space for entertaining. Their brief was to respect the building’s historic character while significantly improving its environmental performance and suitability for modern living.

Working closely with conservation officers, we developed a sensitive yet confident design that balanced careful restoration with bold, well-judged contemporary intervention.

The most distinctive element of the project is the use of cast iron cladding to the rear extension—an unusual and highly expressive material choice for a domestic building. Referencing the area’s industrial past, when foundries lined the nearby Regent’s Canal, the cast iron gives the new addition a strong civic presence while clearly distinguishing it from the historic fabric. Deeply recessed frames align with the sliding doors, creating a sense of depth and solidity, framing views of the garden and maintaining privacy along the glazed façade.

Internally, the project included a comprehensive refurbishment that retained and repaired original features while introducing modern layouts, materials, and services for everyday family life. The lower ground floor was reconfigured to create a new kitchen and living space; by retaining the existing stepped floor levels, costly underpinning was avoided and the level changes were instead used to form informal seating areas, turning the space into a generous open-plan social hub.

The cast iron language is continued in a replacement dormer, visually tying the new architectural interventions together and reinforcing the dialogue between old and new.

The result is a robust, characterful family home and party space that combines heritage conservation with a confident contemporary identity.