MORE THAN SKIN DEEP

The beauty of this Edwardian home lies not just in its gorgeous surfaces, but in a full-scale retrofit that's made it as energy efficient as a new Passivhaus

- Malcolm Jack

DETAILS

What A refurbished Edwardian house

Where London

Architect Architecture for London

Anyone who doubts the viability of refurbishing Britain’s porous old housing stock to bring it up to climate-friendly, energy-efficient standards should visit the gorgeous Muswell Hill home of Ben Ridley. The director of Architecture for London has reimagined his Edwardian end-terrace to prove just how much can be achieved when it comes to stripping a traditional property back to the studs and rebuilding it not only following strict Passivhaus principles (airtight and super-insulated) but in a way that also preserves and enhances its understated beauty.

“It’s a sort of test case study for my practice: can you do a low-energy house on a reasonable budget, in an ordinary London terrace?” says Ben. “So it’s a good example of that, as well as just a really nice home.”

When he bought the property in 2020 it was in a run-down state, which suited him just fine. “There’s no point buying a place that’s already nice and stripping it all out,” he reasons. “You need to really access the bones of the house to do a proper low-energy retrofit.” The planning stage was quick, with most of the work, including a small single-storey rear extension, covered under permitted development. The build by main contractor Construction Hub was interrupted by lockdowns, taking around 18 months in all, but Ben was able to move in at the start of 2022.