Architect/Designer: Douglas Carson & Rosaleen Crushell of Carson & Crushell
Location: London, UK
After spotting Dublin-based Carson and Crushell's innovative projects in Wallpaper Magazine, I included them in a list of 10 Residential Architects to Watch in 2011. A few emails later, I discovered they're related to my co-worker and Apartment Therapy's Office Manager, Herma Ryan, and we all had that small-world feeling that happens when people divided by oceans realize that they're only separated by a couple of degrees.
The architects were kind enough to send along some photos of this recent renovation in London — a small apartment outfitted with plywood-lined built ins and wraparound shelving. From Carson & Crushell:
- "A folding plane of ply-lined and plastered walls enclose the entrance hall to this small apartment. A
deep wall of Douglas Fir ply containing bookshelves, bicycle storage, and an entrance into a new kitchen
lines one side while the other wall creates a ply framed doorway into a new bathroom.
A folding strip of glazing extends around this prism-like room at high level expanding what is otherwise a confined space across the full width of the apartment. Insulated bi-folding shutters were installed to the original steel frame windows to provide both acoustic and thermal insulation."
To see more of their portfolio, which includes several residential renovations and extensions, click here.
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May I have another closet?
really? so minimal as to have no joy for living...
Love. Spare and tranquil with everything you need and nothing you don't need.
I love that window in the living room!
I'm intrigued by the plan, and I'm sure these pictures don't do the spaces justice, but the unfinished plywood is really not a good look. No matter how crisp and clean the detailing is, it always looks, well, unfinished and rather cheap. The architects could have chosen a finish material with more impact and visual weight.
What a great use of space in an entrance way. I also LOVE the light coming through in 2 & 3 It reminds me of Melbourne light
Browsing through the photos I could actually smell the plywood!
I think unfinished, non-sealed plywood is a very unhealthy item to have in a home. Think of the release of all that formaldehyde that out-gases from the plywood. The place also has the look of a monastery or convent with very little to look at that would stimulate.
This apartment is off to a fine start. It looks unoccupied and deliberately understaged despite the books and flowers. I'd guess these photos were taken before people moved back in, emphasizing the architectural renovations.
Although bare plywood might be "in," the residents may want to have it finished, perhaps painted, later. The new bathroom's look of never having been used is nice, and worth maintaining. This will be a comfortable home with additions of color and softness through paint and accessories.
i wonder if this is the tenant's apartment or the display version of the apartment? also, '... ply-lined and plastered walls ... .' do they still do plaster in the u.k? very difficult to find in the u.s.
in the top right corner of the 2nd picture.. is that a light fixture? i'd like to know more of it.
I like it a lot! Now if there were a mixer-tap in the bathroom and a walk-in wardrobe it'd be heaven!
In Los Angeles unfinished plywood is the wood of choice for hipsters. It's all over Venice & Silver lake and I've seen trendy architect offices
filled w/ nothing but.
This confuses me. I like what they've done, but not the finishes they've used. It feels unfinished to me... like I don't think I could live there. I would need to tile and replace the sink in the bathroom at a minimum. Although maybe that's my current NYC state of mind and not my old London aesthetic kicking in...