THE MODERN HOUSE
ARCHITECT SOPHIE HICKS ON LIFE IN HER HIDDEN CONCRETE HAVEN IN KENSINGTON
by The Modern House
Summer 2023
‘Since the early 1980s, Sophie Hicks has been a singular presence on the London scene. She went straight from school to work in fashion, first at magazines and later with the designer Azzedine Alaia. Changing track in her late 20s, she went to study at London’s Architectural Association and has worked as an architect ever since. Among notable early commissions was the Paul Smith store, which caused a stir in Notting Hill when it opened in 1998. Suggestive of a home, but packed with spatial drama, it established a tone for Sophie’s work. In essence, she uses architecture to tell stories, her clients include brands, institutions and individuals.
Having lived in West London for decades, Sophie has recently committed to spending half her time in Venice. With her grown-up children spread—the eldest Arthur lives in London with his young family, the middle one Edie in Northamptonshire with her horses, and the youngest Olympia pursuing an academic career in France. Sophie hopes that her clan, including the men she considers her cultural parents, the art dealer John Kasmin and the curator Norman Rosenthal, might gather from time to time in the glorious Italian town.
As a friend of Sophie’s, I am delighted to have the chance to catch up with her between her travels.
We talk in my kitchen, while looking through the beautiful images that appear on these pages. It’s a pleasure to collaborate with Sophie and her dear longtime friend, the brilliant photographer Johnnie Shand Kydd, in bringing you this interview.’
Emily King
SEE THE FULL MAGAZINE HERE:
RIKA STUDIOS PAPER x SOPHIE HICKS >>
ARCHITECT SOPHIE HICKS ON LIFE IN HER HIDDEN CONCRETE HAVEN IN KENSINGTON
by The Modern House
Summer 2023

RENAISSANCE WOMAN
By Osman Ahmed
Photographs by Alasdair McLellan
Spring 2018

ACNE STUDIOS · SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
by Stephanie Wade
Photographs by Annabel Elston and Fabio Ongarato
October 2019

October 2015

By Nonie Niesewand
Photographs by Arthur Elgort
June 1996

SOPHIE HICKS ARCHITECTS DESIGNS MINIMALIST CONCRETE HOUSE IN KENSINGTON
By Fran Williams
Photographs by Annabel Elston
February 2019

ACNE’S KOREAN FLAGSHIP
By Shonquis Moreno
Photo by Annabel Elston
March 2016

SOPHIE HICKS
by Alain Elkann
April 2023

1A EARL’S COURT SQUARE
By RIBA
Photograph by Annabel Elston
May 2019

ARCHITECTS IN MODE
March, 2002