PIN-UP
SOPHIE HICKS – THE ALAÏA-CLAD STYLIST WHO REFITTED HERSELF AS AN ARCHITECT
By Emily King
Photographs by Andreas Larsson
Fall/Winter 09/10
RIBA LONDON AWARDS 2019
1A EARL'S COURT SQUARE
by RIBA. Photograph by Annabel Elston. May 2019
1A Earl’s Court Square winner of a Royal Institute for British Architects (RIBA) London Award 2019. The project is a possible contender for the RIBA House of the Year Award 2019, longlist to be to be announced in June 2019 and the shortlist and winner in November 2019.
Set in the Kensington district and located in a conservation area, the site of the single dwelling occupies a small plot between Georgian terraces, previously housing two garages.
Planning constraints limited the development height to one storey above the ground, so the approach taken was to maximise the footprint of the building within the site’s boundaries and introduce a lower ground storey.
From the street, the rendered garden wall of the neighbouring building has been extended and punctured either end by the gateway entrance to the house and discreetly detailed housing for the bins. The clerestory which emerges above and is set back from the garden wall is the only suggestion that there might be a modern insertion behind.
The house plays with plan, volume, light and relationship to the external environment to give a remarkable perception of space. A living, kitchen and dining space occupies the ground floor, whilst two bedrooms and bathrooms are housed at the lower ground floor.
The building’s palette is minimal. In-situ cast concrete structure forms the walls, ceilings, floors and columns. This forms an inherent part of how the building is cooled and warmed. Structural steel elements are introduced to support a fine glazing system. The overall approach allows the materials to tell the story of how they were made (the rough board marked finish to the concrete) or how they weathered during construction (steel to the facade bears the rust marks acquired during the construction sequence). The control of how the materials come together is impressive as is the overall sense of calm and tranquillity imbued by the house.
MAGAZINES
AMC
MAISON INDIVIDUELLE
by Pauline Malras
Photographs by Annabel Elston
October 2019
ARCHITECTS’ JOURNAL
SOPHIE HICKS ARCHITECTS DESIGNS MINIMALIST CONCRETE HOUSE IN KENSINGTON
By Fran Williams
Photographs by Annabel Elston
February 2019
AMERICAN VOGUE
“THE HOUSE BETWEEN TWO LAKES”: Inside Model Edie Campbell’s Lush Northamptonshire Bolthole
by Ellie Pithers
Photographs by Simon Watson
Styling by Tabitha Simmons
October 2021
CULTURED MAGAZINE
THE ART OF THE FASHION FLAGSHIP
By John Glendall
Photograph of Acne Studios Seoul by Annabel Elston
April/May 2019
FRAME
YOHJI YAMAMOTO FLAGSHIP STORE
By Chris Scott
Photographs by Johannes Marburg
May/Jun 2009
DAILY TELEGRAPH
WHITE HEAT
By Sally Brampton
Photographs by Edina Van Der Wyck
April 25th, 1998
BOB MAGAZINE
YOHJI YAMAMOTO FLAGSHIP STORE, PARIS
by Lee Eunjung, Photographs by Johannes Marburg
IGNANT
ACNE STUDIOS · SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
by Stephanie Wade
Photographs by Annabel Elston and Fabio Ongarato
October 2019
SPACE MAGAZINE
AT HOME WITH HICKS
Conversation Skye Sherwin
Photos by Brett Lloyd
November 2015