ARCHITEKTUR & WOHNEN
SOPHIES WELT
By Gesa Engelschall
Photographs by Michael Mundy
January 1997
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
INTERIOR DESIGN MAGAZINE
GANGNAM WHAT?
By Mairi Beautyman
Photographs by Annabel Elston
April 2016
HARPER’S BAZAAR KOREA
SOPHIE, THE PURE ARCHITECT
Photographs Kim Hee June
Winter 2015
CONCRETE QUARTERLY
VANISHING TRICKS
by Nick Jones
Photographs by Annabel Elston and Sophie Hicks Architects
Winter 2019
VOGUE DEUTSCH
DIE BAUHERRIN
By Ingeborg Harms
December 2016
DEZEEN
SOPHIE HICKS CONCEALS “CONCRETE MONSTER”
By Alice Morby
Photography by Annabel Elston
September 2015
SPACE KOREA
ACNE STUDIOS
Interview by Park Sungjin
Photo by Annabel Elston
January 2016
INTERIOR + DESIGN, RUSSIA
1A EARL’S COURT SQUARE
by Danila Varennikov
Photographs by Adrian Gaut, Alasdair McLellan, Annabel Elston & Sophie Hicks Architects
October 2019
AMC
MAISON INDIVIDUELLE
by Pauline Malras
Photographs by Annabel Elston
October 2019
AMC LE MONITEUR ARCHITECTURE
SOPHIE HICKS, FAÇADE EN PAPIER DE YAMAMOTO
By Maryse Quinton
Photographs by Johannes Marburg
February 2009