CONCRETE QUARTERLY
VANISHING TRICKS
by Nick Jones
Photographs by Annabel Elston and Sophie Hicks Architects
Winter 2019
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
BRITISH VOGUE
By Nonie Niesewand
Photographs by Arthur Elgort
June 1996
ANOTHER MAGAZINE
AN INTERVIEW WITH SOPHIE HICKS, FASHION’S ARCHITECT
Interview by Donatien Grau
Portrait by Tim Walker
November 2014
DOMUS
THE ART OF LOOKING
By Deyan Sudjic
Photographs by Lee Funnell
March 2001
MUSE MAGAZINE
CLASSY ACT
By Marta Galli
Photographs by Timur Celikdag
Fall 2008
ARCHITEKTUR & WOHNEN
SOPHIES WELT
By Gesa Engelschall
Photographs by Michael Mundy
January 1997
HARPER’S BAZAAR KOREA
SOPHIE, THE PURE ARCHITECT
Photographs Kim Hee June
Winter 2015
DAILY TELEGRAPH
WHITE HEAT
By Sally Brampton
Photographs by Edina Van Der Wyck
April 25th, 1998
NUMERO
SOPHIE HICKS, LA SCIENCE DES VOLUMES
By Clara Le Fort
Photo by Johannes Marburg
September 2016
IGNANT
ACNE STUDIOS · SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
by Stephanie Wade
Photographs by Annabel Elston and Fabio Ongarato
October 2019