61AMR by WIDGER architecture

Situated on a residential street in Walthamstow, East London, the property has undergone a complete transformation creating calm and serene bedroom and studio interiors.

Architect: WIDGER Architecture
Location: Walthamstow, London, UK
Year: 2017
Photography: Stale Eriksen

From the architect: These spaces were previously difficult to inhabit and utilise due to awkward wall and ceiling planes. The design approach took the existing forms, folds and edges and not only improved but also embraced them, attaching new complementary angular forms alongside. Both explicitly such as the window seat concealing storage, through to the subtlety of the plywood joint lines.

The project successfully unites two contrasting timber types, burnt larch and birch plywood, celebrating these materials both individually and in their fusion. The plywood surfaces throughout the interior add a sense of weightlessness floating above the floor. The use of birch plywood is not only limited to finishes, the end grain is exposed on the staircase banister, architraves, door and window frames. 

The external timber cladding wraps internally framing the windows and allowing the burnt larch to be acknowledged within the rooms and not just from afar on the external elevation. Additionally all fittings and fixtures have been selected to compliment the dark external cladding whilst contrasting with the plywood. 

The larch used for the external facade finish was burnt by the owner of the property allowing complete control over the texture and colour whilst under the flame. The process of burning not only protects the timber cladding but also gives a refinement to the exterior that stands in contrast to the surrounding residential terrace.

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