Observatory Gardens
- 69 Apartments
- 75 000sq ft
- £15 million
- 1992-1995
A ground breaking brief for the renewal of this former derelict Victorian street of red brick and stone terraced houses in the Campden Hill Conservation area, called for a double-edged design; to preserve the historic character and external appearance of the original houses, whilst creating 53 individual purpose built apartments with a newly constructed underground car park below. Housed within six ‘blocks’, each with its own front door, the new apartments’ configuration cleverly retains the fine proportions of the original principal rooms.
The terrace, which dates from 1883, was in such bad order that it was only possible to retain a small part of its once symmetrical façade; by carefully reconstructing the quality of the original decorative stonework, the French Renaissance style mansards, distinctive oriel bulls eye windows and tall chimney stacks, the original architectural character of this distinctive terrace has been re-instated and upheld.
