Elemental House is a remodelling of a 1970s split-level house located in Hackney. The renovation has future-proofed the house for modern living, enhancing the home’s energy efficiency, whilst bringing natural light deep into the plan.

Archmongers' approach is underpinned by a commitment to using honest, exposed materials and traditional wood joinery, ideal for upgrading existing UK housing stock to meet contemporary needs while minimising long-term maintenance. The design scheme employs a simple palette of existing materials including brick, galvanised steel, cast concrete, and timber.

A new concrete extension, cast in-situ at the rear of the property, opens up the house laterally, creating a more generous kitchen and dining space at lower level. The insulated slab provides thermal insulation to the house and creates a new garden terrace, which acts as part of the structural foundation and helps spread the load of the existing and new facades. The flat roof of the extension creates a green roof at first floor level. 

The new scheme unlocks the three floors to make the house feel more spatially vertical. Plasterboard walls have been removed to reveal the logic of the house’s structure and make all of its elements legible. The underside of the stairs is exposed to create spatial clarity. Strategically placed internal windows reveal sightlines and flood the interior with natural light. The rear elevation has been opened up with sliding doors at ground level, and a new expansive window at first floor level offers views across the new green roof from the living room. 

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