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Renovation of industrial building in heart of Shoredtich East London into live-work loft
The Shoreditch Loft is a renovation of a Victorian era warehouse in the neighbourhood of Shoreditch, London. The warehouse is a sustainable adaptation of an older building in its creative re-use of space which brings the qualities of the surrounding neighbourhood in and maintains the industrial heritage of East London.
The normal spatial progression was upended in this vertical home, as one enters the work space on the ground floor the first floor contains a master bedroom with walk-in wardrobe and en-suite bath; second floor is guest and kids room with shared bath; and the third floor is the communal kitchen with living and dining room. A rooftop garden was added on the uppermost level with grey-water system. In this configuration the upper floors afford the best views and are shared by all to maximise movement and use of the space within the small floor plate. During the day curtain partitions and doors are opened on the lower floors flooding the space with natural light. At night doors and curtains to bedrooms are closed creating a series of smaller more intimate volumes in the open plan space.
A sculptural balustrade moves vertically along a steel stair tying together disparate floors with an organic quality counter to the rougher industrial finishes throughout. This theme of interplay between old and new is apparent in details on every level. Much of the brickwork was sand-blasted, restored, and repointed to match the 200 year old brickwork. While natural and industrial materials such a plywood, rough-hewn oak floorboards, and steel were selected to compliment the qualities of the existing space.
Painstaking care was taken to match new hardware, doors, and windows to the original historic fittings. The result is a small house which seems much bigger in its efficient use of space, light and material.
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