Clapton Townhouse
- (handmade brick)
- (concrete)
- (tadelakt)
Magri Williams worked alongside design studio Daytrip on the refurbishment, rear extension and basement works to a four-storey townhouse in Clapton, Hackney. The project carefully reworks the existing building to improve light, layout and long-term use, creating a series of calm and considered homes within the original terrace.
The design balances a clean, minimal aesthetic with a sensitive response to the local Conservation Area. A full-width rear extension, first-floor terrace, loft extension and whole house refurbishment were developed to bring clarity to the existing building while introducing a more contemporary way of living.
A circular planter is cut into the polished concrete floor, making space for a river birch tree at the heart of the living space. Beyond this, tiered concrete planters create a layered green backdrop, giving the home a quiet sense of enclosure and connection to the garden.
Each level was carefully configured to create a stronger connection to nature. At ground floor level, a full-width sliding door opens the living space to the garden, allowing natural light to travel deep into the plan. The garden walls are built from the same handmade brick as the extension, continuing into the interior to blur the threshold between inside and out.
The material palette is restrained and tactile. Handmade grey brick forms the new extension and continues internally, complemented by warm beige tadelakt plaster, tonal kitchen joinery and a light grey polished concrete floor. Together, these materials create a calm, textured interior with a strong sense of continuity between the architecture and interiors.
In the existing parts of the townhouse, traditional features are carefully retained and brought into conversation with the newer interventions. A grey marble fireplace and polished concrete hearth reference the material palette of the extension, creating continuity between old and new.
The project is defined by carefully crafted details: deep brick reveals, clean junctions, shadow gaps and exposed concrete ceilings. These moments give the spaces a quiet architectural character, while allowing the material palette, natural light and connection to the garden to remain central to the home.
Photography by Elliot Sheppard and Jake Curtis