Archmongers revamps 1970s London home with rough concrete and red steel

A concrete dining room cast in situ and framed by red steelwork forms the heart of this Hackney home, remodelled and extended by London studio Archmongers.

Named Elemental House, the 1970s dwelling was renovated for the studio's founder Johan Hybschmann and his wife Anita Freeman.

Archmongers sought not to disrupt the "structural integrity" of the three-storey brick and concrete home, which had been left largely untouched since its construction, making a series of simple changes that would enhance its existing layout instead.

The project was recently named London's home of the year by Don't Move, Improve! 2025, praised by the judges for the studio's "very carefully considered" interventions.

"The concept was simply to fully transform the house for modern living, using as few materials as possible," Hybschmann told Dezeen.

"We also followed our principles of 'building simpler', where we design using less surface materials, and we've deliberately left the scars of the converted wall sections and exposed the materiality of any new structural element by not covering them up," he added.

At the Elemental House's entrance, a tall wooden door framed by a red-steel handrail and lintel stands alongside a former garage, which has been converted into a slightly sunken bedroom.

Moving through an entrance hall, a new staircase in galvanised steel has been pushed deep into the plan to open up the dining and kitchen space. This area has been expanded with a cast concrete extension intended to match the existing concrete lintels of the home.

A red-steel portal frame demarcates the point at which the existing home meets this concrete extension, while sliding glass doors open onto a garden terrace to the south that is linked to the interior by terracotta floor tiles.

Similarly to the structural changes, the material palette has been kept deliberately simple, with the exposed concrete and brickwork contrasted by minimal white walls, a stainless steel kitchen island and Douglas fir cabinets.

"We strictly followed the few materials that the original house was build from: bricks, concrete, galvanised steel and softwood timber," Hybschmann said. "Any new addition is built from one of those materials."

"The building is now also incredibly sturdy, and we designed the house with the intention of not being afraid to use it. This ensures longevity and eliminates the need to change anything for years and years," he added.

The first floor of Elemental House has been given over entirely to a large living space, flanked by a small bathroom to the north and a balcony overlooking the garden to the south, along with an enlarged window overlooking the extension's green roof.

Above, the second floor contains the main bedroom and an additional guest room, beneath the exposed rafters of the pitched roof and a high-level window.

Archmongers was founded by Hybschmann and Margaret Bursa in 2013. Previous projects by the studio include the renovation of an apartment in London's iconic Trellick Tower and the colourful Bakken & Bæck office.

The post Archmongers revamps 1970s London home with rough concrete and red steel appeared first on Dezeen.