Studio Hagen Hall has reconfigured and renewed a Grade II-listed late-Georgian house in a north London conservation area, shaping the project around modernist and Japanese design principles.
The property stands at the end of a terrace overlooking a leafy garden square in Islington. Arranged over three levels, the house had suffered from years of neglect and a constrained plan of small, dark rooms. Studio Hagen Hall was briefed by the clients, a couple, to revive the property as a long-term home for two, with dedicated space for their growing collection of Japanese and self-made ceramics, furniture, and artwork.
Reworking the existing fabric
The clients share Studio Hagen Hall’s appreciation for the pragmatism of modernist design and a sustainable approach to architecture. The brief, influenced by the clients’ time spent living and working in Japan, centred on how a modernist and Japanese-inspired approach could be introduced within the fabric of a Grade II-listed late-Georgian property.
Rather than extending the house beyond its original footprint, Studio Hagen Hall advised the clients to build less and build better. The practice instead focused on the existing building, peeling back layers of the property to address issues with the fabric and structure, improve performance, and preserve the home’s outdoor spaces.
The historic outrigger was partially rebuilt, converting a previously low-ceilinged utility room into a sunken dining room with new and enlarged openings onto the garden and courtyard. The courtyard itself was lowered to create level access from the kitchen and dining room.
A more connected plan
The layout of the house was reconfigured to create a more connected and flexible arrangement. Although the property previously contained three bedrooms, the clients did not require a family home or regular guest accommodation, allowing the plan to be adapted around their leisure time and artistic pursuits.
Most notably, the primary bedroom was relocated from the first floor to the upper-ground floor. The main living space now occupies the former bedroom level, making the most of the natural light and views across the garden square.
Arrival and upper-ground floor
On entry, visitors arrive in a hallway with a genkan 玄関, a traditional Japanese entryway step used for removing and storing shoes. Slippers are provided for guests.
The new primary bedroom suite occupies the former lounge and comprises a dressing room and bedroom separated by a full-height sliding panel. Custom built-in joinery in smoked oak, designed by Studio Hagen Hall and fabricated by TG + Co, a long-time collaborator of the studio, sits lightly within the historic building fabric and wraps the room on all sides.
Original elements of the house, including skirting boards, architraves, and a previously covered fireplace, were lightly treated rather than fully restored, allowing different periods of the building’s history to remain legible.
A small change in level draws visitors through the hall towards a compact bathroom finished with white mosaic tiles, microcement, oak, and brass hardware. A curved shower wall softens the plan, while a small window at floor level, visible from the entrance hall, creates a visual connection through the bathroom to the garden beyond.
Lower-ground floor snug
On the lower-ground floor, the snug introduces a more intimate setting. A tokonoma 床の間, a recessed niche traditionally used to display flower arrangements and art, marks the entrance to the room.
The space is lined with joinery and includes built-in leather sofas on two sides, each the size of a single bed. The room can be used for relaxing, watching the concealed television, or converted into additional sleeping space for guests. Integrated storage within the sofas provides space for bedding and blankets.
Moveable textured-glass panels, framed by a grid of shelves and recalling traditional Japanese shoji 障子 screens, filter light between the snug and kitchen. The shelving also provides display space for the clients’ ceramics while allowing conversation and visual connection to flow between the two rooms.
Kitchen, ceramics display, and dining room
The kitchen was designed as a bespoke element by Studio Hagen Hall, with each area designated for either utility or atmospherically lit display. The space sits within the confines of the original kitchen, but has been reconfigured as a highly functional piece of furniture that accommodates the clients’ growing ceramics collection.
The kitchen opens directly onto the lowered garden courtyard, now conceived as a room in its own right. Timber and microcement floor finishes help tie the interior and exterior spaces together.
A custom-designed glass cabinet has been inserted beneath the original restored listed staircase, providing additional display space for ceramic pieces collected and made by the clients. Visitors pass this display on the way to the dining room.
The floor of the historic outrigger was lowered to create a sunken dining area, placing diners closer to the level of the garden. New openings, extending between the integrated bench seating and ceiling, create a close visual relationship with the surrounding planting. At the centre of the dining area is an oak dining table designed by Studio Hagen Hall and topped with sanded stainless steel.
Courtyard and garden
The courtyard and original outrigger walls are wrapped in oak timber panelling to match the internal joinery and capped with a zinc band. The cladding gives the impression of an extension without adding to the building’s footprint, while also concealing waste and gutter pipes that would otherwise interrupt the space.
Microcement flooring continues from the kitchen and up the steps into the garden. Previously concreted over, the garden has been redesigned by landscape designer Charlie Hawkes to relate more closely to the house.
Salon, studio, and bathing space
Upstairs, the top floor contains the main living space, previously the primary bedroom and now nicknamed the salon. Spanning the full width of the front of the house, the room takes advantage of southern light, views over the tree canopy, and the garden square beyond.
The salon includes armchairs by London-based designer David Horan, antique Japanese furniture collected by the clients, and built-in shelving and storage for art.
A small feature-lit niche echoes the apertures on the lower-ground floor and can be opened via a sliding panel in the adjoining room. This internal window connects the two spaces and allows views between the front and rear of the house. When closed, it provides privacy for bathing in the freestanding oak-clad bath overlooking the rear garden. Alongside its role as a bathing space, the compact room also serves as an art studio, home study, and guest room, with futons stored within the joinery. A large sliding unit provides storage for materials and incorporates a retractable worktable, while a specifically designed storage wall houses the clients’ CD collection.
Atmosphere and material continuity
Heion House is defined by a careful balance between light and dark. Rather than opening the house up as much as possible, Studio Hagen Hall created a sequence of atmospheric, interconnected spaces that communicate through apertures, internal views, and moveable openings.
A restrained material palette runs throughout the house, with finishes selected to develop a patina over time. Joinery is integrated strategically, using timber and glass insertions to redefine the interiors while sitting lightly within the historic fabric. Although these interventions appear permanent, they could be removed in full, leaving the original late-Georgian structure and detailing intact, while retaining the benefits of repair and conservation.
Thermal upgrades and conservation
Working within the constraints of the Grade II-listed building, Studio Hagen Hall was able to improve the thermal performance of Heion House through the addition of insulation to walls, floors, and roofs, combined with breathable plaster and render finishes.
Planning constraints meant it was not possible to substantially alter the original historic sash windows or introduce double glazing. However, the existing glass was replaced with low-U-value Histoglass single glazing, improving performance while remaining compatible with the listed fabric.
“Heion House is guided by a belief that heritage and modernity can coexist without compromise. By carefully repairing the late-Georgian fabric and introducing new joinery interventions, we’ve created a home that is still considerate of its past, but also now communicates a contemporary language: one of craft and atmosphere,” says Louis Hagen Hall, Director, Studio Hagen Hall.
