Pine Heath, Camden, London

2025 RIBA London Award

Studio Hagen Hall for private client
Contract value: Confidential
GIA: 224m²

Pine Heath is an extensive, yet sensitive, whole-house refurbishment and low-energy retrofit of a late-modern terraced house in a north London conservation area. The house, built as part of a small speculative development in the 1960s, was originally designed by Ted Levy, Benjamin & Partners. When purchased by its current owners, the house, while uncherished, retained its original spatial configuration and many of its original internal finishes.

With one of the clients being professionally involved in the energy industry, and the two looking to create a long-term home for their young family, sustainability was rigorously considered from the outset. Critical elements of the thermal envelope, such as windows, uninsulated walls and floors, and the roof, have been discreetly either replaced or enhanced. Vacuum glazing was chosen to minimise heat loss through the bespoke replacement windows. Roof-mounted photovoltaic panels connected to an air-source heat pump on the uppermost terrace replace a gas boiler.

Equal diligence has been given to minor alterations to the previous layout to facilitate the young family’s life, with a new kitchen, bathrooms and built-in storage. Additional spaces have been ‘found’ within the existing volume of the house – a study-snug under the roof and an additional utility space under a slightly raised living-room floor. Every element of the refurbishment has been considered in detail, from reconfiguring layouts to creating bespoke joinery. Existing finishes, such as the Paraná pine cladding to the ceilings and stair, have been respectfully retained, and new joinery sympathetically matched using sustainable timber.

The client closely monitored the focus on low energy. This gives confidence in the stated fabric improvements at Pine Heath, delivering a reduction in heating demand of 77 per cent and, when combined with the installed renewable technologies, a reduction in annual carbon emissions by 93 per cent. As well as significantly improving comfort in the house, these have reduced energy costs by 75 per cent. The client has already identified a location for on-site battery storage to improve these figures further.

The jury felt the scheme exemplified an approach to significantly enhancing the energy performance and comfort of post-war residential architecture, while giving due reverence to the existing character and spatial qualities when making necessary interventions.

See the rest of the 2025 RIBA London winners here. And all our RIBA UK Award winners here.

View the full RIBA UK Awards 2025 process.

 

RIBA Regional Awards 2025 sponsored by Autodesk, EH Smith, Equitone and Velux