Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: A Most Unlikely Setting for a Contemporary London Home
The unusual glass design of this house near Highgate Cemetery helps it float above dramatic surroundings, visible at every turn
Living right next to a graveyard may not be to everyone’s taste, but this striking home by London’s famous Highgate Cemetery could win over some skeptics. Headstones, obelisks and urns are visible from the huge windows, but the site is also beautifully green, wild and private.
“We used a limited range of materials, including lots of glass,” says Mike Gibson, architect at Eldridge London, the firm that designed the property. “This was a unique site and a wilderness landscape. We simply invited that in.”
“We used a limited range of materials, including lots of glass,” says Mike Gibson, architect at Eldridge London, the firm that designed the property. “This was a unique site and a wilderness landscape. We simply invited that in.”
This house stands on the site of a home built in the 1970s, on land released by the cemetery the decade before to ease its precarious finances. By the time the client viewed this property, it was in a poor state of repair. “The client brought us on-site to see what we could do, whether we could refurbish or extend it, or build something new here,” Gibson says. “Unfortunately, the property had deteriorated to the point that refurbishment was not really an option.”
Early consultation with local residents and Highgate Cemetery ensured that everyone understood the high quality of the new building that Eldridge London proposed for the site, but the odd grumble was still lodged. “One complaint stated that, ‘The grave owners would be overlooked from the proposed terraces and the large amount of glazing on the west and south elevations,’” Gibson says. However, the planning department gave the plans the green light.
The kitchen and dining spaces, on the top floor, feature a sliding glass roof light measuring about 20 by 8 feet that “opens up completely to the sky at the touch of a button,” Gibson says.
Early consultation with local residents and Highgate Cemetery ensured that everyone understood the high quality of the new building that Eldridge London proposed for the site, but the odd grumble was still lodged. “One complaint stated that, ‘The grave owners would be overlooked from the proposed terraces and the large amount of glazing on the west and south elevations,’” Gibson says. However, the planning department gave the plans the green light.
The kitchen and dining spaces, on the top floor, feature a sliding glass roof light measuring about 20 by 8 feet that “opens up completely to the sky at the touch of a button,” Gibson says.
Glass floors connect the stairs to the kitchen-dining level at the top of the house, and to the living level below, to help light flood down into the entrance hall. “The staircase is a series of concrete treads that cantilever off the concrete walls,” Gibson says. “A structural glass central panel drops through the whole of the building, and the handrail and a couple of treads on each run are directly connected to this glass.”
The house occupies a small, sloping site at the very edge of the cemetery, separated from it by a fence. “The cemetery is a listed landscape, so the building had to be of a high quality to sit within it,” Gibson says. “It’s also a conservation area, so the building had to preserve and enhance that.”
The three upper floors cantilever out from a series of four concrete columns. “They seem to hover above the ground,” Gibson says.
The three upper floors cantilever out from a series of four concrete columns. “They seem to hover above the ground,” Gibson says.
The living space has a wood-burning stove with a long flue. “It drops down through the top floor to the living area below,” Gibson says.
Stove: Focus Fires
Stove: Focus Fires
A long glass desk was built into the top-floor study. “It’s toughened glass carefully bonded together,” Gibson says. “It was a way of putting furniture in front of the full-height glass windows without obscuring the view.”
The storage and media unit in the living space was created using black gloss lacquer on the joinery. It cleverly reflects the gorgeous view, bringing it right into the house’s interior.
Flap sofa: Edra
Flap sofa: Edra
Shadows produced via the glass floor in the kitchen on the level above appear on the wall of the living space.
“We used a small amount of different materials in this house,” Gibson says. “Everything is fairly dark, and the colors are muted. There’s a lot of greenery outside, so we simply allowed the landscape in.”
Glass, concrete and black granite, seen here on the floor, feature throughout. “All the materials were intended to have high thermal mass to minimize heating requirements,” he adds. “The roof light at the top allows ventilation, and all the terraces are accessed via sliding doors.”
“We used a small amount of different materials in this house,” Gibson says. “Everything is fairly dark, and the colors are muted. There’s a lot of greenery outside, so we simply allowed the landscape in.”
Glass, concrete and black granite, seen here on the floor, feature throughout. “All the materials were intended to have high thermal mass to minimize heating requirements,” he adds. “The roof light at the top allows ventilation, and all the terraces are accessed via sliding doors.”
Speakers belonging to the original homeowner take pride of place in the living room. He didn’t have a lot of demands but was drawn to the somewhat masculine mix of materials that Eldridge London specializes in using. “He was keen to see what we could come up with for this site,” Gibson says. “We use a lot of glass and concrete. We like the tactility of concrete and the fact that you can give it lots of different surface finishes and colorations. And there are all sorts of wonderful things you can do with glass nowadays, which we continue to explore.”
The granite and concrete tie in with the weathered statuary outside, while the glass helps the building blend into the landscape, with both the monuments and the trees glimpsed everywhere from inside as if they were part of its fabric.
The granite and concrete tie in with the weathered statuary outside, while the glass helps the building blend into the landscape, with both the monuments and the trees glimpsed everywhere from inside as if they were part of its fabric.
The walls of glass on the top floor give this level the sense of floating among the trees. Natural light pours in through the roof light, which can be fully opened, and illuminates the kitchen island. A dining terrace wraps around the exterior.
A simple kitchen preserves the almost James Bond-like feel of the interior. Crucially, the house’s simple fittings don’t detract from the striking views over the cemetery or try to compete with them.
b3 system kitchen: Bulthaup
b3 system kitchen: Bulthaup
All five bathrooms follow similar design recipes and include marble floors, teak shower trays and Corian wall panels. “Smooth, seamless Corian is balanced by other nice, tactile details around the space,” Gibson says. This shower room benefits from a roof light above and a light well running down through it.
Most of the house has exposed concrete walls and ceilings. The walls around the staircase and in the corridors are made from board-marked concrete, created by pouring concrete into molds made of wooden boards, so that the timber’s knots and grains are visible in it once set. “It has lots of texture and character,” Gibson says.
The three upper floors have terraces. “The direction of the terraces changes depending on the floor,” Gibson says. “Each one has a different orientation, so you can enjoy all the views.”
The huge glass windows are fitted with blinds. “They can be closed for privacy or security,” Gibson adds.
The huge glass windows are fitted with blinds. “They can be closed for privacy or security,” Gibson adds.
The views from the top-floor study toward the south are very leafy. “The site used to have great views over London,” Gibson says, “but the trees have grown up a bit since the house was built, so you see more green now.”
The view from the corner of the living room reveals just how close the cemetery’s monuments are to the house. “We obviously were not allowed to go beyond the site boundary and into the cemetery during the build,” Gibson says.
Clever concealed linear lights with diffusers fitted flush with the concrete create soft light around the edges of the space.
Clever concealed linear lights with diffusers fitted flush with the concrete create soft light around the edges of the space.
One side of the house borders the street and is made from simple stone to continue the boundary wall of the cemetery.
More: Lighten Up With Glass Floors
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More: Lighten Up With Glass Floors
Browse more homes by style: Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
Who lives here: Currently, a family; at the time these photographs were taken, the house was owned by the professional single man who commissioned it
Location: Next to Highgate Cemetery, north London
Property: A contemporary four-story home, completed in 2008
Size: Four bedrooms, five bathrooms
Architect: Nick Eldridge, who developed the design, and Mike Gibson and the team at Eldridge London
This striking home sits at the edge of Highgate Cemetery in north London. Neighbors including Karl Marx and George Eliot are deceased, and the plot has a secluded, peaceful atmosphere. “It’s a wild landscape,” Mike Gibson says. “This part of the cemetery is much less busy than other areas, and we simply treated it as the client’s own private garden.”