Cork House featured on Archello homepage
- nimtim architects
- Mar 19, 2020
- 2 min read
nimtim's Cork House features as one of today's staff picks on the Archello website. Providing a little bit of colour to brighten everyone's day.
A rear extension and loft conversion to a modest Victorian terrace house in South London. The project evolved through a process of co-creation with the clients - a graphic designer and photography agent along with their two young children.
The clients were keen to contribute to all parts of the design process so nimtim created a structure for working with them, the design could then develop collaboratively resulting in an outcome that everyone could feel a sense of pride and ownership in. The existing house was 1m higher than garden level - in order to connect the family with their garden, a stepped internal landscape was created that defined different uses within a larger family space through changes in floor level. Thus a kitchen, dining space and informal seating area are defined by their own topography, meaning the whole family can share the space whilst doing different things.
The extension is articulated as a simple pitched roof form with a large pivot door framing an uninterrupted view of the garden beyond. A slot window on the rear elevation aligns with the glazed roof light over the side extension to bring in daylight and views of the sky. The simple roof form rationalises a more complex array of ceiling heights and boxed structure that deals with existing elements internally, while reflecting the geometry of the existing house externally.
The extension is clad internally and externally with cork that complements the existing brickwork on the original house and will weather to a silvery-grey over time. The cork achieves all required u-vales without the need for any additional expanded foam insulation. It absorbs noise internally, is breathable, free from synthetic resins, chemicals or harmful materials and is fully compostable/ recyclable. Pink window frames provide a flash of colour against the dark cork. Internally a pale grey resin floor finish allows a continuous surface over both horizontal and vertical floor surfaces with crisp edges.
Throughout the house including the new loft level with master suite and renovated 1st floor - the project is defined by bold colours and patterns reflecting the playfulness of both design team and clients.
“It's a real testament to the amazing, thoughtful and completely unique design you guys produce. We are utterly in love with the house and all of you for completely transforming our lives. We could not have imagined living in anything as awesome as this without you.” The clients H+D, 2019
Cork House was shortlisted for the AJ Small Projects award 2019.
This Cork House looks absolutely stunning! It's great to see it get the recognition it deserves on Archello. If you're into unique architectural designs, you might also appreciate the creative possibilities with an AI Anime Image Generator.
I never really thought about how much a single “staff‑picked” feature on Archello could say about a small London project, but it’s nice to see how nimtim’s Cork House turns a modest Victorian terrace into a showcase of material‑led playfulness. I always imagined cork as more of a niche, acoustical layer, yet wrapping it both inside and out—as a natural, insulating, breathable, and eventually silvery‑grey skin—makes it feel like a bold, sustainable statement rather than a quiet afterthought. I like the way the stepped internal landscape, pitched roof, and pink window frames all work together to keep the family visually and spatially connected to the garden, while still creating distinct zones where everyone can do different things in the same…
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