168, Upper Street, London, N1 1RG

Quoted from riba ...Historically, pocket parks made on post war bombsites became highly valued by their local communities; It is apposite that, when this former bomb site on the corner of Islington’s Upper Street and Barnsbury Street was finally redeveloped, that the building so artfully created for it, is destined to become a memorable London landmark.

Contributing to the streetscape with remarkable delight this intervention is a 1:1 cast monument and memory to the Victorian terrace which previously existed on this plot.

The terracotta tinted concrete facades deftly play with the themes of memory; actual, imagined, created, true and false.

Painstakingly cast into machine milled polystyrene moulds constructed from photographs and a digital 3D survey of the mirror corner at the other end of the terrace, it creates, rather than re-creates, sculptural facades which are both energetic and reposeful.

Housing a beautifully curated contemporary shop at ground floor with working ateliers and apartments above, each space has been intelligently carved out with airy double height volumes and vistas into space beyond.

Apartments are accessed from Barnsbury Street via a secret hinged section of the façade which leads through to a glazed passage providing an unexpected backstage view of the shop.

The property is split level and arranged over the second/third floors and offers totally unique living space with both levels connected via an impressive wide steel staircase leading to the second bedroom, further work space or third bedroom.

Accessed via Barnsbury Street through a secret hinged section of facade and all within easy reach of both Highbury & Angel Tube stations.