The London-based studio Amin Taha Architects has renovated a 1950s terraced house in the Bayswater district of London by adding a basement level and a garden courtyard.

The typical Edwardian style has been revitalized by the Clerkenwell architects to accommodate a family of five who love open spaces, and tactile materials and finishes.

The renovation project, as often happens, is a challenge between the new brief and maintaining important details of the building’s original fabric, creating a narrative of this journey from old to new. A perfect balance between different elements that starts from the analysis of materials and their uses, the restoration of structural details and the introduction of new interventions.

Initially, the house was organized with a division between servant quarters on the ground floor and the owners’ quarters on the upper floors. The building was later renovated to adapt to modern ideas with more open spaces.

The travertine that formed the original flooring is chosen for the floors on every level of the house, including the outdoor courtyard and garage. The stone is also applied as cladding in various finishes throughout the building, and the interior has been entirely cleared of structural elements including vertical beams, resulting in an empty space with travertine and plaster, completed with cherry wood furniture.

As in the open living area, where a study has been created in a corner that can be transformed into a bedroom by rotating a swivel wardrobe.

Connecting all levels is the imposing staircase, a sculptural backbone of the house that spirals up to the skylight on the top floor. Its heavy and deliberately tactile structure pairs with a delicate and light column. An elegant and imposing structure that characterizes the entire environment and enriches it with the texture of natural stone.