London is a city of 10,000 railway arches. The engineers who created them — Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Robert Stephenson, James Greathead and many more — originally envisioned them being used as storage spaces and maintenance areas, but it didn't take long for them to become thriving business spots. They became workshops, cafés, breweries, jellied eel sellers, high-end wine merchants, garages, gyms and many more things. 190 years on from the opening of the first viaduct in London, the arches that sit beneath the railways of the metropolis are as vibrant and varied as ever. Particularly if you head down to the Bermondsey Beer Mile.
One thing they have very rarely become, though, is housing — and that makes this eyecatching property in South London all the more unusual. Archway Studios, as its called, is for sale through The Modern House at £1.1 million.
Since its completion in 2012, this has been the family home of the architect Didier Ryan and his wife Candice Lake, a photographer and model — but even they didn't originally expect it to be the place that they'd start a family.
'The original idea was to create a live-work space for my architectural practice and my wife’s photography business,' Ryan says.
'As our family grew, the balance shifted towards residential use, and we eventually secured planning permission to use the building as our family home. The design was always intended to be flexible and generous, allowing work and family life to coexist naturally.'
As the pictures show, the design is triumphant: striking, beautiful, clever, surprising. The project has won awards. including being named 'London House of the Year' in the 2013 NLA Awards, with NLA chair Peter Murray saying that the 'judges were wowed by the incredible space and highly crafted feel' of the house.
Ryan and his wife had been attracted to the area — in between Elephant & Castle and Camberwell — because of its industrial heritage, history and identity, 'and the the potential to give former industrial buildings a new lease of life,' Ryan says. 'The railway arch offered a unique opportunity to create something quite different from a conventional house.'
Unconventional is spot on: the house is built around a huge central space, about 35 feet by 22 feet, lit from above by the glass ceiling at one end, and heading in to the arch itself on the other. The light that comes through is a highlight of the building: 'One of the greatest pleasures has been the changing quality of light throughout the day and across the seasons,' Ryan says, 'as daylight pours through the skylight, atrium and triple-height, south-facing window, creating a constantly shifting interplay of light and shadow.'
The two bedrooms sit off to one corner, one on the ground floor and one on the first floor, while there's also a second floor study. There are two bathrooms, a laundry space, storage tucked away in seemingly every nook, and — above all — a wild abundance of staircases, mezzanines and huge windows which makes the place look not unlike an Escher drawing brought to life.
It's unconventional, but it clearly works — and the family are only moving on as they've relocated from Britain to Australia.
'My favourite part of the finished house is the kitchen,' Ryan says.
'It looks into the living area beneath the vast atrium, with views towards the trees and sky and wonderful natural daylight. It became the social heart of the house, where we cooked big meals and gathered with friends around an oversized dining table.'
All well and good, but there's one very obvious question to ask of a house built into an Industrial Revolution-era railway arch: what happens when a train goes past?
'The house has a special energy, shaped by its distinctive architecture and relationship with the railway,' Ryan says. 'Rather than conceal its industrial origins, we chose to celebrate them, connecting the home to the pulse and movement of London.' In other words, yes, you do hear them — bit not as loudly as you might fear.
'The building is carefully engineered for acoustic comfort,' he adds. 'The faint sound of passing trains remains perceptible and provides a subtle connection to its unique setting. Our aim was to embrace the site’s constraints and transform them into opportunities to create something both beautiful and deeply liveable.'
Though it's 'the right time to move on', the sellers have clearly loved the place: 'What began as a search for the perfect pocket of inner London evolved into an architectural vision and, ultimately, a much-loved family home where we raised our children, entertained friends and enjoyed a truly distinctive part of the city.'