‘Don’t even bother ringing the doorbell, no visitors welcome,’ is how Janet Street-Porter once humorously described the message she wanted to communicate through her eponymous 1987 Street-Porter House, a postmodern Clerkenwell landmark.
Situated on a bomb site in the heart of Clerkenwell, the now Grade II-listed house stands out from its Georgian neighbours with deliberate intent – Street-Porter having said that she wanted the home to create the feeling of an imposing, medieval castle in the heart of the city.
Designed by her former schoolmate at the Architectural Association and
CZWG principal Piers Gough, the home was to be a ‘portrait’ of Street-Porter;
both are remarked for their extroverted, eclectic, and wholly untraditional
qualities.
Living in a space pointedly built for and modelled after someone else might intimidate some but, not its current owners, Marie Laurent and Edouard de Pomyers, who have discovered a softer side to the ‘castle’ in its light-fed living spaces, verdant terraces and treetop vistas. We did as Street-Porter wouldn’t have wanted and knocked on the door to ask Marie and Edouard for a look at what it’s like to live in a postmodern landmark.
Marie: “We just had a total crush. It was a
beautiful sunny day, I remember the light, and I remember the big tree in the
small square, just in front of the house, almost entering the house, almost
part of the house.
“I remember that we had a cup of tea on the rooftop terrace with the owners. And Edouard and I looked at each other and we just sort of said, ‘Okay, this is clearly our place, this is our house.
“I would say that the light was the most impressive thing for me. Its so luminous, even in a country where the sun isn’t that reliable…”
Edouard: “We really wanted to find something spatially unique. We wanted to have a lot of lateral space and we also wanted a house that didn’t look dull. We saw quite a lot of places but nothing that we were that keen on.
“Then, one day, we were looking online and came across this house. It was almost love at first sight. The pictures were amazing and actually, I mean, they were just showing the truth – the architecture of the house is absolutely fantastic, the interior design was amazing and we appreciated what the previous owners had done with the house. And, the area is ideal – its hard to imagine any place more central than this.
“Weve made it a family-friendly house. I mean the original design in
itself is quite family-friendly because each floor has quite a lot of open
space, and its not a vertical house so you dont need to move up and down all
day long, which would be a nightmare when you have young children like
us.
“I’ve never counted the number of windows, but they are literally everywhere, so its bright all day long.”
Marie: “The outside can feel like a bit of a fortress, very mysterious. People are really intrigued by whats inside and the truth is that its so warm, comfortable, and luminous.
“People seem to be outside wondering, ‘Wow, what is that? Is it a house? and I can feel that what really surprises them is the garden we have on the roof, which is really special. It wasn’t made by us, but we really admire it. It was done with trees from New Zealand and it’s a gorgeous mini jungle that we’re lucky to have on our roof in central London.
“A lot of the beautiful design shops that we have in the area have actually come to me saying, ‘Could we just visit it? Because they are so intrigued and each time, I have to say people are really amazed.”
Edouard:“The roof terrace is quite a unique one in London. You can see it from hundreds of metres away because the trees are gigantic – and theyre actually not very heavy!
“The previous
owners made sure that they used trees that were fairly light, and the same goes
for the rocks and, as Marie said, it feels like a jungle.”
Marie: “We love inviting friends to have dinner or inviting colleagues for a drink after work on our terrace. Were really using all of our outdoor spaces and making the most of them. We feel so privileged to have them and when you’re up there, it doesn’t feel like you’re in the heart of London. It’s like you’re in the countryside or on holiday, which is a great feeling.
“During autumn and
winter, we don’t feel so weighed down by the weather because the house is so
bright and so much warmth that we just love to be inside.
“We spend a lot of time in our living room with our three adorable daughters. It’s a little bit like we’re all in a commune in the house! Or like animals hibernating with our kids and, honestly, we just love it. At Christmas, we have hot chocolate and put up beautiful decorations.
“Our experience with the house is really different each season. It’s really fantastic to see the house evolving and moving along throughout the year.”
Edouard: “I dont think it makes sense to change anything about a house with this kind of history, with this architecture. To me it’s a bit like when you buy a piece of art, a painting for example, if you dont like a part of the painting, you just dont buy it. You dont ask the artist to repaint part of it. So, for me, when you buy a house with such history and such character, you either love it as it is, or you dont.
“I actually knew a bit about the house because I have a good friend at work who has been living in Clerkenwell since the 1990s and the house is very famous in the area. When we first visited, he asked if he could come with because he had never been able to see the inside of the house. So, I knew it was a famous house in the neighbourhood, but I didn’t know how significant it was. It really took us living here to realize how important it is.
It was only when we started to get approached by television producers about filming architecture programmes here that we fully realised how important it is. Then, a couple of years ago, the council got in touch with us to say the house was listed. Its now considered a key example of British postmodernism architecture, which we couldnt agree with more.”
ArchitectureInterviewsMy Modern House- 转载自：The Modern House
- 语言：English
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发表于 2020-8-4 06:48:33
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