gpad london secures top prize at the Evening Standard New Home 2018 Awards
Christopher Ploutarhou, managing director of London architecture firm gpad London ltd is a Cypriot who’s firm is going from strength-to-strength.
Architecture and interior design practice gpad london ltd won the Best London Home category at the prestigious Evening Standard New Homes 2018 Awards on Friday 19th, and went on to secure the top prize, the Grand Prix trophy.
The prize was awarded for Wittering House, a stylish home built on a difficult infill site in Finsbury Park, North London. Contemporary in design, and providing a discreet intervention in a street of Victorian houses, the 829 sq. ft. two-bedroom home is a contextual and sympathetic response to its location.
The Grand Prix Award is presented to the crème de la crème of all the homes and developments honoured at the Evening Standard Awards. gpad beat some strong competition, with 14 other award winners, including Powell Tuck Associates, Barratt London and Hogarth Architects.
gpad london’s winning design is a modest yet elegant two-bedroom house on the site of a small derelict garage. Architect Charles Bettes spotted the potential of the small plot, measuring a mere 6×7 metres, and set about creating an affordable home for him and his wife Vicki Lim.
The challenge faced by Charles was how to create a comfortable layout and a relaxing home on the tiny 6x7m site surrounded by Victorian terraces. gpad london delivered a contemporary design without being incongruous with the other buildings in its vicinity. Set over three levels and clad in brick and bronze, the house feels larger due to careful consideration of every inch and clever use of dual aspect rooms with a lightwell and free-flowing spaces. This is further complemented by a coherent material language and a subtle palette of muted colours.
The sleek, warm and subtle interior is relaxed and calming, with whitewashed oak panelling and resin floors.
Charles Bettes of gpad london, comments: “Having my home considered London home of the year really feels like a fantastic achievement. It is testament that great design does not require a huge budget or a lengthy time scale – Wittering House was completed in just ten months and on a relatively modest budget. While the site is tiny and the house is not large, the innovative layout ensures the interior areas feel spacious, successfully illustrating that with a thoughtful, well-considered approach to a site, good quality living spaces can be produced. We’re currently working on other infill projects and have a lengthy track record of creating wonderful spaces of all sizes on difficult sites. It’s incredibly rewarding to see how we can really get the most out of a small, awkward site. Scooping the Grand Prix amongst such amazing architecture is a wonderful underlining of the team’s ability.”
Winners were announced at the Evening Standard New Homes Awards Friday 18 May at the Dorchester Hotel, Mayfair.
This is gpad london’s second national award win, they are the 2017 winners of the British Council of Offices (BCO) National Award for the regeneration of Concordia Works in Leeds city centre turning a derelict yarn and cord warehouse into modern office accommodation.
gpad london ltd is a diverse and growing architectural practice, working on high end commercial and residential developments in London and the major regional hubs such a Leeds, Cardiff, Bristol and Manchester. gpad take a progressive and holistic approach to architecture, balancing commerciality and design, with an efficiency that quickly moves projects from concept through to completion.
About gpad london ltd
Operating from a studio in Clerkenwell, gpad is a practice of experienced architects and interior designers delivering successful projects from concept development through construction to completion. Its team works on a multitude of scales and schemes with projects in Cardiff, Reading, Bristol, Leeds and throughout London.
gpad are a design led architectural practice creating high quality contemporary architecture that focuses on simple elegant design that is sympathetic to the site context. The architectural response seeks to enhance the quality of place. High quality materials and detailing are used as a form of expression that intrinsically roots a building within its context. Working at different scales simultaneously to develop the design creates buildings with a sense of longevity and permanence. gpad are driven by high standards in accessibility, functionality and sustainability.
Reliable, flexible and efficient, gpad puts communication at the centre of its approach. The team understand the stakeholders involved within a successful project and always strive for original design ideas, whilst ensuring client value. They take pride in the relationships developed with their clients, some of whom have been working with the practice since it was started in 2002.
gpad london winners of the 2017 BCO National Award for its regeneration of Concordia Works in Leeds city centre.
